We were visited this morning by Annie from the City of Salem, who is working on Thank you for your input and ideas this morning regarding the North Downtown Housing Investment Strategy. I’m including additional text below in the case that any of this is useful for the blog or Facebook posts you mentioned. Thank you…
Category Archives: Moving And Shaking
Next C2V is Tuesday, June 26
Hey, guys. Just a reminder that Tuesday, June 26 is our next C2V event. Thanks to the Courthouse, Gallagher Fitness Resource and Friends of Two Bridges, these events are gaining popularity and momentum. Thanks to all who participate. There is still time to register! See details from Michael Miller below. ::::::::::::::::: First of all, let…
Live Salem campaign // Salem Area Trails Alliance
Salem Area Trails Alliance is making Salem a better place. Through their efforts, the creation of the Spring Valley Trail System will become a reality. The goal is to build a continuous trail system along the Willamette River – the Salem Greenway Trail (SGT). SATA is starting with the Spring Valley Trail. This multi-use trail…
bike racks + on-street parking
Bike racks! Bike racks! Bike racks! There are bike racks at the Taphouse now. Shiny, beautiful, brand new bike racks! Yes! Dino was able to procure several brand new bike racks from our buddies at Santiam Bicycle. These new racks were installed in the back, east side of the building, upon some gravel. Look at…
Venti’s water bottles
You may have noticed that we do not stock water in plastic bottles any more. Actually, for several months. The impetus behind this is to reduce peoples’ reliance on disposable water and minimize waste. C’mon, people. It’s water. That stuff that is bottled up came from a tap somewhere. Salem is known for having some…
A few new construction pix
So much is going on at The Taphouse, 2840 Commercial St SE, Salem. Here are some pix of current construction. The interior is set to be painted within the week and then the concrete floor will go in (it will be polished concrete after all is said and done). We will have carpet tiles in…
Talk of the town!
Always nice to get a shout out in our local paper, Statesman Journal. We are working feverishly to make our July opening. You’ve probably noticed that the exterior of the building got a fresh coat of urethane and we mysteriously had a “v” and “n” on the Commercial Street face of the building. That was…
Big News // Venti’s Cafe + Taphouse —> summer 2011
Second Venti’s location will feature same menu and a lot more beer Thanks to the demand of our loyal customers, Venti’s Cafe continues to grow. We have served downtown Salem since 1996 and are proud to announce the coming of our 2nd Salem location, opening summer 2011, at 2840 Commercial St. S. Formerly the location…
Do your holiday shopping and support Toys for Tots!
Toys for Tots collection site
Veteran’s Day 2010
Thursday, November 11, Veterans Day Venti’s, 325 Court St. NE will offer 50% off meals for Veterans and Active Duty (and Reserves) on Thursday, November 11, 2010. All day until 9pm. Must present military ID. And here’s an extra added bonus for any Veteran who has done a loan with Landmark Mortgage, an additional 50%…
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!
Venti’s wants downtown Salem to thrive. We see people downtown during the day on Sunday and we hope that being open on Sundays will drive more life into our lovely downtown core.
Hello, Nick Lopez, new Bar Manager at Venti’s
I squealed when I got this sequence shot from Nick this morning. I squealed then emailed it to my dad and a few others. I love that it’s a sequence, that there is movement and expression and joy. Dino and I dance a lot together, so this is just a lovely peek into our world.
14 years of Venti’s awesomeness
Thanks for your continued support. We couldn’t have done this without you. Literally: Our customers and staff helped move us in 2008!
Salem Bicycle Taxi 503-569-7223
The Bicycle Taxi will be available this Friday during the Zombie Pub Crawl and Saturday during all Halloween events. Don’t forget Venti’s is having a costume dance party on Saturday night 21+ beginning around 9p.
Tyler + Jewelia = TLA
Longtime Venti’s employee, and co-kitchen manager, Tyler Gressley, surprised his girlfriend, Jewelia Owens, with a marriage proposal on August 18.
Venti’s Cafe T-Shirts $15
Just think how much hotter you’ll be if you reprezent in your very own new, fabulous, made-with-love T-shirt.
