Address: 1121 SW Stark Portland, Oregon [Now Harvey Milk Street]

Years: 1977-2022 [various names as shown above]

“Lovely Suzanne” took over the business in 1994

As shown below LEFT, cited in the Oregon Journal newspaper, August 22, 1977, page 13, Hamburger Mary’s opens a new restaurant, Roxy Heart’s Memorial Diner. Below RIGHT Ad in Gay Rights Report, September 1978.

• Mentioned in an article about an accident in the Oregon Journal September 15, 1978, page 2.

Below is an article from The Oregonian newspaper, October 16, 1982, page 38

Below is an ad in January 1983 Cascade Voice newspaper announcing new owners and new management. [A full-page ad had Roxy Hearts opening 18 thru 24.]

Donnie (Don Horn) interviewed Lenny Borer (owner/partner) in 2022. “It originally opened as Roxy Hearts. The original owners sold it to some anti-gay people and had to sell because they had no business. I bought it in 1983 and sold it in 1986. It went back to a large gay clientele. The people after me I believe then dropped the “Heart” from the name - or the people after them. Question: Why did you buy? Answer: I had this stupid idea it would be “fun” and be a good investment. WRONG on the investment part!!!!!!!!” NOTE: Heidi was the manager during Lenny’s ownership – she had short blonde hair and made everyone feel welcomed.

In the Portland Monitor newspaper, April 21, 1989, LIFE section – Letters, Yes, Roxy Hearts has Closed. It’s sad to drive past the place now. When you put so much of your life into something it becomes a cause, not just a business. Roxy Hearts was even more than that, it was a legend. Partial article]

In an article in the Cascade Voice newspaper, February 25, 1983, ROXY’s BACK ON STARK.

The story is that Roxy and Velma have beer been on a two-year busman’s holiday. They have been researching the culinary They have been researching the culinary delicious dishes to tempt the palates of Portlanders. And they have returned and brought with them one of the most carefully prepared bills of fare to be found north of Castro Street.

 The establishment is now called Roxy Heart’s World Diner and the menu items attest to the international flavor of Roxy’s offerings. From Indonesia Roxy and Velma team up for Sotay Kambing Madura, OK, them in a butter-peanut butter mixture, a del II them in a butter-peanut butter mixture, I onions, and tomato with a hint of chili seasonings. The pork chops have a nutty seasoning. The pork chops have a nutty breaded taste. Once you try it, you’ll be back for more.

Roxy Heart’s World Diner is the brainchild of Lenny Borer and Mark Adrian. Mark has been in the restaurant business for several years; his first venture was with for several years; his first venture was with the Excelsior Café in Eugene, and he has worked with other restaurants in both Eugene and Portland. Lenny says that he has not been associated with restaurants “except as a customer” before he teamed up with Mark to open Roxy Heart’s. Lenny grew up in Southern California; he came to Oregon in the early ‘70s to get a master’s degree at the U of O. Lenny is a management consultant and says that his training came in handy in this venture.  Lenny is also an actor, he has been in several plays at Portland Civic Theatre, Father’s Day among them, and is currently First Vice President of the Portland Civic Theatre’s board of directors. And Lenny played Ward in A Perfect Relationship the Wilson Center last fall.

 Lenny’s interest in theatre will be an integral part of Roxy Heart’s World Diner. He says that Roxy’s will be available for theatre parties. Roxy’s itself is a kind of theatre what with the diverse clientele. Mark and Lenny both talked about many different kinds of people who come in.

The staff of twenty at Roxy Heart’s include some of the people who were with the original Roxy’s and many other people familiar to most in our community…Welcome back, Roxy, and thanks. Lenny and Mark.

[a portion of the article]

Below LEFT is an ad from the Out and About booklet 1983. Below RIGHT is an ad from the Cascade Voice newspaper, April 1983.

