Have you ever enjoyed watching the ducklings and geese float by from McMenamins’ North Bank pub in the spring or drinking a fresh brewed beer from the patio on a hot summer day as canoes glide past?
North Bank’s manager Sunshine “Sunni” Baker says even during the winter months the fast moving-current of the Willamette River draws customers.
North Bank is one of a chain of pubs in the Pacific Northwest. McMenamins was originally founded in 1974 by the McMenamin brothers. These restaurant/pubs include eight that feature movie houses, and several have hotels and live entertainment as well. Renowned for their use of old historic buildings, the McMenamin brothers, Mike and Brian, often find structures that are scheduled to be torn down and purchase, restore and decorate them based on the theme of the building’s original use. Many are listed in historic registries.
In Eugene, there are three McMenamins pubs, North Bank, The High Street Brewery and Cafe, and the East 19th Street Cafe. As is common among the chain, each location has unique decor, great custom-brewed beer, a pub fare menu and cozy atmosphere. All locations are child-friendly, as the company’s philosophy is to create a welcoming environment with customer-centered service, surroundings and personalized thematic flair.
The High Street Brewery and Cafe is the local brewery. It provides beer to North Bank, and is overseen by brewmaster Lane Fricke. Fricke began with home brewing and now has refined the company’s signature beer, India Pale Ale (IPA), into a unique art form.
The same recipe carries its own special qualities depending on the brew master, said Jennifer Gomez, High Street manager and 17-year employee of the company.
“The owners are very involved,” Gomez said.
She sees the company’s strategy as one that strives to create an environment where both “employees and customers have fun,” in an easy-going atmosphere.
The names of each restaurant often reflect the original use of the buildings that house them. The Crystal Ballroom and Old St. Francis School, for example, house remnants of the original purpose for which each building was designed. The Crystal Ballroom, in Portland, originally built in 1914, continues to be an extravaganza of live entertainment and features a restored mechanical “floating” dance floor. The Old St. Francis School, in Bend, was a Catholic school founded in 1936, in which the classrooms have been turned into bedrooms for the on-site hotel. Each has incorporated the chalkboards on the walls from its former school days.
There are four or five resident artists on staff that travel between pubs creating unique artwork based on the historic theme of each building and designing logos for coasters, T-shirts and posters for each of the locations. This creativity and use of history makes each location unique.
Besides its 22 beer breweries and 200 recipes, the Edgefield in Troutdale houses a winery, distillery and roasting house for the company’s coffee beans. The recipes for the wine, spirits and beer are all exclusive to the company. Each brewery in the chain can service its own location as well as one other, according to Josh Bartlett, manager of the East 19th Street Cafe. Their supplier is the brewery in Roseburg. Bartlett has worked at four McMenamins locations throughout the state over the past eight years because he is sent to instill fresh enthusiasm into various locations.
The company offers good benefits, treats him well, is a fun place to work and has friendly people and staff, Bartlett said.
“Good beer, good food, good atmosphere and friendly service,” are the drawing factors that have made the McMenamins pubs and restaurants a great success, Bartlett said.
Currently there are more than 40locations in the chain, and it is the fourth-largest microbrew producer in the Northwest. For more information on locations, histories and unique features check out www.mcmenamins.com.