Bugatti’s Ristorante, a favorite of West Linn’s food scene for more than 30 years, will serve its last pasta dish on Nov. 3.

The restaurant announced its closure on Facebook earlier this week.

The restaurant business is notoriously tough and there are always places closed, but Bugatti’s, which opened in 1991, attracts more than a loyal following (which is Facebook to express sadness at the news). The restaurant and its sister location in Oregon City (which remains open) are owned by industrialist Robert Pamplin Jr.

Pamplin is best known for owning Ross Island Sand & Gravel and, until earlier this year, Pamplin Communications, which owned the Portland Tribune and 24 other Oregon newspapers. Pamplin’s company, RB Pamplin Corp. Also south and close to home is a textile mill, Mt. Vernon Mills also owns Columbia Empire Farms and Pamplin Vineyards in Yamhill County, among other holdings.

Like WW Pamplin’s RB Pamplin Corp., which exists to pay retirement benefits to more than 2,000 current and former employees from various RB Pamplin companies. He reported making more than 70 highly unusual transactions by selling or transferring real estate to his retirement plan. These transactions appear to violate federal pension laws that prohibit related party transactions and conflicts of interest. The U.S. Department of Labor, which regulates pensions, sued Pamplin and RB Pamplin Corp. in U.S. District Court in Portland in September, seeking the return of tens of millions of dollars to the pension fund.

Relating to: Federal Regulators Sue Robert Pamplin Jr. Over Massive Pension Fund Abuses

This is the background to what might otherwise seem like an ordinary restaurant closing.

Bugatti’s manager, Cheryl Russo, said: West Linn NewsWhich one is first? reported that it was closed It was stated that Pamplin’s employees were upset about the vehicle he sold earlier this year, but some of them would be moving to Bugatti’s Oregon City location.

“We are a close-knit group that has been through good times and hard times together,” Russo said. “We are grateful to Dr. Pamplin for the time we had.”