![]() On a personal level, he's developed a reputation for bluntness that chafes against Portland's passive-aggressive nature. He's been sued more than once, by employees, competitors and former partners. He's had huge successes and huge failures, and he just keeps going."Ĭamden's career hasn't been without controversy. "And he has a palate that is really, really good at knowing what people want. "He has a great eye for giving people what they want," says Kurt Huffman, owner of restaurant management company ChefStable. The New York Times once called Little Big Burger "the best meat puck in town." Forbes has likened the process of choosing a doughnut at Blue Star to "choosing which child is your favorite." Of Super Deluxe, Food & Wine magazine wrote that Camden "doesn't so much reinvent the burger as he does take a look at the burgers from In-N-Out, stroke his chin thoughtfully and then set about making them even better." However you want to classify it, Camden's food is popular, with critics as well as the public. He calls the food that's made him money "fast casual." Some might also call it junk food. In one of the great food cities in America, Camden, a high school dropout turned felon turned makeup artist turned chef, has built an empire on burgers, pizzas, doughnuts and ketchup. But he left that kind of food behind long ago. ![]() ![]() He once owned all or a piece of a number of fine-dining restaurants like Yakuza, DOC and Beast, all of which are still open. He had Son of a Biscuit (closed the concept didn't work), Hop Dog (closed people aren't into hot dogs), Fats (closed that's another story) and Boxer Sushi (closed his chef moved away). In the past, Camden owned Little Big Burger, which he sold in 2015 for $6.1 million to the company that owns Hooters. In November, Camden will try something completely different-health food: a dairy-free, chickpea-based ice cream shop in the Pearl called Little Bean. Right now, in addition to Super Deluxe, he is co-owner of Blue Star Donuts, Sweet Heart Pizza and Boxer Ramen. He has opened so many restaurants in Portland since his arrival in the city in 2005, it's a little hard to keep straight which ones are actually his.
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