New businesses open every day, but seldom is there an opening as "grand" as the upcoming Grand Opening of Taste of the Gorge in Husum, Washington, in the Columbia River Gorge. Yes, it's a small restaurant in a small community, but the people involved and the message it sends, make it truly special.
Taste of the Gorge, which has been "softly" open for the last three weeks, occupies the dining space at the Husum Hills Golf Course - a very pretty public course about 4 miles up WA-141N along the White Salmon River from Highway 14, just west of the Hood River Bridge. The restaurant is airy, open and comfortable, with the wonderful energy that restaurants have when their REAL purpose is serving great food and pleasing their guests. That energy is rare, but not surprising here. The owners, Regan and Paula Schindler, have been responsible for creating happy customers throughout The Gorge for decades.
(Here comes the "grand" part.)
Regan and Paula and many of their staff were casualties of the economic tsunami that has washed across The Gorge over the last 2 years. Regan, chef for Hood River's Columbia Gorge Hotel during its award-winning years, had lost his position as chef for Cooper Spur Restaurant when the resort closed earlier this year. Paula, probably the most photographed employee of the Columbia Gorge Hotel, had lost her long-time position when it closed in January of 2009. Both had been revered by owners and customers alike, and both were symbols of good people losing good jobs through no fault of their own. That they have turned past losses into a "win" for themselves and their employees, and for the customers lucky enough to get a table, shows all of us that it can be done, and done well!
Taste of the Gorge celebrates its Grand Opening Friday night, August 13th, 2010, from 5-9pm. The restaurant will be open from then on for lunch and dinner, from 11:30am - 8:00pm, every day of the week except Mondays. Contact information and directions follow below:
TASTE OF THE GORGE
820 SR-141
White Salmon, WA 98762
509-493-4450
From I-84:
1. Head northeast on Hood River Bridge toward WA-14 W 0.5 mi
2. Turn left at WA-14 W/Lewis and Clark Hwy 1.5 mi
3. Turn right at Washington 141 Alternative N 2.2 mi
4. Continue onto WA-141 N 1.8 mi
Additional Columbia Gorge dining options can be found at TravelTheGorge.com
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
