The Oregon Lottery confirms that all Shari’s restaurants in Oregon have closed

The Oregon Lottery received confirmation today that Shari’s Restaurants, the 24-hour video lottery and pie chain founded in Hermiston in 1978 and known for its distinctive hexagon-shaped stores, has served its last serving at Oregon.

“They are all closed as of today,” says Oregon Lottery spokesman Matt Shelby. “We just learned this.”

Shari’s started the year with 42 Oregon locations but, after a series of closings, was down to 17 as of the start of this week.

The Oregon Lottery is keeping a close eye on Shari’s because the retailer’s video lottery terminals generate substantial revenue. (In an earlier story about Shari’s troubles, KGW reported that the chain collectively generated more than $34 million in lottery revenue last year, earning $7.45 million in commissions.)

Each of Shari’s stores, like all lottery retailers, deposits the money that players enter into terminals into a bank account, to which the agency has access. Once a week, Shelby says, the agency pulls its share of the revenue from that shared account.

Earlier this year, Shelby adds, Shari’s account dried up, an indication that the chain was struggling financially. The agency shut down gambling access at all of Shari’s locations until Shari paid and posted a performance bond. As individual Shari’s have closed across the state this year, Oregon Lottery staff immediately visited the locations to pick up the terminals (up to six per location) and bring them back to Salem, where they refurbish and ship to new retailers. (Shelby says that when Shari went dark for a weekend, records show lottery players simply took their business to nearby retailers, so the Oregon Lottery doesn’t anticipate a material drop in revenue from the disappearance of the chain.)

On Monday, as rumors of Shari’s closing circulated on social media, Oregon Lottery staff reached out to the chain’s office for information. Around noon, Shelby says, Oregon Lottery Director Mike Wells sent an email to all staff: Shari’s is over.

“Shari’s was a longtime Oregon institution and lottery retailer,” Wells wrote. “I’m sure many of you have memories of afternoon comfort food, Sunday breakfast or tasty cakes.

“That said, Shari’s has struggled for years and we’ve supported them as they tried to find solutions. With all of the restaurants closing, the financial risks of continuing to work together are too great. I’m not happy about this decision, but it’s the right one for the Lottery and for the State of Oregon.”

Shelby says agency staff are working to handle the end of a long relationship.

“We’ve disabled all of their terminals,” Shelby says, “and we’re in the process of canceling their retail contract.”

A spokesman for Shari could not immediately be reached for comment, but the lottery provided an email from Samuel Borgese, the founder of Shari’s parent company, Gather Holdings, who said: “I can confirm at this time that all Shari’s in Oregon are closed.”