Per article in the Cascade Voice, February 3, 1984, under VOICES FEATURES GAY BUSINESS 83-84 Dugan‘s (formerly Hamburger Mary’s East), Steve Dugan. Owner of Dugan’s at 1041 NE Broadway has been responsible for the delivery of several formats in business over the 1 past years through his work within a corporation that has owned Bushes as bartender and manager and most know that he created Bushes as bartender and manager and most know that he created the original Roxy Hearts (a décor that endured subsequent ownership changes involving straights and is now back in the capable hands of Lenny). At Hamburger Mary’s East Steve was responsible for much of the décor and certainly for the employment of the great service-oriented people who take care of you at what is now Dugan’s. When Hamburger Mary’s took the corporate step of franchising, Steve decided to step out of the structure, although he still feels strongly that the remaining Hamburger Mary’s in SW Portland is his sister restaurant The decision to become Dugan’s has allowed him to create a fine wine list, make a few changes in the menu and to deliver a 30’s through 50’s music format Upstairs he has built, literally, a wonderful new bar and lounge area for those intimate dates and evenings. The entire balcony has been incorporated to allow a view of the restaurant below while maintaining individual areas of conversation. [portion of the article]

Below LEFT per The Oregonian newspaper July 27, 1984; tickets were available for The Truth Game. Below Right a help want ad in The Oregonian newspaper January 2, 1985.

Below LEFT is a notice from The Oregonian newspaper, October 3, 1985. Below RIGHT is an advertisement from The Oregonian newspaper, January 16, 1987.

Below ad states that in 1988, Lovely Suzanne had changed the name to The Roxy. However, per Wikipedia it states established in 1994. The Roxy (Portland, Oregon) - Wikipedia The Roxy is a diner serving American cuisine in Portland, Oregon, United States. Located on downtown Portland's Southwest Harvey Milk Street, the restaurant was established in 1994. The Roxy is popular as a late-night food destination and has a diverse clientele. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the diner operated 24 hours a day, except on Mondays. The Roxy has been described as "iconic" and a "landmark", and it is known for being an LGBT-friendly establishment because of its employees' community involvement and its location within the historic hub of LGBT culture and nightlife. Following a forced six-month closure due to the pandemic, the diner opened under new public health and safety guidelines in November 2020. The Roxy is a diner on Southwest Harvey Milk Street in downtown Portland. The restaurant's small storefront neighbors are a gay bar called Scandals and a residential hotel.[1][2] The Roxy serves American cuisine,[3] including breakfast all day,[4] and has been described as having a "funky avant-garde theme".[5] The interior features a jukebox and a sculpture of Jesus.[1] Depictions of nude women appear on an overhead mirror.     

Below is from Wikipedia.

Then…https://www.oregonlive.com/food/2022/03/the-roxy-portlands-beloved-late-night-destination-set-to-close-for-good.html

https://bridgetownbites.com/2022/03/17/the-roxy-diner-is-closing-portland-oregon/

Category:Defunct diners in Oregon - Wikipedia

Per https://pdx.eater.com/2022/3/17/22983147/the-roxy-diner-closing-closed

March 20 — after less than a year post-reopening — the Roxy will close permanently.

In a Wednesday evening Facebook post, the team at the Roxy noted that the diner has been struggling since March 2020, and hasn’t been able to recoup the losses. When the diner first tried to reopen, in February 2021, owner Suzanne Hale says a fire and resulting water damage forced the diner to stay closed for another four months. When the city decided to rehabilitate the building, Hale says they were pushed out. “We’ve just been losing money since the pandemic,” the closing announcement reads. “Staffing is hard enough these days, (for everyone) but with the building rehab looming, it’s nearly impossible.”

Suzanne passed away November 2022 – not more several months after closing the Roxy. Here is one Facebook post on November 15, 2022, Posted by Belinda Carroll.

I am completely devastated to report that The Lovely Suzanne has passed away. She owned the Roxy Cafe and the Blah Blah cafe in downtown Portland after years of waitressing at Quality Pie. She was self-made.

When I was a tiny gay youth and walked into Blah Blah, I was home. Suzanne ruled with a steel hand in a velvet glove. She had the Rules and if you didn’t follow the Rules, you were 86'ed.

Either for a day, a week, or forever (depending on how bad you f'ed up). It was a badge of honor to not be 86'ed by Suzanne. She terrified me.

