Oven and Shaker closing in Lake Oswego, will be replaced by another Portland pizzeria 

Published 11:49 am Wednesday, July 30, 2025

The Lake Oswego community can say goodbye to one pizzeria and welcome another in the coming months.

Pizzeria Otto, which offers a Neapolitan-style pizza at two locations in Portland, is replacing Oven and Shaker in the Mercato Grove housing and retail development on Mercantile Drive. Over and Shaker announced it will close Aug. 10.

Following a career in software development, Clark Hale opened the original Pizzeria Otto on Sandy Boulevard in 2014. He was a passionate cook and self-described pizza geek who wanted to replicate the traditional wood-fired, soft crust pizzas found in Naples. He said that his pizzas are cooked at a higher temperature and with finer flower than other wood-fired pizzerias, resulting in a pizza with a light crust and a soft center. Chefs at the restaurant learned under the direction of master pizzaiolo Enzo Coccia at his Pizzeria La Notizia in Naples, and Hale said he has heard customers from Naples rave about the pizza.

“It’s distinctive. I’m really glad to stake our claim with the neapolitan style. It’s cool and not many places are doing it quite as determinedly neapolitan as we do,” Hale said.

While Mercato Grove has seen its share of restaurants close since it opened in 2021 — including Lardo, St. Jack and Tasty — Hale felt that his restaurant mirrors  Grassa, which continues to serve customers as one of the original occupants at the center.

“The Oven and Shaker space is a good opportunity,” Hale said. “I think what we realized is, in the Mercato Grove space, one of the businesses that has succeeded best is Grassa. They do elevated pasta dishes, serve high-quality dishes and in a casual, fast service, counter service atmosphere that is low key and good for kids … We have a similar vibe: We do counter service, are family friendly, like big groups and we aren’t stuffy.”

According to a press release, Pizzeria Otto has a happy hour offering a margherita pizza for $9 and microbrews or house wine for $6 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., along with rotating specials. Hale said the restaurant strives to be affordable for families and the restaurant is also well-known for its gluten-free pizzas. For more information, visit https://www.pizzeriaotto.com/.

Hale said they have to do some remodeling of the space and expected Pizzeria Otto to serve customers this fall.

Oven and Shaker co-founder Ryan Magarian announced the closure of his pizzeria in a Facebook post. He said the restaurant’s last service will be Aug. 10 and encouraged the community to stop by before then.

“To the Lake Oswego Community and Beyond,

The time has finally come for Oven and Shaker in Mercado Grove to say goodbye.

Bearing this in mind, we’d like to thank our guests for your support, as well as take this moment to express our pride in the quality of our team and their efforts over the past 3 years to project our experience into your neck of the woods,” Magarian wrote.

The closure means that five of the six restaurants that opened at Mercato Grove under the ChefStable restaurant group in 2021 have closed there, with just Grassa remaining. Other closures included Fills Donuts, Lardo, St. Jack and Tasty.

A representative of ChefStable said that Grassa would remain open and is well liked in Lake Oswego. The center also has recently welcomed The Whole Bowl and Sool K-Food & Bar to the fold. Some challenges previously cited included visibility and parking.