Cherry City Derby Girls recuritng new skaters!
Cherry City Derby Girls recuritng new skaters!
Artists, we need you!
Venti’s is participating in an art auction benefiting Cherry City Derby Girls (CCDG) in August.
Volte-Face Project @ Venti’s
www.voltefaceproject.org The gang from Volte-Face Project has an amazing installation featured throughout the month of June with a full-on EVENT on June 3, First Wednesday. It should be fab.
Oregon Bike Summit – Tuesday + Wednesday
Food and drink specials for all Oregon Bike Summit participants.
::::::::: 9pm tonite @ Venti’s ::::::::::: A Starlight Incident ::::::::::
Cherry City Music Festival
Cherry City Music Festival – Friday schedule
Cherry City Music Festival Friday schedule
The Basement Benches = sustainability
Structurally it can serve as an elephants’ runway.
Be our friend…
We can’t get enough of Facebook and imagine you can’t either. Join our Facebook group today. We need more friends! There’s a discussion topic that is just prime for your comments: “Many romances began at Venti’s Cafe” Checkit!
3rd Cherry City Music Fest April 9-11, 2009 in downtown Salem
Below is a letter from Ross Swartzendruber: Hi guys, I just wanted to update you about the 3rd Cherry City Music Fest April 9-11, 2009 in downtown Salem. More than 120 bands have registered and we’ve attracted almost 20 sponsors for the three day event of live music, art education and diabetes awareness. Our main…
sno08
Salem businesses have been affected by the wintry weather, which also makes for nice photos, of course. We at Venti’s are grateful to all those who have shown up to get warm on these blustery days, including our staff! We love you. Thanks for a great08.
Mix-N-Mash photos
Friday, Oct. 10 was the first late night at Venti’s Cafe. We had two DJs: DJ Zach, a local guy spinning vinyl; and Gustav from 94.7fm doin the digital thing. It was so great to have the DJs, giving us all a taste of more nightlife to come at Venti’s. Attached are some photos of…
Eat Salem!
Cool! We made Eat Salem! When I hear the two words “eat” and “Salem” together, well, specifically “Eat Salem,” my brain clicks to an enormous atomic-age monster tearing at bi-planes, stomping through buildings and shoving hapless citizens into its mouth. Salemites are always wanting action, aren’t they? Well, for those not in the know, eatsalem.blogspot.com…
Mix-n-Mash
Check out the festivities downtown this weekend. We are hosting DJ Zach at Venti’s, setting up a bar and offering some great new appetizers egyptian chicken skewers $6.5 tender chicken breast skewed n grilled. exotic spices. it’ll make u see pyramids tandoori onion rings $5.5 these are like no other served w/ our special sweet…
Aint nothin but mammals…
My brother, Jason Box, professor of atmospheric science at Ohio State University, is featured as one of the scientists on an upcoming Discovery Channel series — the series debuts Friday, Aug. 22 on Discovery channel. Check out the fwd message below. NOTE: Hood to Coast is Friday, so I will unfortunately be unable to watch…
“Summer in the City”
Go! Downtown Salem is hosting a street fair-type event this weekend called “Summer in the City”, featuring activities, music, art and a wine festival — 30 bands, 16 vineyards, 40 restaurants. Check out the schedule! http://www.gosummerinthecity.info/
Yellow Curry and Moroccan Chicken
Life is good at the new Venti’s location. Moving into the space at 325 Court Street has been such a godsend. We love the sunny side of the street and our neighbors are amazing. We’ve gone from nine to 19 employees, we’ve added some menu choices and continue to welcome comments and critiques from our…
Last day at the Reed
Dino stayed open late and served customers until almost midnight. He (symbolically and literally) rung in the last sale, washed the last dish, turned out the lights and locked the door. I stuck around until about 11. It was festive — people shared Venti’s stories and talked about how much the love and respect Dino….
