I just signed up on Facebook for McMenamins ....and for christsakes..my whole page is flooded with happy people drinking beer. Never knew they were still so popular even in Oregon. But should have known, out on a date last Saturday we wanted to go to Thompsons. Entire parking lot full. Plus two cars from Oklahoma that just parked in the middle of the lot making us reverse. A damned successful business model. But what happens when the brothers die?
The McMs in WA seem to do alright too. I've only ever been to the one in Roseburg OR, a non-brewing outpost in an old train station, but was happy with my food and beer. As to you question, I'm sure they have a plan in place, it's a thing I wouldn't spend a lot of worry currency on.
They're good at creating an experience. Given that their beer is so middling and their food has jumped in price even more than comparable places (relative to its quality) it just underlines how important ambiance is. Steeplejack is another good example.
I think you pretty much nailed it. Food and beer are both middling, and their prices are no deal. I sometimes will stop by the artisan glass blowing shop over at Edgefield, but have otherwise stopped visiting their restaurants and bar areas. The vibe and ambiance at some of those places are still pretty cool (which I assume is a draw), but that's not sufficient justification to patronize them. At least IMHO. However, it's clearly sufficient justification for many people... I can't remember the last time business at Edgefield wasn't booming.
Funny about Steeplejack. I really like them also and they appear to be expanding rapidly to 3 locations already. I hope they continue. Not everyone is a beer geek! A lot of people like a laid back place that serves non thinking examples of what was called "craft beer" along with simple food and a laid back atmosphere.
I totally agree that we need more places like that, I think we just disagree on the quality of Steeplejack's beer, which is fine. Admittedly, I stopped trying after the first few so maybe it's improved. I'm looking forward to the new Away Days location for the same reasons you bring up, though. We need some utilitarian breweries. For me, Baerlic ticks the boxes you describe, for example. But I brought up Steeplejack more because of the church location, which was gimmicky and didn't make one feel that they were getting into it for the beer. Reminded me of McMenamins - more about the experience than the beer. But that's my interpretation.
I am not saying their beers are out of this world, but they are mostly pleasant enough. And as I age that sometimes is OK.. I need to visit Away Days. Because of the footie connotations. Used to love away days in the 80s back in Scotland
I think the big difference is the beer landscape in Salem as opposed to the one in PDX. Where I'm currently living (the Vancouver/Ridgefield area), I'm happy finding something reasonably pleasant to drink. My expectations here are much more restrained than what they were when I lived in PDX. When living in PDX, a pleasant selection was never acceptable. It's simply much too easy to find great beer pretty much wherever you go. So while I found nothing really objectionable with the Steeplejack stuff I sampled, it wasn't anything to write home about either. In a beer city like PDX, that means I quickly dropped it from my list of newer breweries I keep an eye out for. But maybe I'll give them another try now that I live here in Ridgefield.
That's the location I have been to the most. Why? they take their history seriously, it's in an underappreciated but interesting downtown, and it just makes a pleasant stop if you're spending the night there.
This weekend found the Sharpskis in downtown Bend and the family voted Old St. Francis over Deschutes, BBC, et al. I don’t give them enough credit, and the Onolicious IPA brewed onsite was a genuinely distinct take on the tropical hop profile. Passionfruit dominant with pineapple and mango in supporting roles, and every bit of the 60 IBUs.
yeah i travel to bend every other month and i usually stay at the St Francis. really cool layout, awesome soaking pool, etc. I personally think McMenamins makes a lot of really good beer, but it completely depends on what location you are at. Their "base" beers that are at pretty much every location are nothing crazy, but I have had many one-offs at various locations that have been really impressive. I think i had a Fresh Hop beer at the St Francis location that was outstanding. They also have a surprisingly large bottle selection that they dont distribute, thus nobody really ever talks about them. I grabbed a bottle of a pumpkin BA stout at St Francis last year and it was really good.
Up here in Washington, the Elks Lodge in Tacoma and the Anderson School in Bothell are both always packed. Vocal beer tickers are definitely not the majority of consumers.
There is an amazingly large number of "Tripsters" Those that try to get to as many McMens as possible to fill out their passports. I thought this was a one off a few years back. But learning from the Facebook page it's very much alive and a big thing.
