McMenamins is a family-owned chain of
brewpub
Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis ...
s,
breweries
A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of beer ...
,
music venue
A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. ...
s, historic hotels, and theater pubs in Oregon and Washington. Many of their locations are in rehabilitated historical properties; at least nine are on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
. According to the
Brewers Association
The Brewers Association (BA) is an American trade group of over 5,400 brewers, breweries in planning, suppliers, distributors, craft beer retailers, and individuals particularly concerned with the promotion of craft beer and homebrewing.
Two of ...
, McMenamins is one of the top 50 largest
craft breweries
A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...
in the United States.
History
McMenamins was founded by brothers Mike and
Brian McMenamin
Brian McMenamin (born 1957) is an American businessman in the state of Oregon. A native of the state, he and his older brother Mike McMenamin founded the McMenamins restaurant and brewpub chain in 1983. He serves as general manager and vice-pres ...
, who grew up in northeast
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...
.
[Over One Million Served](_blank)
, a May 13, 1998 article in ''Willamette Week
''Willamette Week'' (''WW'') is an alternative weekly newspaper and a website published in Portland, Oregon, United States, since 1974. It features reports on local news, politics, sports, business, and culture.
History
Early history
''Willam ...
'' They trace the beginning of McMenamins to the 1974 opening of
Produce Row Café.
In 1985, McMenamins opened Oregon's first brewpub in the Southwest Portland neighborhood of Hillsdale. Their first theater pub, and the first in Oregon, was the
Mission Theater & Pub (1987).
The company then entered the broader
hospitality business starting in 1990, when they converted a 74-acre site (that at one time served as the
Multnomah County Poor Farm
The Multnomah County Poor Farm is a former poor farm located in Troutdale, Oregon, United States. Established in 1911, the building and its surrounding grounds operated as a poor farm housing the ill and indigent populations in the Portland metrop ...
) into McMenamins
Edgefield. By 1997, food accounted for over half of McMenamins' total sales.
[Crystal ball forecasts McMenamins' future](_blank)
a January 1997 article from the ''Portland Business Journal'' The company opened its 55th location in April 2018.
References
External links
*
McMenamins Brewery Collection, 1985-2013
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcmenamins
1983 establishments in Oregon
Beer brewing companies based in Portland, Oregon
Culture of the Pacific Northwest
Companies based in Portland, Oregon
Economy of the Northwestern United States
Food and drink companies based in Oregon
Hospitality companies of the United States
Privately held companies based in Oregon
Regional restaurant chains in the United States
Restaurants established in 1983
Restaurants in Oregon
Restaurants in Washington (state)