Marcy’s Diner, a popular Portland breakfast spot that made national headlines last year after a spat between the owner and the mother of a fussy toddler, has been closed for a week because owner Darla Neugebauer is too sick to work.

“Very sorry! Closed. I am too sick to work. See you soon I hope,” reads a note taped to the window signed by Neugebauer, who is known for her humorous Facebook posts about the diner.

A longer note on the diner’s door – apparently posted after the initial notice that the diner was closed – says Neugebauer has conjunctivitis. In parentheses, she notes, “Doug’s dog’s hair in my eyes started it!”

“Another 10 days or ’til my eye is cleared up!” Neugebauer wrote. “I will open as soon as I can! I am going nuts!”

Customers arrive at Marcy’s Diner in Portland on Friday. What went down between parents of an antsy toddler and the annoyed, profanity-prone restaurant owner is a case of she said-she said.

Marcy’s Diner

On Friday, Neugebauer said she can’t say for sure when the diner – located at the corner of Free and Oak streets – will reopen.

“I will not risk the health of my staff or my customers,” she said. “When it’s gone, I will be back.”

Advertisement

Regular customers seem to miss Neugebauer and the diner. Notes taped to and stuck in the door wished Neugebauer a quick recovery.

“Feel better! Give us a buzz when you’re open again,” reads a note from the Holiday Inn staff.

Neugebauer updates the diner’s Facebook pages daily with descriptions of homemade muffins and decadent French toast. The last update, posted June 27, listed the daily specials as Butterfinger muffins, Cap’n Crunch French Toast and spicy sausage and kale soup.

Last July, Neugebauer used her Facebook page to describe an encounter with a young girl who had been crying for 40 minutes while her parents talked. The incident sparked a torrent of social media criticism aimed at both Neugebauer and the parents of the child.

“I (well the demon) snarled at top volume, ‘That needs to stop!’ Neugebauer wrote on her Facebook page last July. “They (the parents) said did you just yell at a child? Yup! Sure did! Shut her up too! Why is it OK for that kid to disrupt the experience for 75 people when mommy and daddy could have taken it outside?”

The mother of the child, Tara Carson, responded by calling Neugebauer “an absolute lunatic” and said her child was traumatized after being screamed at by an adult. Carson later wrote a post about the encounter on The Washington Post website.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.