There's a new bar on the west side of town and they're hosting an 80's night July 16th
By Cole Goodwin
At first glance, The Station bar & restaurant is a familiar sight to The Dalles locals: the old Wendy’s building in the middle of the Sixth Street Station food pod located at 2638 W 6th St.
But there’s more going on here than meets the eye.
Food cart goers can go inside to eat and drink or order drinks from the drive-through window and dine outside.
Young up-and-coming entrepreneurs and long-time friends Cameron Mckeown and Matt Bennett, originally from Portland, OR have been hard at work for the past two months to turn the inside of the old Wendy’s into a family friendly air-conditioned indoor seating area for the food pod during the day, and a 21+ bar and nightclub in the evening.
Cameron McKeown, business owner (left front) and bartender Matt Bennet (right back) greeting the camera out of the old drive-through window. Photo Credit: Cole Goodwin
“We encourage people to grab their tacos, boba, or shave ice at the food carts and then come inside and enjoy the free wifi and air conditioning and grab a beer or a cocktail,” says Cameron, Station Keeper.
The inside is filled with two wooden picnic style seating tables and leather backed booths surrounding what looks to be like a mix of new bar tables and old Wendy’s tables.
A view of The Station from the extra large corner booth. Photo Credit: Cole Goodwin
“We’re not done yet. There are still some elements of the old Wendy’s there, but we’ve put on a new coat of paint and installed a bar and the only thing left at this point really is the tables,” said Cameron. “In the future, we want to knock down the wall that kind of divides the space there and get a pool table in here, and some different lighting.”
“And a revolving disco ball,” says Matt. “For the events and parties we want to have here. I forgot to order one for 80’s night.”
Matt and Cameron share a laugh. Photo Credit: Cole Goodwin
The Station will host an 80’s Night on Saturday, July 16th, complete with 80’s music provided by DJ B-ill, 80’s themed outfits, and a dance party that doesn’t end until 2 a.m.
“One thing I love about summertime is being able to enjoy the weather,” said Cameron. “So part of it will be outside, and part of it will be inside.”
“We’ll have a drink menu wheel that you can spin every 30 minutes to an hour and whatever drink it lands on will be $3.50 for the remaining 30-60 minutes. It’s a fun game because it can land on something really good like a gin and tonic, which is my favorite, or, you know, something like Jack and water,” says Cameron.
Got an idea for an event you’d like to see hosted by The Station? Email The Station at info@6thstreetstation.net.
While indoor and outdoor renovations are not complete sans disco ball, this bar is still open for business.
Matt Bennett mixes a drink for a customer. Photo Credit: Cole Goodwin
The Menu
The Station has a small but staple-filled menu and a signature fruity cocktail called the Jo-nae-nae, inspired by regulars Joanna and local artist Denae Manion’s kid.
“Denae helped us paint in here and she had her kid with her,” said Matt. “Well, her kid wanted something to drink, and Denae asked me if I could make her a Shirley Temple or something, which is non-alcoholic; it’s just sprite and grenadine. And so I made her this really nice looking Shirley Temple because that’s what you do as a bartender, you make it look pretty and it tastes better, right? And Denae loved it. Then one of her friends, Joanna started coming in, and she was in here regularly and started talking to me, and one day she said ‘make me something good.’ So, I got this idea to make a drink for Joanna, that was kind of a Dirty Shirley Pineapple Lemonade and called it the Jo-nae-nae, and now it’s our bestseller.”
The Jo-nae-nae. Photo Credit: Cole Goodwin
As far as food goes there are a few items available.
“We have a few food things, but mostly we’re leaving the food to the professionals,” said Cameron. “The people who have dedicated their lives to their gourmet craft. But we do have a few food items for sale inside, like hot dogs and pepperoni pizza.”
“The hot dogs are my favorite thing on the menu,” says Matt, and Cameron agrees.
“A dog is a dog, but we’ve got great all-beef dogs and great buns, and that kind of elevates it,” says Cameron.
The food menu is small but serviceable.
The Vibe
“We want this to be a gathering place; that’s the vibe we want,” says Cameron. “During the day we want to have families here and we want to showcase local artists. We have Denae Manion’s artwork on our walls right now. And at night we want this to be a place for twenty-one and overs to have fun and socialize.”
Local artist Denae Manion’s artwork is currently being displayed for sale at The Station. Photo Credit: Cole Goodwin
While Cameron and Matt might not be from The Dalles, they say that it feels a lot like their home now.
“I’ve been in The Dalles for two years now, and I’ve loved getting away from Portland. It’s been nice to breathe fresh air and experience a new place. And everyone here has been so friendly,” said Cameron. “I like it a lot more than Portland, that's for sure. The people here are just really chill and open to things. And it’s beautiful. We haven’t had much of a chance to recreate here yet because we’ve just been working, but we tried to fish a few times and we have seen some beautiful viewpoints and whatnot.”
The dream team, Matt Bennett (left) and Cameron McKeown (right) are celebrating two months of being open for business.
But it hasn’t been all sunshine and mimosas.
“It’s been really hard to get more food cart vendors to come out here,” said Cameron. “We’ve got space for twelve vendors. But we currently only have three: Tacos Tumbras, Kalani’s Shave Ice, and Bobablastic. We want to fill up our space if we can, so we’ve been cold calling Greek and Mediterranean food carts to see if they want to set up in the Sixth Street Station especially because we did a facebook poll about that and people responded that one thing they really wanted to see was a Greek or Italian food cart.”
“Interested vendors please email me at info@6thstreetstation.net!” says Cameron.
