The Value Village secondhand store in Hollywood has closed. An employee I talked to said management decided not to renew the lease. The new lease's terms were too expensive for Value Village it seems. Apparently, the people's support and love for the Hollywood Value Village was not enough to convince management to renew their lease.

The same employee said a canned goods retailer would move into the space. According to a post from Oregonian blogger Ryan Frank, the new store will be a Grocery Outlet discount foods retailer.

Apart from my sadness at seeing the thrift store close, I am wondering if this change in lessee will have any affect on the Hollywood Farmer's Market location. The Hollywood Farmer's Market is held in the street next to Value Village and in part of its parking lot. Hopefully the new tenants will agree to share the space with the farmer's market. And I hope the Farmer's Market can find permanent space that is still within walking distance of central Hollywood neighborhood.

The Oregonian reported on this at the end of summer and followed up on the issue on Saturday, November 17, 2007. The article, by staff reporter Laura Oppenheimer, reports that the cafe will drop the Yaw's Top Notch menu and memorabilia relating to the name. Representatives of the Yaw's family had been working with the Rock & Roll Cafe Owners. The restaurant re-created the Yaw's Top Notch menu and used the name in conjunction with its marketing. But the two parties eventually fell into disagreement about the recipes, management role, and compensation. The Yaw's family filed a lawsuit against the Rock & Roll Cafe earlier this fall.

The article states the Yaw's family is looking at locations for a new version of the family restaurant which used to be a destination of choice in the Hollywood District for many years but hasn't been in operation since the early 80's. As noted in the article, "from 1926 until the early 1980s, Yaw's Top Notch attracted crowds for classic American food. Generations of Portlanders remember not only burgers and milkshakes, but also first dates and family suppers."

Once all references to the Yaw's name and menu items are removed from the Rock & Roll Cafe, the federal lawsuit is supposed to be dropped.

The Portland Tribune also recently ran an article on this topic.