Grits N’ Gravy reopens in Portland with a longtime employee as owner

Published 4:30 am Friday, October 16, 2026

Grits N’ Gravy, the Southern-inspired diner that abruptly closed in downtown Portland in June, has reopened under new ownership — and its new owner is someone who knows the restaurant from the ground up.

Jesús Alejandro Chipres, who joined Grits N’ Gravy in its early days as a dishwasher, has taken over the restaurant, turning years of hard work into an opportunity to run the business himself.

“I’m a little nervous and happy,” Chipres said in a social media video. “I’m feeling a bit of both. Like so many Latinos, I’m fulfilling my dreams — this is one of my own dreams. I was given the opportunity to open this restaurant, work hard, and fulfill my dreams. I got my opportunity here at Grits N’ Gravy.”

Originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, Chipres has lived in the United States for 34 years. He first arrived in Los Angeles before eventually making his way to Portland. His path to restaurant ownership has been a gradual climb through nearly every corner of the operation.

“I’m someone who’s willing to do any kind of work,” he said.

Chipres began washing dishes before moving into the kitchen, where he worked in prep and sauté before advancing into other roles. Eventually, he moved to the front of the house, working as an expo — the position that serves as a bridge between the kitchen and dining room — before becoming a busser and then a waiter.

“They encouraged me to keep working hard and become a waiter,” he said. “And now I’ve been given this opportunity to pursue the American Dream of running a restaurant.”

A familiar Portland diner returns

Grits N’ Gravy’s return comes after an abrupt closure in June, when the restaurant announced it was ending service after five years in downtown Portland.

The restaurant had initially planned to serve its final breakfast on Friday, June 26, but closed immediately instead. In a social media post at the time, the previous ownership wrote, “We are done and have been given no leeway. Sorry everybody and thank you for the love.”

Another post cited declining business and mounting financial challenges.

The restaurant was founded by Brandon Stevens, owner of Mumbo Gumbo, and drew on a family tradition of Southern-style cooking. Stevens’ grandparents, Albert “Big Al” and Yoshi Stevens, opened The Stagecoach restaurant in Sacramento, California, in 1978. The family business later passed to Stevens’ father, Derrick, who expanded its reputation for Southern breakfast fare.

Grits N’ Gravy carried that tradition to Portland, serving Southern-inspired breakfast and comfort food with an emphasis on generous plates and approachable prices.

Now, under Chipres’ ownership, the restaurant is returning with many of the dishes that made it a familiar stop for diners.

Shrimp and grits, fried chicken

The menu continues to focus on Southern American food, including shrimp and grits in two styles: an uptown version that is red and spicy, and a downtown version that is smooth and creamy.

Other returning favorites include chicken-fried steak, fried catfish, trout, and fried chicken and waffles.

The restaurant also serves four varieties of gravy: sausage, country, onion and red-eye. Beignets are on the menu, too, alongside Café du Monde coffee.

The familiar dishes are part of Chipres’ effort to bring customers back while maintaining the restaurant’s established identity.

He wants the new version of Grits N’ Gravy to feel much like the one customers remember — warm, welcoming and family-friendly.

His goal, he said, is for the reopening to feel like Grits N’ Gravy never went away.

A new owner with a familiar face

For Chipres, taking over the restaurant means more than stepping into a management role. It represents the culmination of years spent learning the business one job at a time.

As the restaurant reopens, he is focused on making improvements while ensuring guests continue to feel welcome. He said he regularly checks in with customers to see how their meals and experiences are going, hoping to address problems before they become bigger issues.

“I ask how everything is going so we can avoid any problems,” he said. “We are going to give it our all as we reopen and improve.”

During the closure, Chipres and the team took time to consider what had worked at the restaurant and what needed to change.

“While the restaurant was closed, we looked at what wasn’t working and what was, so people are happy and want to come back,” he said.

He also expressed gratitude to the people who supported him along the way, helping him reach a point where he could take ownership of the restaurant where he began as a dishwasher.

“Honestly, I’m excited because this is my dream,” he said.

Grits N’ Gravy is open daily from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. in downtown Portland,.

Editor’s note: The quotes provided by Jesús Alejandro Chipres are translated from Spanish to English.