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Burgerville is a chain that has about 40 locations, 20 of which are in Portland. Yesterday the CEO announced that one of those restaurants would be closing temporarily because of the rising crime and problems related to homelessness in the area.
The iconic Pacific Northwest chain says it hired private security in an effort to improve employee and customer safety, but to no avail.
“The environment around the restaurant has deteriorated seriously,” a company spokesperson told the Tribune. “Police are now being called daily. Burgerville employees have found weapons, drug paraphernalia and human waste on the property.”
The neon-hued fast-food restaurant shares a border with the Interstate 205 multi-use path and an Oregon Department of Transportation buffer that has hosted large homeless encampments this year. The responsibility for clearing camps on ODOT land within city limits falls on Portland officials, not the state, however.