Pastini

Pastini (formerly Pastini Pastaria) is a chain of Italian-American restaurants in the U.S. state of Oregon. There are eight restaurants, as of 2017. In 2018, the company was among the largest in Oregon owned by women, with approximately 300 employees, according to Portland Business Journal.

Description


Pastini serves Italian-American cuisine. The Bend restaurant had 30 pasta options, as of 2014. In 2020, Willamette Week Matthew Singer called the chain "Oregon's answer to Olive Garden".

History and locations
There were three restaurants in Portland, plus one in Bend and another in Corvallis, as of 2016. Craig and Susan Bashel and Kara Hale were owners at the time.

In September 2020, Pastini supplied food to the Lyons Fire Department during the Santiam Fire and donated proceeds from each meal served at restaurants to the Red Cross Cascades Fire fund.

Portland
The Bashels and Hale opened the first restaurant near the Lloyd Center in 2001. Five more restaurants were opened in Portland within six years. One of the Portland restaurants is housed on the ground level of the Studio Building, near Director Park in downtown. The restaurant installed a 23.5 ft sign on the Studio Building's exterior. During a remodel, the restaurant learned some of the Guild Theatre's restrooms were "technically in its space".

Previously, there was a restaurant in northwest Portland's Nob Hill district, which was replaced by Grassa.

In December 2020, Bashel represented Pastini in the Rose City Downtown Collective, a coalition of business seeking to revitalize the city center following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bend and Corvallis
Pastini expanded into Bend and Corvallis in 2008. The Bend restaurant opened in the Old Mill District. During the pandemic, the restaurant offered takeout services, as of May.

Eugene
Owners confirmed plans for a restaurant in Eugene in 2016. The restaurant opened in July 2017.

Reception
Pastini has been included in guides published by Fodor's in 2008, and 2010, and 2011. In her 2011 book Fun with the Family Oregon: Hundreds of Ideas for Day Trips with the Kids, Sarah Pagliasotti said Pastini offered "inexpensive and elegant pasta that's a perennial family favorite". Pastini won first place in the Best Italian category of the Daily Emerald "Best of Campus" 2020 edition, which said, "This bistro chain is the perfect place to get a classic taste of the Italian food you’re craving with a fun modern twist, both in the ambiance and the flavors. Pastini has a wide range of contemporary plates and appetizers to satisfy whatever genre of noodle you’re hoping for."