Fire again damages Reo's Ribs in NE Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- For the third time in 5 years, fire damaged Reo's Ribs in Northeast Portland.

Around 2 a.m. Saturday, a fire started near the door of the eatery, 4211 NE Sandy Boulevard, and extended inside, PFR officials told KOIN 6 News. Fire crews were able to quickly extinguish the fire and no one was hurt.

The exact cause of this fire is undetermined but arson investigators were called to the scene.

On November 23, 2020, arson caused a fire that significantly damaged the Northeast Portland restaurant. A 38-year-old woman was arrested about a month after that fire.

Reo’s was destroyed in another fire back in 2017 and reopened after rebuilding. That fire was determined to be accidental, but owner Reo Varnado said at the time he did not believe that.

At the time of the first fire in 2017, Reo was in Los Angeles taping television segments with Martha Stewart when the fire destroyed his restaurant.

“You put your whole heart and soul into something that you like in life, that you love, and people try to come and take it away from you,” Varnado said in a statement at that time.

Varnado, the uncle of Snoop Dogg, died in January 2022.

KOIN 6 News will have more information later in the day.