McMenamins

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Welcome to the Wonderful World of McMenamins

Hello, Word Lovers!

It’s so good to be back!

This summer, the Oregon Author took a bit of a vacation from the blog for a variety of personal and novel-writing reasons. But now I’m back and really excited about our next adventure. I’ve wanted to take you to this iconic place for over a year. So let’s go!

I love McMenamins.

I can’t think of places to visit as “Pacific Northwestern” as this iconic group of properties that includes hotels, restaurants, bars and pubs, breweries, coffee roasters, event and concert venues, theaters, golf courses, and just plain quirky and uniquely McMenamins uses for every available space. Each one is an adventure and a delight, eclectic and different from the rest of the locations. But each is so distinctly identifiable that you know you’re at a McMenamins the minute you see the entry sign. So if you’ve never been to a McMenamins, you’re missing out on an amazing treat. McMenamins is an experience.

A Short History of McMenamins

In the Beginning

The wonderful world of McMenamins had a humble beginning.

In 1983, Mike McMenamin bought a small pub on Hawthorne Street in southeast Portland and named it the Barley Mill Pub. With its Grateful Dead theme and beers, the little pub became the place where Mike and later his brother Brian first conceived of their plan for beer-centered neighborhood gathering spots.

In 1985, the McMenamin brothers took note of the major movement the microbrewery industry had become in Oregon and joined Rob and Kurt Widmer of Widmer Brothers Brewing, Dick and Nancy Ponzi of Bridgeport Brewing, and Art Larrance and Fred Bowman of Portland Brewing in making their own beers and pushing through legislation that enabled them to sell them onsite in their own pubs.

But the McMenamins didn’t want to branch out to finding distributors to sell their beers to stores and restaurants. They didn’t want to become a big brewery. As they expanded, they opened small breweries in some of their pubs. They liked that the customers could see the beer being brewed and talk to the brewers. So they decided to keep the beers in-house so that customers would come in, try different beers, and experience the atmosphere and flavor of each place.

McMenamins Expands

Eventually, in addition to opening new brewpubs and restaurants, the brothers got into the business of buying and restoring old buildings and properties in Oregon, many of them scheduled for demolition. As time went on, they bought old schools, churches, hotels and private hospitals.

As they restored these buildings, they brought in their wonderful team of artists and historians to create a unique place that honored the history and former usage of these buildings. They turned a few of them into hotels. In each, they worked to keep as much of the original look and feel of the building as they could, adding antiques and stained glass windows to evoke the building’s past as they ushered it into the McMenamins unique atmosphere.

McMenamins Today

Today, there are 56 McMenamins properties throughout Oregon and Washington. Last July, McMenamins celebrated its 40^th anniversary, with events and celebrations throughout the locations. Mike and Brian’s kids run many of the day-to-day operations, and the company has plans for updates and additions to several of the sites. But Brian McMenamin emphasizes that he and Mike aren’t retired and continue to have what they feel is the best thing about their continuing journey as they create their wonderful world: FUN.

The Unique Art of the McMenamins World

The first thing you’re likely to notice when you pull up to a McMenamins is the colorful artwork and motifs. It’s everywhere, from the directional signs to paintings and murals, to painted finials and water pipes to wacky art pieces, stained glass windows and antiques. You’ll find art on the ceilings, floors, walls, chairs, bed headboards – almost anywhere you look. After visiting a few locations, you’ll begin to see patterns. But they might make you scratch your head a little. How, you may ask, do I describe the style and vibe of these places?

Historical Surrealism

Mike McMenamin has said that the art started out as a way to cover huge numbers of blank walls. But it quickly became more than that. Over time, the style that evolved came to be known as “historical surrealism” by the artists who created it. Company artists and historians research the history of the building to be decorated and talk with locals and people who remember the building as it once was. Then they combine the research with their vivid imaginations to create something lively and unique to each location but always radiating with the magical McMenamins aura.

What I see when I take in the décor at a location is what I think of as modern art nouveau meets art deco meets the comics. And if that’s not very clear, I’ve got it right. If you look at the work of Mucha and other artists and architects of the 1890s through the first world war, you’ll find a style reminiscent of the lines and patterns of art nouveau and its themes of nature, beauty, suns and moons and celestial themes. Art Deco adds geometric shapes. But McMenamins’ fearless creators added explosive color, humor and joy to the styles to create completely new elements unique to each building.

