Woke pizza chain Hotlips is closing three of its five Portland stores. The company claimed the latest closures were also due to the pandemic, as well as "labor and economic stresses."
The family-owned business established in 1984 announced Monday that it had shuttered its Civic Stadium, Hollywood, and Killingsworth locations. Dozens of workers will be laid off. Crime has been an increasingly difficult factor for Portland businesses to overcome.
The brand’s central kitchen at Hawthorne headquarters and the Pearl location at Northwest 9th Avenue are still open. Hotlips closed its location near Portland State University in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Hotlips was known not just for its pizza, local ingredients and fruit sodas, but also for supporting radical causes. On social media platforms the chain called for supporting and donating to the Southern Poverty Law Center, BLM, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Oregon Justice Reform Center, a Portland based legal group that represents Antifa.
HOTLIPS stands with all LGBTQ+ people.
— HOTLIPS Pizza (@HOTLIPSpizza) June 2, 2020
This country is no place for hate. We stand with those who are against discrimination in all forms. #NewProfilePic #PRIDE2020 pic.twitter.com/866ftzuy6n