Above Left ad on page 18A-NW Fountain, April 1982 and November 1981, page 31. Above Right photo from NW Fountain, February 1982.

Per mention on Page 18/NW Fountain November 1981, “A new twist here. Cabana is open every Friday night for after hours, but never on Saturday. But John’s doing it big for Halloween! Open Halloween Night from midnight for special treats(!)- and 20 percent off on all meals for everyone in costume. – Into his fourth year of serving great food at low prices. Open weekdays at 7 a.m. close daily at 3. On Sundays, John opens for brunch at 9:30. You’ll find many of your best friends here, along with others of your ilk. If you haven’t tried the Cabana yet, do it up right by dropping by with your jack o’lantern on Halloween.

1982 – Page 18, NW Fountain, February, Willamette Week reviewed their after-hours in a recent issue and said that the Cabana was “the in place” to go.

1982- Cascade Voice, October 1982 issue under BUSINESS NEWS pager 42 “Barry Allen and Rick McCoy, two imports from Britain, have recently taken over the Cafe Cabana from Jon Murray...Barry said that they were quite pleased with the reception they’ve been getting with the after-hours crowd, this despite the fact that restaurant, located at 1231 SW Jefferson, is not in the downtown nightspot.”

Per paper written by Mario Aguilar for the Gay & Lesbian Archives on December 7, 2000, per an interview with Earl W Wright – the owner of Wilde Oscar’s.

In 1975 Earl L. Wright and his partner Jim opened the tavern Wilde Oscars in downtown Portland, Oregon. [not true, it opened in 1976] Located at 318 SW 3rd Avenue, it was a few blocks away from Stark Street where most of the Gay bars were located (where currently all of the major Gay bars in Portland located-with the exception of Ember’s and The Egyptian Room). The origin of Wilde Oscar’s begins in September 1975. Earl L. Wright had once worked for Sears but was forced to leave and afterward went on a three-month sabbatical with his lover Jim to Europe. When they returned they looked for things to do.

They had thought about opening a bookstore (like “In Other Words” or “Powell’s) but were unsure of what exactly they wanted to do. Bookstores are difficult even today as businesses. While looking for something to try Jim and Earl had decided to see what they weren’t too Impressie bars around to bring to see what they could do about it. They searched for a location and found a bar (Earl thinks it was called “The Gasoline Pump) [it was called the Filling Station until 1975, then for a short time Cyrstal Pistal Tavern) which was a straight bar that was going out of business. They bought it and because of the back bar (such bars came about at the turn of the century), they decided to name the place after Oscar Wilde. They inverted ‘the name of the famous writer and literary genius and named the place Wilde Oscar’s (who lived around the turn of the century).

They both wanted a business and it just seemed to present itself. They wanted a theme in honor of Oscar Wilde. Every booth had a picture of Oscar Wilde and food items were given names inspired by characters in his plays. Wilde Oscar’s began as a restaurant/tavern and eventually evolved into a bar that had live entertainment and rotating art shows, which were a lot the art shows we have currently during “First Thursdays”. Live Entertainment included “Hat Box” performances, which became extremely popular. “Hat Box” performances were a one-woman show designed especially for Wilde Oscar’s. They often brought in a packed house. The young woman [Leih Clark Granville] who created the “Hat Box” performances eventually went on to New York and did a one-show off-Broadway and then came back to Portland. Susie Shepard was among the performers at Wilde Oscar’s. She went on to run and own Cookie Cabana. [I think this should say Café Cabana] Per an email from Susie Shepard 2-24-2022 “Ate some from Cookie Cabana but never had anything to do with the business of it. Don’t even know who owned it.”

Drag shows were not among the entertainment provided. Jim and Earl appreciated drag shows but felt that there were enough venues for them and they wanted different forms of entertainment. Among the entertainers, there were soloists, singers, and actors who performed plays (though none of Oscar Wilde’s plays). Eclectic music played over the PA system including Show Times, Jazz, Blues music was not included. Fundraiser talent shows were held to support the Portland Town Council which eventually became Phoenix Rising.

  Whether home Bar Drag queens wanted it to be their home bar. Lesbians also wanted to make it their home bar. Everyone wanted Wilde Oscar’s to cater to a very specific Crowd. Earl and Jim did not give in to those demands. They wanted Wilde Oscar’s to be open for everyone regardless of what group or click they belonged to. One of the problems presented itself during lunch hours. During lunch hours the clientele was (according to Earn 85% heterosexual eventually shifted in the opposite direction. The dinner crowd often consisted of Lesbians and then later in the evening the clientele was typically 95% Gay men. The Gay community was somewhat resentful that Wilde Oscar’s managed to bring in heterosexual customers. The Gay community wanted the place to be all Gay all day. Even straight tourists would stop by the place. The Gay boys were often unhappy with Lesbians coming to the tavern, according to Earl (who welcomed Lesbians to his establishment) “all they did was drink tea, or at least that was one of many silly complaints made against them.

  And then move on to the bars on Stark Street, although some people preferred Wilde Oscar’s to the bars on Stark Street. Gay men who were more blue-collar went to a place similar to “The Eagle” known as “The Family Z00”.

Business took a tum for the worse when the original landlady sold the place to a man by the name of Atwood. Mr. Atwood was homophobic. Where as the original landlady was helpful; Mr. Atwood deliberately raised the rent from around $400.00 a month to $2200.00 a month (more than triples the original amount). Even after arbitration rent would still be $900.00 a month. Wilde Oscar’s was still a new business and $900.00 a month was too high and a late payment sealed the fate of Wilde Oscar’s; it gave the new landlord an excuse to shut down Wilde Oscar’s. Wilde Oscar’s closed around Christmas 1983. Earl and Jim had separated as well. Earl was depressed and upset when Wilde Oscar’s closed, he had put so much time and energy into the place and now it was gone. He went on to work at Sherwin Williams paint company and is currently working as a social worker for kids in foster care. Earl sttill lives here in Portland, Oregon.