McMenamins Artists

I wish I could feature every artist who has contributed to the work at McMenamins, but that would take a whole blog. (Great future idea!) Two of my favorites are Lillian Ripley, who is responsible for the beautiful art on the menus, coasters and tables, and the incredible Lyle Hehn (photo below), the force behind the logo and early artwork at McMenamins and creator of characters like Hammerhead, Ruby and the Terminator beer mascots as well as countless signs, murals and illustrations. Hehn died in 2022, and I’m sure he’s sorely missed by everyone in the McMenamins art community. The talent and energy of McMenamins artists are simply mind-boggling.

Types of McMenamins Locations

Today there are three types of McMenamins properties:

1. Large hotels with acreage that may contain several restaurants, brewpubs, taverns, theaters, concert and event venues, soaking tubs, golf courses, gift shops and other special purpose buildings. These are located in grand old buildings the McMenamins have purchased and restored.
2. Smaller old buildings and homes that have been restored, and may include a restaurant, pub and/or brewpub, coffee roasting, and outdoor eating areas and game or entertainment rooms.
3. More modern taverns and restaurants, some located in strip malls or office buildings, that have been purchased and turned into brewpubs, coffee houses and restaurants. Several of these include glass-enclosed breweries where customers can watch the beer being brewed, coffee roasting rooms, ice cream making rooms and gift shops.

Let’s Visit a Few

Obviously, we can’t feature every location. So let’s pick one Oregon location of each type.

Edgefield is the shining sun in the McMenamins heavily celestial firmament. My former bosses loved taking employees there for retreats and planning sessions because there’s so much to see and do, including 3-par golf, concerts and movies, really great food and acres for just walking and getting away. Not to mention it has a fun and funky hotel, spa and soaking tub.  Edgefield is worthy of its own blog, and this Oregon Author looks forward to making that happen. So for this intro to McMenamins, let’s visit another of the fine hotel properties that has a different sort of vibe.

Grand Lodge in Forest Grove

The Grand Lodge, formerly an imposing Masonic and Eastern Star manor and property, is located in Forest Grove, 25 miles west of Portland just past the city of Cornelius. Like Edgefield, it boasts a hotel, spa, soaking tub, theater, live music, games and events areas, as well as several pubs and grills. In the summertime, it’s the home of Concerts in the Grove, which brings in musicians of all kinds from all over the country.

Do visit Grand Lodge if you’d like to see firsthand all the potables McMenamins produces being created on site: beer, wine, spirits, cider and coffee. There’s a vegetable garden and chicken house that supply the Ironwood Grill restaurant, too.

While there are many properties that include a hotel and guest rooms, Grand Lodge is one of the most fascinating. The hotel comes complete with its own ghost, known as the Lavender Lady, whom you might encounter as you walk the halls. And the lodge is famous for its painted pipes, which you can see anywhere such hardware may be found.

Oktoberfest

Terry and I visited recently to attend the Oktoberfest celebration at Grand Lodge. The lot next to Pat’s Corner bar and grill was used to create a stage for a series of entertainers as well as tables and chairs and a bar for distributing McMenamins’ Oktoberfest beer and other potables.

Many visitors got into the spirit of the event by wearing dirndls and lederhosen and shorts with suspenders. As we ate our scrumptious schnitzel, bratwurst, German potato salad and homemade sauerkraut, we enjoyed the music and charming jokes of the Polkaticians, a polka and oom-pa-pa band who had visitors up and dancing. There was a petting zoo with ponies for the children on the grounds as well as additional music and food in the main lodge. We had a great time and vowed to return next year in our Bavarian best.

Rock Creek Tavern in Hillsboro

This rustic old building is an actual roadhouse, nestled in the woods off Old Cornelius Pass Road. It contains a restaurant, a bar, and an upstairs attic game room. If you want a true McMenamins atmospheric experience, you’ll love this place, with its giant mushroom and McMenamins artsy vibe. Lots of people do, because there are little tables and eating areas tucked into corners and around the grounds. Families and singles enjoy the quiet and ambiance as well as the seasonal beers and cocktails. My husband Terry and I visit often to enjoy drinks, great sandwiches, and the ubiquitous McMenamins tater tots.

