I saw this the other day and couldn't believe it: Salt & Straw co-founder says ‘I can’t stay here’ if Portland HQ employees aren’t safe
Portland’s iconic ice cream business Salt & Straw may move its headquarters from Southeast Portland out of state, owing to frustration with crime, drugs and street camping, said co-founder Kim Malek on Wednesday. That’s if Portland and Multnomah County leaders can’t help the company address the issues that are plaguing its operations.
“We would consider all options,” Malek said. “We don’t have concrete plans. But our intention is to be at the table working with the city and county to find a solution and not move. Portland is part of the soul of our company. We love this city. This is about having a safe place for our team to work.”
On Monday, a fire in an RV parked at Southeast 3rd Avenue and Ash Street near the company’s headquarters and kitchen shut down power to Salt & Straw and several other businesses after the blaze brought down a transformer.
“If we can’t make it safe, I can’t stay here,” Malek said. “It’s just not responsible of me to put my team in that position.”
Since I've lived here (2015), there are few companies that seem more Portland than Salt & Straw. My wife even worked there for a year or so doing events for them. It's just amazing that they would consider moving our of Portland and a real sign of how bad the homelessness and crime situation has gotten.
I'm glad Christine Drazan isn't our governor, but I hope the incoming Democrat, Tina Kotek, got the message: Portland, and OR generally, need to address the homelessness issue and do it soon. No more kicking the can down the road.