SE Portland restaurant gives away 300 high-demand reservations

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - A southeast Portland restaurant led by chef Gregory Gourdet won the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in June.

Ever since then, reservations have been tough to get.

On Friday, Kann announced it would be giving out reservations at a Saturday event at a Chinatown tea shop called Barnes and Morgan on Northwest Second Avenue.

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All guests needed to do was buy some tea and then they’d be given reservations on a first come, first served basis.

The event went from noon until 4 p.m. Saturday, but people lined up well before noon, with some waiting in line for hours. Jenn Brigham, who had just received a reservation, spoke with FOX 12.

“I haven’t been and been wanting to go and I tried for the September reservations, but they sold out in a matter of minutes online, so it’s really great to have opportunity to get it in person,” Brigham said.

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The restaurant specializes in Haitian cuisine.

Kann gave out 300 October reservations.

Fans of the restaurant say event was a big plus, because not only did they get reservations - they also helped an Oldtown business and brought in customers to the old town area of Portland.

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