While a few other spaces in Mercato Grove have remained vacant for more than a year following restaurant closures, another eatery in the Lake Oswego mixed-use center will serve customers for the final time today.
Lardo is closing Monday, Jan. 6, ChefStable Managing Partner Kurt Huffman confirmed.
“Lardo never really resonated with Lake Oswego. You can speculate as to why. It didn’t work at Mercato,” Huffman said.
As part of its opening in 2021, Mercato Grove included a number of popular restaurants managed by ChefStable including Lardo, Grassa, Oven & Shaker, St. Jack, Tasty’s and FILLS Donuts. Four years later, only Grassa and Oven & Shaker remain — and Mercato Grove also saw another restaurant, Toreados, come and go during that time.
Huffman said that there are plans for a new restaurant to replace Lardo but the former Toreados, St. Jack and FILLS spaces remain vacant.
He added that 2024 was a down year for ChefStable restaurants across the board and that Lake Oswego was no different. Some of the issues with Mercato Grove that he and others have raised before include its non-centralized location, difficulty with signage and the perception of a parking problem. Huffman posited that the Lake Oswego market might be looking for healthier food options, adding that Lardo is a quality brand but was a bad fit there.