Brides-to-be seek refunds after abrupt closure of Portland s’mores shop
PORTLAND, Ore. () — Several brides-to-be are left out of hundreds of dollars after a Portland business unexpectedly shut down, telling clients they wouldn't be able to refund payments for upcoming events.
An email shared with KOIN 6 shows informed customers on Monday that its shop on Southwest Alder Street had closed just a few days before.
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"After 9 years of torch-firing s'mores for Portland and beyond, we are deeply saddened to abruptly close, negatively affecting our staff and customers who enjoy our shop, catering and packaged products," the company wrote, in part. "We are further saddened to share that at this moment in time we don't have the ability to perform events or reimburse deposits."
According to 25-year-old Courtney Klaasmeyer, the company's catering team notified her they had been laid off on Friday.
The Troutdale bride-to-be paid the brand about $400 in May, to serve s'mores at her wedding with nearly 100 guests in June 2025. She revealed she would have paid the remaining half next year, if it weren't for the employee who reminded her to turn off auto-pay for the event.
Klaasmeyer learned she wasn't the only person facing this issue when she asked a Facebook group for other wedding vendor recommendations.
Washougal resident Gina Shields, a fellow fiancée, also paid a $400 deposit for her wedding. She said the company had recently promoted its biggest sale of the year for event bookings.
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Another bride-to-be who started a Facebook group for other disappointed customers, Susan Nergaard, said she paid a $663 deposit. She added there were others who had already fully paid for catering in full, with their weddings just weeks away.
The closure was also news to those affiliated with 1927 S'mores Company. Former Chief Operating Officer Rodrigo Patterson took to social media to express his disappointment over the closure and "sudden layoffs."
"The circumstances surrounding it have left me feeling disheartened, and honestly embarrassed," Patterson .
Although Klaasmeyer said she empathizes with the challenges small businesses face, she also said the brand could have addressed the situation better.
"The way it was handled — the way that people who had already been laid off had to reach out to us to let us know, 'Hey, this isn't going to happen,' — it makes it so different," Klaasmeyer explained.
James Kelly founded 1927 S'mores Company as a Northwest Portland food cart in 2015, and he opened its brick-and-mortar location later in 2020.
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In the brand's closure announcement, the business claimed it is "working to reorganize and raise money," in hopes of reopening within the next few weeks.
When KOIN 6 reached out to the company's customer experience team for comment, we received an automatic email that read: "Sadly we've closed our doors, but we're working feverishly to reopen and serve our customers again as soon as possible. Please stay tuned for updates!"
