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Quick Take:
A Mexican restaurant near 19th and Agate is being renamed and remodeled. A beloved cafe that employs people with disabilities is asking for help to overcome financial difficulties.
Santo de la Torta, soon to be Siesta Seven
After two years making tortas and burritos at Santo de la Torta in the University neighborhood near 19th Avenue and Agate Street, owner Sara Willis plans to close the shop and relaunch it in mid-September as a Mexican-inspired bar and bistro that will be called Siesta Seven.
“I think the neighborhood has spoken, and they want a bistro,” she said.
She plans to remove an interior wall to create a larger bar and expand the tiny kitchen to accommodate a more sophisticated menu.
Mexican food is Willis’ specialty, something she’s cultivated since she first moved to Mexico at age 22 to be a private chef. One of Willis’ prior restaurants in Eugene was Red Agave, and she says that when she offers Red Agave nights at Santo de la Torta, the restaurant is packed. People “want to remember that,” Willis said.
The new concept will have “tones” of Red Agave’s influence, but she wants to create something fresh that better suits the neighborhood and is more inspiring to her. Menu plans include a chicken soup made with masa along with some seven-themed offerings such as seven margaritas and roast pork taco plates with seven salsas.
The restaurant will also add outdoor seating with a permanent patio structure. Willis will remain open through at least Aug. 3 to accommodate visitors in town for the USATF Outdoor & Para National Championships.
Santo de la Torta / Siesta Seven
1607 E. 19th Ave.
santotorta.com
Abilities Diner & Bakery seeks community support
Abilities Diner & Bakery, which exclusively employs individuals with physical and mental disabilities, is struggling to stay afloat after just more than a year in business. Owner Juliann Fitzgerald is launching a community cookbook fundraiser to help keep the doors open.
The cookbook will feature recipes submitted by customers, employees and their families, with a $25 gift card prize for the best recipe. Submissions are now being accepted through Sept. 30, with publication planned for Nov. 1.
Fitzgerald opened the restaurant because her autistic son, Alex, wanted to work but couldn’t find stable employment. Since then, she has faced multiple challenges including two burglaries, broken equipment that is expensive to repair, and rising costs related to the building she’s renting. She’s paying close to $10,000 per month in rent for the space at Blair Boulevard and Eighth Avenue that formerly housed Falling Sky.
Despite the obstacles, the cafe has earned stellar reviews and was recently nominated for Best New Restaurant and Best Meal for the Money by The Register-Guard’s Community Choice Awards.
“Usually I tell people we’re not fast food, but our food is delicious,” Fitzgerald said.
Most of the cafe’s recipes are her own, and Fitzgerald has spent considerable time perfecting each item, taste-testing dozens of products to find the right ingredients. The cafe serves traditional diner fare, including chicken fried steak and other classic comfort food.
The restaurant accommodates diverse needs, serving everyone from business professionals to customers who need their food pureed, creating an environment where “everyone is welcome.”
Currently employing 11 people, down from 13 due to financial constraints, the cafe represents more than just a business to Fitzgerald.
“I could never let my employees down,” she said. “They’re just so grateful to have the work, and they love it here.”
And she loves it at Abilities, too, despite the fact that she often works 12 to 15 hours a day, and more on weekends. She calls Abilities her “passion” and her “sanctuary.”
“I am so happy here knowing that the customers appreciate it, and my employees appreciate me,” she said. “It’s such a wonderful place to be that it doesn’t feel like a job. I just feel like this is where I’m meant to be.”
To submit recipes to Abilities Diner & Bakery’s cookbook, contact abilitiesbakery@gmail.com or call 541-729-5140.
Abilities Diner & Bakery
790 Blair Blvd.
541-603-9888
abilitiesdinerandbakery.com
Lemon & Olive named one of the country’s best bars
USA Today has released the results of its nominations for the 27 Bars of the Year for 2025 from across the country, and Eugene’s Lemon & Olive is one of them. USA Today released the list July 30.
“We’re just happy to be part of the Eugene food and cocktail scene and glad to bring national attention to all of us in the restaurant community working to showcase this great valley we live in,” Kirsten Hansen, co-owner of Lemon & Olive, told Lookout Eugene-Springfield. The bars were nominated by local reporters and selected from those submissions.
Lemon & Olive is the sister bar to Lion & Owl, which Hansen also operates, along with her wife, Crystal Platt. Lion & Owl initially opened in 2017 in an Airstream trailer, which is now parked inside their brick-and-mortar location at 11th Avenue and Oak Street in Eugene. Lemon & Olive opened in 2023 in the space next door, formerly occupied by Civic Winery.
Hansen primarily handles the front of the house, as well as the wine and bar program, while Platt, who was nominated for a 2023 James Beard Award as one of the best chefs in the Pacific Northwest, handles the kitchen.
Lemon & Olive
50 E. 11th Ave.
541-968-2218
lemonandolivecocktailbar.com
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