Shari’s Cafe and Pies calls it quits in Lewiston; Moscow location will remain open

LEWISTON -- Shari’s Cafe and Pies at 2122 Nez Perce Grade in Lewiston shuttered its doors for the last time Monday night at 10 p.m.

Debbie Parker, manager of the Lewiston restaurant, said about 13 employees were affected by the shutdown. Shari’s is part of a chain of family dining restaurants in the western U.S. based in Beaverton, Ore.

Parker said she didn’t know the reason for the shutdown, but said other restaurants in the chain are also closing their doors.

Attempts to reach the corporate office Monday were not immediately successful.

Denise Jordan, manager at Shari’s Cafe and Pies at 121 Warbonnet Drive in Moscow, said there are no plan to shut down that restaurant.

“We are open and we’re staying open here in Moscow,” Jordan said. “We have no closure here.”

Shari’s was founded in 1978 and is the largest family-style brand in the Pacific Northwest, according to the restaurant’s website.

The restaurants are known for their family-style comfort food and pies.

The Lewiston Shari’s opened in October 1994. It was known for being open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Several Memorial Day diners visited the restaurant Monday after word of its closure began to circulate around the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley.

It’s the second chain restaurant to close in Lewiston in the last two weeks. Red Lobster, located across Nez Perce Grade from Shari’s, abruptly closed May 13.