Dear Liza,
I have told you about the McMenamin brothers and all their interesting restaurants created in historical buildings. Last night, we visited another one! Auntie Bridgett drove us through the rain and dark to the Chapel Pub.
It all started with Grandpa Nelson’s Christmas gift to Auntie Bridgett, a McMenamin’s Passport. This is a little booklet, like a real passport, which has a page for each region in Oregon. When you visit a restaurant (or bar, or hotel) on that page, you get a stamp.
Some larger venues have lots places to visit and get stamped. Edgefield has a dozen! When you have filled a page, you get a prize. This can be a free appetizer or drinks, but mostly what you get is the fun of going out.
This is, of course, a very clever marketing scheme, sort of an adult version of “Collect ‘em All!” We know this, and we don’t care. It is fun. We always have a good time at a McMenamin’s, enjoying the artistic renovation, the historical preservation, friendly service, and reliably tasty food and drink.
The Chapel Pub started life in the 1930s as a mortuary and chapel, which may explain the green “spirit orbs” in one of my photos. I imagine any mortuary would have a few lingering ghosts.
Another charm of The Chapel Pub is its historic pipe organ, and last night we got to hear it played. The talented and versatile Steve Kerin brought his giant suitcase of music and played requests for an hour and a half. Enjoying a Terminator Stout at the bar while listening to Steve play Vince Guaraldi’s “Linus and Lucy” on the organ was a high point of the 2022 holiday season, for sure.
Have a wonderful new year!
Love,
Grandma Judy
Dear Liza 