Updated 5:34 p.m.

Henry’s Tavern, a popular Pearl District watering hole and restaurant, quietly closed its doors for good after notifying staff only hours before it shuttered.

“Thank you Portland for the past 15 years of fun memories,” the bar and grill, whose celebrated brick smokestacks towered above Northwest 12th Avenue and Burnside Street, posted to Instagram on Saturday morning. “We will miss each and everyone [sic] of you.”

A former manager told The Oregonian/OregonLive that employees learned of the pending closure Friday afternoon.

“It was completely out of the blue,” said the manager, who spoke on the condition that their name not be used. “More than 100 people depend on this job to pay the bills and support their families.”

Patrons had their final drinks at the bar just before 1 a.m., the manager said.

A Henry’s outpost at the Portland International Airport remained open Saturday night.

Restaurants Unlimited, the Seattle-based parent company for a number of Portland-area restaurants — including Henry’s, Portland City Grill and Palomino — field for bankruptcy in July.

According to Restaurant Business Magazine, the company had been seeking a buyer but struggled as labor costs crept up and sales dropped.

A U.S. bankruptcy court this week approved the sale of Restaurants Unlimited to dining and hospitality giant Landry’s for $37 million, Bloomberg reported.

It’s not clear whether the sale prompted Henry’s to close suddenly, or if other Restaurants Unlimited properties are slated to shutter.

Neither Restaurants Unlimited nor Landry’s could be reached for comment.

Located in the historic Weinhard Brewery Complex, whose 135-year run of churning out suds began before the end of the Civil War, Henry’s offered more than 100 beers on tap and an array of midscale fare.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632

Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh

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