News broke in the paper today that Hans is closing. As of August 31st, when their lease is up. It’s been a downtown staple for 24 years.

“It’s really a positive change for ourselves,” Weiss-Hoffman said. “The opportunity came up, and we feel it’s a good time to walk away with our heads up high.”

When the Wall Street restaurant’s lease came up this month, Weiss-Hoffman saw it as a sign that it’s time to call it quits. The restaurant’s rent would have increased, but not an unreasonable amount, Weiss-Hoffman said, emphasizing that rent prices didn’t drive her decision.

Her decision to close was based on many factors, she said, including downtown Bend’s increasingly competitive restaurant industry — at least two new restaurants have opened downtown this summer — rising food costs and a tight labor market.

“When it comes to the bottom line, there’s not a whole lot left at the end of the year,” she said. “And every new restaurant takes a little bit out — everybody wants a piece of the pie, but the pie is only so big.”

(I think that last line there is a pretty good summation of how downtown has developed in recent years. Whether that’s good or bad, I’ll leave up to you.)

This sucks. First Super Burrito, now Hans. I remember way back when Hans was just a bakery, Pastries by Hans. Then it developed into a bakery-and-sandwich place, etc. etc. These days it’s one of the better downtown restaurants and lunch spots.