Nel Centro

Nel Centro was a restaurant located in downtown Portland, Oregon. It opened in 2009 and became part of the Portland restaurant portfolio associated with chef and restaurateur David Machado. The restaurant operated during a period in which Portland developed a nationally recognized dining scene, although the available reference material does not provide detailed information about its cuisine, menu, design, pricing, or customer positioning. Baker Lee Posey was associated with the restaurant at its opening but left in 2009. John Eisenhart became executive chef in 2015, marking a documented change in the restaurant's culinary leadership. Nel Centro remained in operation for approximately eleven years. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Machado permanently closed Nel Centro and four other Portland restaurants, including Altabira City Tavern. The closure reflected the severe disruption that the pandemic caused for restaurants through mandated restrictions, reduced traffic, staffing challenges, and broader changes in dining behavior, although the cited material does not specify the individual financial or operational factors affecting Nel Centro. The Nel Centro site later received a new restaurant occupant: PLS on Sixth began operating in the space in May 2025 as a second location of San Francisco's PLS on Post. Nel Centro is therefore a defunct local restaurant brand rather than an active national or international chain. No current website, public company listing, parent company, or surviving operating division is identified in the available sources.

Nel Centro opened in downtown Portland, Oregon, in 2009. The available historical record identifies Baker Lee Posey as having left the restaurant in its opening year, but it does not explain the circumstances of that departure or provide further detail about the founding team. Nel Centro was part of the Portland restaurant interests associated with chef and restaurateur David Machado. The available sources do not document the restaurant's original concept in detail, including its cuisine, interior design, menu, or intended customer segment. In 2015, John Eisenhart became Nel Centro's executive chef. His appointment is the clearest documented culinary leadership transition in the restaurant's history. Nel Centro continued operating in downtown Portland for several more years. The restaurant's period of operation coincided with Portland's growth as a prominent food city, but the cited material does not establish a specific national profile, expansion program, or chain structure for Nel Centro. It appears to have remained a single-location restaurant. The restaurant closed permanently in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. David Machado also permanently closed four other Portland restaurants at the same time, including Altabira City Tavern. The available reference describes the closures in the context of the pandemic but does not provide separate revenue figures, employment numbers, lease details, or a precise statement of which public-health restrictions or commercial pressures determined Nel Centro's closure. Because the business did not reopen, its status is defunct. The former Nel Centro premises later returned to restaurant use. In May 2025, PLS on Sixth began operating at the site as a second location of San Francisco's PLS on Post. This later occupancy is a separate restaurant operation and does not represent a continuation or revival of the Nel Centro brand. No current Nel Centro website, parent company, public listing, or active operating market is identified in the available material.

• 2025

  Former site becomes PLS on Sixth

  [1]Nel Centroen.wikipedia.org

  PLS on Sixth begins operating in the former Nel Centro space in May as a second location of San Francisco's PLS on Post.

• 2020

  Permanent closure

  [1]Nel Centroen.wikipedia.org

  Nel Centro closes permanently during the COVID-19 pandemic along with four other Portland restaurants associated with David Machado.

• 2015

  John Eisenhart becomes executive chef

  [1]Nel Centroen.wikipedia.org

  John Eisenhart assumes the role of executive chef.

• 2009

  Restaurant opens in downtown Portland

  [1]Nel Centroen.wikipedia.org

  Nel Centro opens in downtown Portland, Oregon.

• 2009

  Baker Lee Posey leaves

  [1]Nel Centroen.wikipedia.org

  Baker Lee Posey leaves Nel Centro during its opening year.

A downtown Portland restaurant brand associated with David Machado's local restaurant group; detailed cuisine and market-positioning information is not identified in the available reference material.

• 2020

  Permanent closure during the COVID-19 pandemicOther

  Background

  Nel Centro was one of five Portland restaurants that David Machado permanently closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  Action taken

  The restaurant ceased operations permanently.

  Aftermath

  The location later reopened under a different restaurant brand, PLS on Sixth, in May 2025.

  Source

1. 1Nel Centroen.wikipedia.org