| Tom's Restaurant and Bar | |
|---|---|
 | |
 The restaurant's exterior, 2022 | |
 Interactive map of Tom's Restaurant and Bar | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | December 18, 1975 (1975-12-18) |
| Owner(s) | Antoinette and Taki Papailiou |
| Previous owner(s) | Tom and Georgia Belesiu |
| Food type | American |
| Location | 3871 Southeast Division Street,Portland,Multnomah,Oregon, 97202, United States |
| Coordinates | 45°30′18″N122°37′22″W / 45.5050°N 122.6229°W /45.5050; -122.6229 |
| Website | tomspdx |
Tom's Restaurant and Bar, sometimes referred to separately asTom's Restaurant andTom's Bar, is a restaurant and bar inPortland, Oregon, United States. Tom and Georgia Belesiu opened thediner in 1975; ownership was later transferred to their daughter Antoinette, who worked for the business as a teenager, and her husband Taki Papailiou. The menu, based on Georgia's recipes, has changed little over the years, and thegreasy spoon is known for serving breakfast all day and for having an inexpensivehappy hour menu.
Tom's Restaurant and Bar is located on Division Street at the intersection ofCesar Chavez Boulevard insoutheast Portland'sRichmond neighborhood. Originally a restaurant, the north side was expanded to include a bar, which has been described byWillamette Week as a "divey sports bar known for the thick cloud of smoke wafting off from the picnic tables out front".[1] The newspaper described Tom's as a "Dazed and Confused-era diner, which seems increasingly out of place on this rapidly changing stretch of Division Street", and as "an old school dentist's office waiting room, but with a sassy waitress who doesn't come to a complete stop as she asks 'You want cream?' If you do want cream, she pull seven little creamer cups out of an apron pocket and plops them down on the counter without breaking stride. When she gets back behind the bar, she rejoins the longest conversation about fleas you'll hear all year."[1] Tom's also has a smalloff-track betting area located between the restaurant and bar areas.[2]
ThePortland Mercury has described Tom's as a "seriously underrated,East Coast-style"diner and agreasy spoon with "outlandishly cheap"happy hour options.[3] An exterior sign uses "Tom Jones' '70s Vegas" font, according to the newspaper's Brian Yaeger.[4] The restaurant has an interior mural,[1] and the bar hasartificial leather booths,pool tables,Skee-Ball,table football, andvideo poker machines.[5][6]
Breakfast is served all day.Full breakfast options include bacon, ham, or sausage,egg, andFrench toast orpancakes. The menu also includes a "butterhorn"fritter,chicken fried steak withgravy,[4]hash browns,omelettes, soups, and coffee supplied byBoyd's Coffee.[1][5] Happy hour options includequesadillas andtater tots.[3]
Tom and Georgia Belesiu opened the restaurant on December 18, 1975, in a space which previously housed anice cream parlor and later abakery.[5] Tom built the restaurant in 1974,[7] and many of the entrees are based on Georgia's recipes.[5] In 1988, Steve Duin ofThe Oregonian said Tom "doesn't bore his patrons with politics". Belesiu said, "I don't want to lose anyone. Both parties are welcome here. I'm a politician. A diplomat."[7]
The couple's daughter Antoinette began working at the restaurant from the start, when she was 14 years old. She and her husband Taki Papailiou, who previously worked as the morning cook,[7] are now co-owners. The family also owns the building and adjacent parking lot.[5] Nick Papailiou is also an owner, as of 2020.[8]
Earl Blumenauer visited the restaurant in 1991, during his mayoral campaign.[9] In 2010,Nancy Travis filmed scenes at the restaurant forA Walk in My Shoes.[5] Tom's has a highemployee retention; as of 2016, there were 16 employees, including cooks and waitresses who had worked at Tom's for 15 and 30 years, respectively.[5]
According toKGW's Morgan Romero, Tom's relies mostly on alcohol sales for revenue. In November 2020, during theCOVID-19 pandemic, Romero said Tom's Bar "will rely ontakeout from Tom's Restaurant next door to survive. They're calling on their regulars and the community to support them and other local bars and restaurants by ordering take-out."[8] Tom's also sought COVID-19 relief funding viaGoFundMe in 2020.[10]
In 2014,Willamette Week described the Skee-Ball "situation" as "twin 10-foot lanes, 25 cents, no change machine, scoreboard lights are burnt out and wonky". The newspaper said, "Tom's sports bar, like the neighboring Tom's diner, is a throwback to Old Division that's close enough to New Division to make it a relic. The front sidewalk might as well have a smoke machine on it... Malfunctioning scoreboard lights make the lanes all but useless."[6] ThePortland Mercury included Tom's in a 2015 list of "wonderfully trashy" happy hours.[3] The newspaper's Brian Yaeger wrote in a 2017 overview ofdive bar brunches, "Other upsides include never having to wait in line, a coffee cup that will never hit empty thanks to attentive waitstaff."[4] In 2016, John Vincent of theBusiness Tribune said, "In many ways, Tom's is like Portland's ownCheers bar."[5] Michael Russell included Tom's inThe Oregonian's 2018 list of 15 "favorite" diners in thePortland metropolitan area.[11]
Belesiu built his restaurant at 39th and Southeast Division in 1974, 23 years after immigrating from Greece... But Still clearly has Belesiu's vote, as well as the vote of Takis Papailiou, his son-in-law and the restaurant's morning cook.
