3rd Street
Portland
July 12, 2021
I knew of this theater because as I was researching “Paris, Oregon” back in 2019, photos of this theater would show up in my search results. I’m counting this as another Paris on my list If for no other reason than the building dates back to 1890.
About the Paris Theater:
Paris Theatre, formerly Third Avenue Theatre and also known as Paris Theateror Ray's Paris Theatre, is an historic building in Portland, Oregon's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, in the United States. The theatre was constructed in 1890 and opened as a burlesque house. It was later converted to a cinema, then a club and music venue, before serving as an adult movie theater until 2016. The building was a live venue and nightclub until it closed in October 2019.
About Voodoo Doughnuts:
Voodoo Doughnut is an American doughnut company based in Portland, Oregon with a current total of 11 stores in California, Colorado, Florida, Oregon, and Texas and one in Taiwan. Donut eating contests were a long-held tradition, but they were suspended following a choking death at the Denver location in 2017.
Slogan"The Magic is in the Hole"
History
Voodoo Doughnut was founded in May 2003[6]by Kenneth “Cat Daddy” Pogson and Richard "Tres" Shannon III. The company's logo features a version of Baron Samedi, Voodoo Loa of the dead. During the business's first few years, it was only open at night.
The original location closed between April to June 2011 for remodeling after the company acquired space next door that was formerly occupied by a nightclub called Berbati's Pan. Much of the expansion involved creating additional room for the kitchen.
In August 2011, Voodoo Doughnut's staff constructed an enlarged version of its box for the Portland Bridge Festival that contained 3,880 doughnuts. The box was filled with smaller boxes and topped off with individual doughnuts until it reached 666 lbs, a number which, as Shannon explained, was chosen to go along with their voodoo theme. According to NBC News, it was the biggest box of doughnuts in the world.
Also in 2011, Voodoo Doughnut began partnering with Rogue Ales to convert several of its doughnut flavors into bottled beer. These have included: Bacon Maple Ale and Chocolate, Peanut Butter, and Banana Ale. The latter was taken from its Memphis Mafia doughnut, which serves a tribute to Elvis Presley. That same year, the Los Angeles Times declared Voodoo Doughnut an international tourist attraction.
In April 2017, a man choked to death while attempting to consume a half-pound doughnut within 80 seconds at the Colfax Avenuelocation in Denver. The eating contest, which was also a long-running tradition at other locations, has been suspended since this incident. The death occurred in the lobby of the shop.
According to the contest's rules, anyone capable of eating the entire cake-sized treat would receive a commemorative pin and not have to pay for the doughnut.
Doughnuts
Voodoo Doughnut offers over 100 varieties in total.
Two of their doughnuts, the NyQuil Glazed doughnut and the Vanilla Pepto Crushed Tumsdoughnut, are no longer available due to an order from local health officials. According to one of the company's co-owners, "The NyQuil one was kind of a lark, but that's the one that got the most famous. With the Pepto doughnut, I honestly thought if you had that shot of tequila you shouldn't have at 2:00 a.m., and then you got sugar, bread, Pepto, and Tums, you'd either feel better or puke your ass off and then feel better because you got it out of your system. So it was a win-win either way."
On December 24, 2008, Voodoo Doughnut's Portland Creme doughnut was designated Portland's "Official City Doughnut" by a resolution introduced by Portland Mayor Tom Potter and passed by city commissioners the same night. The resolution also expressed Portlanders' "deepest gratitude to Voodoo Doughnut management for its dedication in the face of these stringent economic times in providing employment opportunities... and above all, creating and naming a doughnut after our beloved city that leaves a lasting taste and fond memories on its customers near and far away.". Later, Mayor Potter and mayoral candidate Sam Adams attended a midnight doughnut-eating contest.
Television
Voodoo Doughnut has been featured on television series including: No Reservations, Man v. Food, Doughnut Paradise.
Jay Leno included a joke about Voodoo Doughnut during a 2004 Tonight Show opening monologue and said "Did you hear about the doughnut shop in Portland, Oregon, that has caffeinated doughnuts? Yeah, I guess you can stay awake during your bypass surgery."
Voodoo Doughnut Recordings
In 2013, Voodoo Doughnut founders, Cat Daddy and Tres, started a record label named Voodoo Doughnut Recordings with the intent of establishing a catalog of doughnut-related music to help promote the company's brand. Early novelty acts included The Deep Fried Boogie Band and The Doughnut Boys. The label expanded to other artists such as Poison Idea, The Dandy Warhols, Dead Moon, Smegma, Jerry Joseph, Devin Millar, and Hazel. The label also releases recordings of comedians such as Ian Karmel.