Pastime turns Tavern in Dufur: Hard Liqs out, Family Friendly in
By Jerald Hernandez
It finally happened.
What everyone in Dufur was waiting for.
On New Year's eve, the Dufur Valley Tavern - formerly known as the Pastime - was open to the public.
The beer was flowing, the food was hot, and everyone was cheering along to the reopening of their favorite hometown restaurant.
But this reopening came with a twist.
Heather Phillips of Kramer’s Market is now also the manager of The Dufur Tavern. And hard alcohol is not on tap. Good food, beer, cider, wine and a family-friendly space are.
Heather Phillips, the manager of Kramers, and now the Dufur Valley Tavern, wants to run the business differently than its predecessors. Her main goal is to keep the Tavern as a restaurant rather than a bar. Leaning more towards a family-friendly environment where the whole community can come together and enjoy.
“I want this place to remain family-friendly. I would rather have kids running around than drunks,” she said.
The Tavern sports a new pool table and shuffleboard for kids and adults to play on, and in roughly 6 months Heather plans on installing an Oregon Lottery video poker machine for the adults.
And the Menu is set to expand. At the beginning of March, Heather is set to include the Western Burger, BLT, Chicken Burger and a kids grilled cheese. And there are plans for entertainment. They eventually intend to add live music and karaoke at least once a month.
The one thing she won't be adding to the menu is hard alcohol.
Beer, Cider and wine are the only alcohol offerings you will find on the beverage menu. When I was interviewing her, she emphasized that those showing signs of intoxication will not be served.
“There will absolutely be no overserving here at the Tavern; that is my top priority here,” she said.
The location has a checkered past. The Dufur City Council voted to deny the bar's liquor license in 2016 after drunken-driving fatalities and injuries were linked to the establishment. At the time, Wasco County Sheriff Lane Magill gave the Council a history of five other drunk driving incidents where people arrested admitted to drinking at the Pastime.
This created a bad reputation for the Pastime and led to the bar’s closure. With this in mind, I asked some of the patrons of the tavern if this would happen again with the Tavern. The general consensus was that it wouldn't.
A local to Dufur, Brandon Underhill said, “I don't think they can over-serve with just beer; I believe the employees are a bit smarter now.”
The owner of WE3 Coffee and Deli Steve Hunt doesn't believe it would happen either.
“I don't believe they will overserve; I also believe that no hard alcohol is a great choice as well.” He also wanted to add that his business won't suffer from the reopening of the Tavern. “People think this will steal business away from us, but that's simply not true.”
Everyone seems to be on board with the reopening of the restaurant, and to many, it brings back fond memories of when the Pastime was the great place to go to in Dufur.
“Thirty years ago there was a burrito night every Thursday; it was great because after we were done picking fruit we would all go pick one up,” said Randy Mcallister another local to Dufur. And Underhill added, “I’ve been coming here my whole life; glad it’s reopened… During hunting season, we would always want something warm to eat, and we would always come here.”
Patti Crawford was just amped to have alternatives to the menu.“Their cider is awesome,” she said.
Read CCCNews’ original story about the tavern here.
Jon Keyser
This story is sponsored by:
The Dalles Iron Works
Welding, Machining & Fabrication Since 1905 at 720 E. 2nd St., The Dalles.
Jon Keyser and his crew can solve your problems big or small, ranging from the manufacture of ornate iron gates to repairing heavy equipment. His team includes wife Holly and son Jon Jr. who have spent years dedicating themselves to community good, most notably on the Dufur Volunteer Fire & Ambulance.
