Macheezmo Mouse

{{Short description|Restaurant chain based in the U.S. state of Oregon}}

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| established = 1981

| closed = May 2003

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| food-type = Mexican

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Macheezmo Mouse was a fast food Mexican restaurant chain based in the U.S. state of Oregon.{{cite news|last1=Apalategui|first1=Eric|title=Beaverton's Jeff and Danell Burlingame aim to revive Macheezmo Mouse|date=2015-01-15|newspaper=Beaverton Valley Times|url=https://pamplinmedia.com/bvt/15-news/247199-115026-beavertons-jeff-and-danell-burlingame-aim-to-revive-macheezmo-mouse|access-date=2022-11-07}}

Description

Macheezmo Mouse served Mexican food with a focus on fast service, fresh ingredients, and inexpensive, healthy menu options.{{cite news|last1=Buck|first1=Richard|title=Mouse Money -- Restaurant Hopes Stock Offering Will Serve Up Its Future|date=1994-08-23|newspaper=The Seattle Times|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19940823&slug=1926739|access-date=2022-11-09}} In 2016, a 90s retrospective by The Oregonian{{'s}} Lizzy Acker remembered the chain's "affordable, 'healthy' food in a fast casual environment everybody's mom loved."{{Cite web|last=Acker|first=Lizzy|date=2016-08-24|title=18 things we miss from '90s Portland|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/trending/2016/08/portland_in_the_90s.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-06|website=The Oregonian|language=en|archive-date=2021-09-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917153010/https://www.oregonlive.com/trending/2016/08/portland_in_the_90s.html}}

History

William "Tiger" Warren founded Macheezmo Mouse in collaboration with Michael Vidor in 1981, adapting the restaurant's name from one of his nicknames.{{Cite web|last=Butler|first=Grant|date=2017-01-01|title=Tasty memories: 97 long-gone Portland restaurants we wish were still around|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/dining/2016/12/tasty_memories_97_long-gone_po.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-06|website=The Oregonian|language=en|archive-date=2020-12-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201228051534/https://www.oregonlive.com/dining/2016/12/tasty_memories_97_long-gone_po.html}}{{cite news|author=Seattle Times Staff|title=Chain's Founder, 3 Children Killed|date=1999-11-29|newspaper=The Seattle Times|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19991129&slug=2998260|access-date=2022-11-11}} While the company made a brief and unsuccessful attempt to expand to the San Francisco Bay area, by 1994 it had grown to include 13 locations in the Portland and Seattle areas, when it made an initial public offering in an effort to fund growth and ongoing operations. At the time, despite annual operating profits of $789,000, the company's total operations had resulted in "negative retained earnings" and showed working capital of negative $640,000. The stock price opened at $6/share and briefly rose as high as $11, allowing the chain to grow to a peak of 23 restaurants.{{Cite news|title=Macheezmo Mouse making a comeback|url=https://www.kgw.com/article/news/macheezmo-mouse-making-a-comeback/283-71568040|date=2014-01-24|url-status=live|access-date=2022-11-06|website=KGW|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-10-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006190703/https://www.kgw.com/article/news/macheezmo-mouse-making-a-comeback/283-71568040}}{{cite news|last1=Perez|first1=Elizabeth|title=Macheezmo Mouse Stock Sinks 35% As Company Deflates Profit Forecasts|date=1995-09-26|newspaper=The Seattle Times|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19950926&slug=2143650|access-date=2022-11-09}} However, same-store sales fell by 25% over the next year and profits collapsed to a third of IPO levels, sending the stock falling to $3.25/share by the end of September 1995. In 1997, the company closed its remaining Seattle stores, and by 1999 the stock was trading for "pennies", despite expanding its offerings into packaged burritos offered through regional Costco stores. Founder William Warren died on November 27, 1999, when the de Havilland Beaver he was piloting crashed into the Columbia River just after takeoff.

After a continued decline, the company closed its last four restaurants and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in May 2003, leaving many employees unpaid.{{cite report|title=Securities Exchange Act OF 1934, Release No. 61538|date=2010-02-18|publisher=Securities and Exchange Commission|url=https://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2010/34-61538.pdf|access-date=2022-11-11}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.wweek.com/portland/article-2083-the-mouse-that-died.html|title=The Mouse that Died|first=Amy|last=Row|date=May 27, 2003|work=Willamette Week|access-date=October 6, 2021|archive-date=January 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130054040/https://www.wweek.com/portland/article-2083-the-mouse-that-died.html|url-status=live}}

=Attempts to Relaunch=

In 2010, Diane Hall, one of the company's early directors, attempted to revive the restaurant's "Boss Sauce" as a bottled product.{{Cite web|last=Beck|first=Byron|date=2010-09-27|title=Macheezmo Mouse Boss Sauce Returning To Store Shelves|url=https://pdx.eater.com/2010/9/27/6717511/macheezmo-mouse-boss-sauce-returning-to-store-shelves|access-date=2021-10-06|website=Eater Portland|language=en|authorlink=Byron Beck (blogger)|publisher=Vox Media}}

Jeff and Danell Burlingame, who met while working at Macheezmo, later purchased the company's trademarks, recipes, and operations guides from Hall and in 2013 announced plans to relaunch the chain.{{Cite web|last=Russell|first=Michael|date=2013-08-17|title=Can Macheezmo Mouse make a comeback? New owners hope so|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/dining/2013/08/the_mouse_hopes_to_avoid_traps.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-06|website=The Oregonian|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024164637/https://www.oregonlive.com/dining/2013/08/the_mouse_hopes_to_avoid_traps.html|archive-date=2021-10-24}}{{Cite web|last=Russell|first=Michael|date=2013-07-29|title=Macheezmo Mouse returning with Beaverton location|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/dining/2013/07/macheezmo_mouse_returning_with.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-06|website=The Oregonian|language=en|archive-date=2020-11-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111194321/https://www.oregonlive.com/dining/2013/07/macheezmo_mouse_returning_with.html}} Their IndieGoGo campaign was intended to crowdfund $87,000 as proof of interest for investors, but was unsuccessful, raising less than $5,000. The Burlingames continued attempts to revive the chain through 2015, expressing hopes that "one or a handful of larger investors" would help provide $250,000 in funding for an initial location. As of 2022 no relaunch has occurred.

Gus Van Sant mural

A restaurant in southeast Portland featured an interior mural by Warren's friend, Gus Van Sant. The mural was believed to be painted over,{{Cite news|last=Row|first=D. K.|last2=|first2=|date=2010-05-06|title=Gus Van Sant's other focus -- photography -- on display in two Oregon shows|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/art/2010/05/gus_van_sants_other_focus.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-11-10|newspaper=The Oregonian|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206203729/https://www.oregonlive.com/art/2010/05/gus_van_sants_other_focus.html|archive-date=2021-12-06}} but was rediscovered in 2013 (Chez Machin, later Frog & Snail).{{Cite web|last=Perry|first=Douglas|date=2017-02-24|title=The fascinating history of 25 Portland public-art gems|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/trending/2017/02/a_disappearing_president_the_r.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-06|website=The Oregonian|language=en|archive-date=2019-09-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190915065201/https://www.oregonlive.com/trending/2017/02/a_disappearing_president_the_r.html}}{{Cite news|last=Russell|first=Michael|date=2013-08-20|title=Finding director Gus Van Sant's 'lost' Macheezmo Mouse mural|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/dining/2013/08/finding_director_gus_van_sants.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-06|newspaper=The Oregonian|language=en|archive-date=2021-01-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117145326/https://www.oregonlive.com/dining/2013/08/finding_director_gus_van_sants.html}}

See also

References

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