The menu includes a short history of the location’s fascinating history:

“Rock Creek Tavern beckons like a welcoming old friend, set in a tranquil, out-of-the-way spot and always with a soundtrack of music from a jukebox or a band. It started as a country store that, upon repeal of Prohibition in 1933, added draft beer to the offerings. Caught in the middle of union infighting, the tavern was bombed and then torched. It carried on for years, though, in an old blacksmith shop, until petering out in the 1960s.  Then an infusion of youth, energy and music brought renewed life to the place in the ‘70s, drawing crowds and bands from all around (folks still swear that was the Eagles who dropped by) that continues to this day.”

Lighthouse Brewpub in Lincoln City

Knowing I planned to write a blog about McMenamins, I wanted to visit the Lighthouse Brewpub when we drove to Lincoln City to visit my sister and brother-in-law, who were there to visit friends. Much of Lincoln City is situated on either side of Interstate 101, which runs along the Pacific there. The Lighthouse Brewpub is on the north end of town in Lighthouse Square, a shopping area near the city’s Chinook Winds Casino Resort, with the ocean across the road. Enjoy drinks and a meal, visit the brewery, and walk down to the ocean for a stroll on the beach.

Although this brewpub isn’t located in a noteworthy old building with a fascinating history, it’s still loaded with the McMenamins atmosphere. And it does have a history. The Lighthouse was the first brewpub on the Oregon coast. It opened in 1986 after a group of brewers pushed through legislation that allowed them to sell their own brews onsite.

Customers can watch through glass windows the beer being made in the onsite brewery. The food is good and has choices for vegans and vegetarians as well as gluten free choices. The Mystic Burgers and Mystic Sauce get great reviews from the meatless crowd. For meat eaters, the pub has fabulous burgers and other hot sandwiches as well as some excellent fish and seafood choices.

My sister and her husband, who live in Arizona, hadn’t been to a McMenamins, but they’d heard about them from their friends. We took them to the Lighthouse and they enjoyed the variety of drinks and appetizers. I showed my brother-in-law a picture of the summer drinks menu from Rock Creek Tavern and he was intrigued by one of the selections. Our server told us they didn’t make that particular drink at the Lighthouse but said she’d ask the bartender if he could attempt it. He did, and my brother-in-law loved it. That’s McMenamins. The staff is friendly and helpful and often go out of their way to please.

Where Can I Learn More about McMenamins?

The wonderful world of McMenamins is an open and friendly place where you can learn about its fascinating history, historic sites and buildings, family stories, artists, antiques, news, and future plans easily. Each venue has its own story, and you can find its story on the menu or wall plaques or throughout the grounds. Some of the staff at the venues can enlighten you with stories, too.

Headquarters

430 N Killingsworth Street, Portland, OR 97217. Phone: 503-223-0109.

Website

McMenamins has an excellent, colorful website that reflects its spirit, a useful app, YouTube videos, and various podcasts, including “The Red Shed Tapes,” where Mike McMenamin’s daughter Shannon talks about all things McMenamins. Check them out!

Website: https://www.mcmenamins.com

App

You can access “The Red Shed Tapes” through the App as well as set up your own personal “Passport” and explore the company’s fascinating history. The Passport allows you to go from location and get your passport stamped. You can redeem stamps for prizes, food, drinks, T-shirts and more. You can also create a McMenamins Wallet and add not only the Passport but also services and clubs like the Edgefield Winery, BedHead (hotel stays and perks), the Whiskey Club and Coffee Delivered to Your Door.

Social Media

McMenamins has a lively and informative social media presence on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Follow them and stay informed of the latest happenings.

McMenamins Location List

I hope you’ve enjoyed this whirlwind tour through the Wonderful World of McMenamins. Let me know, and if you’ve visited a few McMenamins locations let me know your favorite.

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Have I ever mentioned how much I love Oregon? See you next time when the Oregon Author takes you on another adventure in our beautiful and fascinating state.

May the Words Be with You.