When the Blah closed (because of an a**shole landlord), she took over an old cafe, Roxy Harts and made it The Roxy. I smoked way too many cigarettes, wrote and wrote and drank way too many carafes of coffee there over the years. She created a sanctuary for Queer people.

The Roxy was bustling day and night with drag queens, dykes, femmes, trans folx and gay men. You couldn't be in the Queer community and not know Suzanne. When I got kicked out for "my lifestyle" the Roxy is where I went first, because I knew I'd be protected.

We loved her fiercely.

The amount she contributed to the LGBTQ community cannot be put into words. From winning Miss Sweetheart to winning Empress, she put her absolute all into the Imperial Sovereign Rose Court.

If you wonder where I got it, it was from watching Suzanne. No joke. When she started treating me like an equal, I cannot tell you how proud I was. A lot of who I am today, comes from Suzanne's belief in me and what I was doing.

I'm beyond sad, but I know there's another angel looking out for us now.

I hope wherever you are there are Drag Queens, Queer Folx and a dance club. I'll miss the hell out of you.

https://pdx.eater.com/2022/11/16/23462999/suzanne-hale-the-roxy-portland-obituary?fbclid=IwAR3235UI_UquK3ytVVHZ_KtGTZJjFymVsQj40WCA3EioI30XrYgZv6pD-ho

Suzanne Hale, also known as “the Lovely Suzanne,” died in her sleep on November 8, her daughter, “Miss April” Shattuck, reports. The longstanding owner of beloved downtown diner the Roxy and onetime Empress of the Imperial Sovereign Rose Court, Hale was known as a staunch advocate for the Portland queer community, a chosen mother for many of the city’s unhoused youth, and an effervescent presence within the city’s restaurant scene.

Suzanne Hale spent more than 50 years of her life in the hospitality industry, once a waitress at Northwest Portland’s 24-hour restaurant Quality Pie before its 1992 closure. She became the force behind the Roxy in its early days, raising a population of young people — in particular, LGBTQ and unhoused youth — who relied on the diner’s all-ages, 24-hour shelter and warmth.

“I’ve watched a lot of kids grow up, and make it,” Hale told Eater Portland in a March interview. “I would be tough on them. I’d say, ‘If you’re going to be in here, you’ll behave,’ in a mom way ... but you watch these kids grow up, into productive, contributing people — there are a hundred stories like that.”

For almost three decades, the Roxy stood as a beacon at the core of Portland’s “pink triangle,” also known as “vaseline alley.” On any given night, the Roxy would be filled with drag performers, graveyard shift workers, teenagers, and Portland’s queer royalty, who would chat with Hale and Shattuck between sips of coffee. Hale was known as a fierce protector of her clientele, unafraid to call someone out if she was concerned about the safety of her “kids.”

“She was the mother of all misfits,” says writer Byron Beck, an old friend of Hale’s who also covered her for Eater Portland in the past. “She was so fucking kind, you know? But she was also a badass bitch. ... There’s no one else in this world I’ve seen who’s been as true to herself as her.”

The Roxy closed in spring 2022, which Hale attributed to issues with the building, pandemic-related financial strain, and the diminishing presence of a late-night dining public. Ahead of the Roxy’s closure, masses of current and former regulars flocked to the diner to say their goodbyes, noting the Roxy — and Hale’s — legacy on Portland as a whole. “This place is the reason so many people didn’t die, whether it be by suicide or somebody assaulting them,” former Roxy employee Al Young said in a March interview. “Suzanne made sure all of us were taken care of.”

Shattuck, who also served as the Roxy’s general manager, noted that she would spend the next few months planning Hale’s funeral services, which will likely include some sort of parade, per Hale’s wishes. She recommends that those interested in attending Hale’s memorial services follow the Roxy’s Facebook page for updates.

“You will be dearly missed, forever in our hearts,” Shattuck writes in a Facebook announcement, addressing her mother. “We always think we have more time, but your memory will be kept alive by the numerous people upon whom you left an indelible mark.”