Coming back from life-threatening injuries is never part of anyone’s plans, but for two Portland chefs, that became their reality.
A few years after both Darell Preston of LoRell’s Chicken Shack and Jeff Chow of Mama Chow’s Kitchen suffered major trauma, they not only lived to tell the tale, but are thriving. LoRell’s is back and doing more business than ever at the Lloyd Center Mall—a location not exactly known for its bustling commerce. Chow is serving up some of the city’s best wonton soup at his long-running cart, and getting into the collab scene with other chefs.
“Making food for people is what I think I was put on this earth to do,” says Chow. “Everyone just wanted me to come back and keep making food for them.”
Here’s an update on how Chow, who nearly died after tumbling down a cliff while hiking, and Preston, who suffered a hate crime right outside his cart, are making big moves after their tragedies.
LoRell’s Chicken Shack
Since opening in 2021, Preston’s LoRell’s Chicken Shack was a favorite at Carts on Foster. Preston had carved out a name for his chicken, especially his wings: big boys served up juicy on the inside, crispy and coated with his signature hot honey sauce on the outside.
Then, one evening in June 2023, he was standing outside of his food truck when a white man attacked him without warning, kicking and beating him while yelling racist slurs against Preston, who is Black. Preston suffered severe facial injuries, including bone fractures and lacerations on his left side. The attacker pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and no contest to first-degree bias crime.
The attack left Preston unable to work, and the community rallied around him, raising funds and begging for the return of their chicken fix. Then, Carts on Foster closed, and after a short stint at the Rose City Food Park in Northeast, Preston was looking for a new home for LoRell’s.
That’s when the Lloyd Center came in. Preston, a Chicago native, says when he first moved to Portland in 2008, he had his eye on the Northeast Portland mall. After the attack, moving turned out to be a change he needed.
“I never questioned myself getting back into it,” Preston says. “But in the food cart I had bad memories; it left a sour taste in my mouth.” Moving to the Lloyd, he says, “was a way to leave it behind.”
As the Lloyd Center faces a likely demolition, tenants have dwindled in the mall’s once thriving food court. Without a doubt, LoRell’s is now the anchor, his bright signs advertising chicken and fries among the shells of former McDonalds and fast-food Japanese. Some customers visit the mall just to score a dozen wings and fries. Preston has added party wings to the menu along with the classic full wings and tenders, but other than that, not too much changed when he went indoors, he says.
“I didn’t let (the attack) deter me or stop me from what I want to go at in life; I just kept going,” Preston says. “That’s where LoRell’s comes from. My mother’s name is Lorraine and mine is Darell. I always dedicated that to her. My momma was like ‘Get your ass up, don’t feel sorry for yourself, and let’s go to work.’ I didn’t let that incident stop me from who I am and what I want to do.”
And now that the future of the Lloyd Center itself is unknown, with developers saying they plan to tear the historic mall down, Preston is already planning a third act, saying, “You just gotta stay tuned.”
Mama Chow’s Kitchen
Mama Chow’s Kitchen opened in downtown Portland in 2014, and owner Jeff Chow immediately drew attention for his Chinese-style lollipop chicken wings served over garlic noodles and savory wonton soup, packed with fat shrimp and pork dumplings. (I wrote a glowing review for the Mercury, which Chow keeps at his cart to this day.) The wonton soup is still my favorite in town.
Ten years after launching his cart, in October 2024, Chow was hiking to Wahclella Falls when he fell over 10 feet, head-first, onto a rock outcropping. He was knocked unconscious and fractured his ribs, skull, and left shoulder blade. He was airlifted and hospitalized at OHSU, where he fretted about his sauté arm despite having 16 staples in his head. Friends, both local and from back home in the Bay Area, raised thousands for his recovery.
“I cried. I cried a lot,” says Chow, whose cart is also named after his mother. “It’s amazing how the community comes out. It brought out the kindness in people who I would never expect to remember me.”
After months of rehab, he reopened in February 2024 at Steeplejack Brewing Co. at Southeast 30th and Hawthorne. He joins a handful of carts that anchor the popular brewery’s taproom, and foot traffic from the city’s busiest shopping corridor is lively. Chow says: “I’m pretty busy every single day. I’m lucky.”
Mama Chow’s has flourished in that time, and Chow has crafted specials that beg to be added to the regular menu, like curry chicken wontons floating in turmeric bonito bone broth with daikon radish and bok choy. February marked Chow’s 12th year running the cart, and he celebrated, like he does every year, with traditional lion dancing for the Lunar New Year.
Stay tuned for potential pop-ups or collaborations between Mama Chow’s and other local favs. He’s teamed up several times with Southeast Portland’s Lawless BBQ to create dream blends of smoke and wok, like barbecue brisket noodles with bok choy.
“If I can share love with what I do, it’s my little rock into the pond of love, and hopefully those ripples continue,” Chow says.
Lorell’s Chicken Shack, 2201 Lloyd Center Food Court, Wed-Sat noon-7 pm, Sun noon-6 pm, @lorellschickenshack
Mama Chow’s Kitchen, 3757 SE Hawthorne, Thurs-Fri noon-6 pm, Sat-Sun noon-5 pm, @mamachowskitchen
