Fuku, the fried chicken chain from celebrity chef David Chang that had angered Portland chefs over the timing of its recent expansion, will "put a pause” on local operations, CEO Alex Muñoz-Suárez said.

“We’re human, and I know that as industry leaders, sometimes you have to listen to what the communities are telling you,” Muñoz-Suárez told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Monday. “We’ve heard the commentary loud and clear, so for now we’re going to shut down operations in Portland."

Fuku’s short-lived Portland expansion began as something of a mystery, with fast-food fans opening delivery apps on Friday, April 10, to discover not just one, but nearly a half dozen Fuku locations dotting Portland. As it turned out, these Fukus weren’t secretly opened brick-and-mortars, but rather virtual restaurants run by parking lot company turned “ghost kitchen” operator Reef Kitchens. That Miami-based company, which boasts backing from Japanese investment powerhouse SoftBank, operates shipping container and food truck “vessels,” each capable of producing food for a half dozen white-label restaurants, in locations throughout Portland.

But what at first looked like a fun Easter egg hunt quickly drew criticism, with some going so far as to call for a temporary boycott on Fuku. The complaint? With restaurants and bars closed to on-premises dining across the state, and the majority of Oregon’s 155,000 service industry workers out of jobs, the timing was “strange” for a well-funded competitor to join the fray, especially one that did little to boost the local economy. Fuku’s chicken and sauces were being shipped in refrigerated trucks from New York, while the logistics of operating kitchen vessels during Gov. Kate Brown’s shelter-at-home order meant it was unlikely Reef Kitchens had added many employees to facilitate the chain’s Portland rollout.

According to Muñoz-Suárez, Fuku’s Portland rollout -- which was joined by similar delivery services in Miami and New York, where the company already has a presence -- was six months in the making. But as criticism began to mount over the weekend, he soon realized this “just wasn’t the right time”

“We are going to just step out and hope that once things get to a more healthy state and the economy is more vibrant, we can potentially reconsider,” Muñoz-Suárez said. “We hope we can regain the trust of Portland.”

-- Michael Russell, mrussell@oregonian.com, @tdmrussell

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