A vegetarian restaurant that opened last year to much fanfare has finally reopened after being temporarily closed during the pandemic.

Shook had a fire in Sept. 2019 just months after it opened, and the bad luck continued for the new Israeli restaurant as time went on with COVID-19 hitting the city less than a year after that.

Shook specializes in vegetarian Israeli cuisine. 

The restaurant now has a Dec. 11 reopening date, and will be offering their menu in a takeout and delivery format. Coffee, baked goods and mezze are available to order, and diners can expect dishes like kohlrabi latkes and celeriac shawarma. Non-toxic biodegradable containers are sourced from Green Shift.

Shook's Israeli dishes will be on offer for takeout again after over a year.

Their Portland restaurant has been transformed into a bottle shop and retail space selling plants, books and housewares including items like beeswax wraps, natural dye kits and upcycled sustainable market bags.

Shook is operated by Scale Hospitality, which also oversees Lapinou and Wheatsheaf Tavern.

Shook is reopening with a marketplace for plants and housewares.

"As the pandemic hit, we thought it best to put our resources into supporting our staff in the restaurants that were operating successfully," says Hanif Harji, CEO of Scale Hospitality.

"We feel now is a good time to re-open, and offer everyone something new and exciting as we optimistically enter the holiday season and the coming year."