Victoria “Queenie” Thayer outside of the Deering Oaks castle in 2022. A little over a year after Thayer opened a cafe in the building, she’s closed it for good. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer
Queenie’s Castle in Portland’s Deering Oaks has closed for good, the owner of the cafe said Saturday.
Victoria Thayer, also known as “Queenie,” opened the cafe with her sister, Marion, in June 2022. The last day of operation was July 29 during the farmers market.
She said her business encountered problems related to homeless people in the area, including vandalism, thefts and nearby drug use.
“Enough was enough,” Thayer said, adding that there were times when she felt unsafe.
Thayer said her sister’s death last spring was also a factor. “It was a multitude of everything.”
The cafe was housed in a small, castle-style structure built in 1894 by a local architect, Frederick Thompson, according to the cafe’s Facebook page. The seasonal cafe offered meals and snacks, from lobster dinners to hot dogs, pizza, sandwiches and ice cream.
The structure is about 500 square feet and is owned by the city of Portland.
The space once included a warming hut providing ice skaters the chance to cozy up by a fire and enjoy hot chocolate or coffee. In the 1950s, the building was converted into restrooms, a use that continued for decades. In 2005, the castle was renovated, its stained glass and fireplace restored.
For a time, the Greater Portland Convention and Visitors Bureau used the castle as a visitor center. In 2016, the city and the nonprofit Friends of Deering Oaks teamed up to bring food service back to the park.
Before Queenie’s Castle, the building sat vacant for several years. The castle previously housed a Mediterranean cafe, Tiqa, which closed in 2020.
Just before opening her cafe last year, Thayer said the castle was a unique venue. For years, she would drive through Deering Oaks and marvel at the historic building off State Street.
Thayer, who grew up in Portland, said she had fond memories of visiting the castle as a child. Her first name came from her father’s love of the British royal family, including Queen Victoria.
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