Hal Finkelstein

Hal was always running around like crazy, with a big, warm greeting for everybody. You could hear him from across the restaurant. It wasn’t just that his voice carried throughout the place. You felt him buzzing around!

Hal Finkelstein couldn’t make an enemy, even if he tried. Earnest and genuine with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, Hal cared about the people who came to his restaurant and into his life. He was so beloved at McMenamins and beyond that we renamed this restaurant, formerly called Zeus Café, to Hal’s, in his honor.

Born in the Bronx and raised in Florida­, Hal was always “full go.” Every morning, he was up by 5:15 and at the restaurant by 8, wearing his trademark button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Hal insisted on the best and was scrupulous about everything, from table settings to wine temperature, and was constantly polishing something.

After managing fine dining restaurants in San Francisco and Colorado, Hal came to Portland in 1994, to help open Wildwood, a restaurant that quickly became one of the Rose City’s finest and most iconic, garnering acclaim over the years, with Hal as its general manager. It was there that Mike & Mary Alice McMenamin first came to know and love Hal.

In 2010, after a 16-year run, Wildwood closed, and McMenamins brought Hal into the fold with the launch of Zeus Café in the Crystal Hotel at SW 13^th & Burnside. Hal brought a new ethos to McMenamins: His restaurant background was more of a fine dining style than much of what we had done to that point, and at the same time, he brought genuine warmth without a stuffy attitude.

When hiring, Hal looked for folks who had that “shining light or warm glow,” the “it factor.” If he didn’t see it, they wouldn’t make it through the interview process. And the key to it all, Hal had learned, was fast pace and team spirit: You work your butt off, then celebrate!

He motivated employees by example. He set an inviting tone and didn’t shy from hard work; Hal could be found in the “dish pit” anytime he was needed. He was never one to settle for less than the best, and the man was constantly moving. If you wanted to talk with Hal, you had to set a time, because you couldn’t just grab him; he popped up everywhere, running back and forth. But when he went to a table, he was 100 percent engaged and his genuine warmth came out. And it was 100 percent sincere.

Hal’s wife, Geri, said family, friends, and helping people came first in his life, and he was the very proud father of son Asher. Next came running, good food, and nature. Hal lived a healthy, active life; he was a skier and ran every day.

Geri Ota was the love of his life. Hal met her through an ad that he placed in the back of a newspaper, and they met up in a coffee and tea shop. Geri didn’t like coffee or tea, but she felt a connection with this man. Their first formal date came soon after: a 12-mile hike at Eagle Creek. Geri brought vegetables and fish. Hal brought a container of pineapple.

From there, their relationship flourished; they called one another every night and found that they connected over food, camping, hiking and biking… a simple life, without materialism. Soon they were cooking together often. At Geri’s house the kitchen was small, but they worked side by side. She called him “chef;” “Got it, chef!” Hal loved being at home and they ate many of their dinners in the backyard.

Both Geri and Hal really enjoyed being outdoors, so they bought a camping trailer. They trekked many times into the Columbia River Gorge and up Mount Hood and set up their camper along local rivers. Once they took a three-month vacation towing the tear-drop trailer; “We had so much fun,” Geri recalled, “and not one argument!”

Then Hal got sick. He lost his sense of taste, but typical of Hal’s positivity, he continued to say, “When I get my taste buds back we’re going to have a feast!” He declined chemo in the hope that he would regain his health, especially his taste and ability to walk, but it wasn’t to be. Geri set up the bedroom so Hal could see out the window into the backyard and watch the sunsets.

He passed away at home in 2022, comfortable and loved. In 2023 we renamed this downtown eatery that he had such a hand in building, Hal’s Cafe, in his honor.