Star Lights
The cafe is looking so beautiful. We found the star lanterns at Sorel’s on Hawthorne in Portland (3713 SE Hawthorne Blvd). You have to see them in person at night, lighted with warm, incandescent light. There are two banks of these lanterns, flanking the entrance. My dad used the existing trac lights and found adapters…
The wall
Much to say… but no time to write. We are getting so close. Our painter finished the copper wall June 4. It looks beautiful. Such a nice compliment to the brick, and so very different from anything in Salem. It is all coming together: The counters have been wallpapered and countertops placed, the furniture is…
the hood
We are going from having a bare minimum kitchen (steam table and Flashbake ovens) to having a full-sized professional kitchen. We celebrated when the hood was installed — especially since it had been such a setback to have to drill through the ceiling to vent the hood… Yay. Kitchen equipment to be delivered soon.
Painting
Things are taking shape. It’s amazing what a few coats of paint can do to freshen up the joint! Man, I can’t describe how nice it is to see the space going from a construction zone to actually looking like a cool new place to eat and hang out in Salem, OR. These are before…
Eat Salem!
Hello, all, We have been so busy with the move prep that the blog has dropped off the radar. I have a bunch of stuff to post and will do so very soon. I wanted to share a blog — http://eatsalem.blogspot.com/ Check this guy’s blog out. He is prolific and gets around for sure. Thus…
Ta dah!
http://www.ventiscafe.com New Venti’s web site is posted as of 3:30pm PST. It’s my first ever attempt at web design. I used Dreamweaver, fastidously following tutorials from lynda.com as well as Adobe’s web site. My good buddy Shawn Estes sat with me today and checked my code and CSS and gave me the green light to…
Venti’s web site
I am halfway through the Venti’s web site redesign. I am very excited — this is a first for me. I have skills at graphic design but I have stayed wholly print, meaning what design I have done was for print purposes (brochures, business cards, posters, booklets, etc.). I have steered away from web design…
We got rice!
Many of us have probably heard about the global rice crisis which has hit parts of Africa, Thailand, the Philippines. These places seem so far away from us distracted Americans. While we empathise with their terrible fortune, and contribute to Oxfam or Red Cross, such crises hardly seem to affect us at home. Well, at…
Venting
The construction process is ongoing and pretty chill so far. Dino rolls with the punches but also raves about the great job his contractors are doing. Last week Matt and Doug from BCH Construction (www.bchconst.net) had to cut through the ceiling of the cafe for the hood vent system. Matt was up on a ladder…
Dino enlisted the help of Doni Cane and Aron Danublio (sp?) to assist with the construction of our bike frame chandeliers. Holy schnikees, they are gonna be crazy looking. It took Aron about 45 min. to weld together the beginning of the chandelier. We will need several more non-aluminum frames for the second chandelier, which…
Hooray for Spring
It’s been a big week. Things are moving along famously at the new location. Abundance, color, transience, longer days. I am grateful.
moving
Front of Moving Flier. Hooray! I just uploaded the files to my favorite high volume printers: Phoenix Media. Check ‘em out at www.phoenixmedia.com
Irony
OK, for those of you out there who don’t know, I do not drink alcohol. Dino doesn’t drink alcohol. Yet we are applying for our full on-premise liquor license. Seems kinda contra. I am coming up on 7 years clean and sober. The thing is: I’m the one w/ the problem, the one who can’t…
Construction
Construction is well under way. Check it out: The electricians came out of the gates with a bang — Scott’s Electric. These guys are on it. Super professional and are taking their time to make sure the job is done exactly the way I want it. Thanks, Keith. Doug and Matt at BCH Construction have…
progress
It is farther along than the pictures below show, as we have a lot of coordination w/ contractors, the upholstery guy, the flooring guy, etc. We have filed papers with the city of Salem, the OLCC, are working on the Health Dept packet, and putting the finishing touches on our equipment list. Dino and I…
demo 325 Court Street
Doug Addicot and Tom Allender Demo and dust Gonna alter the kitchen setup Plumbing in the far corner — ice machine, sinks and dishwasher Plumbing To the landfill? Counter will move slightly. Caleb is very resourceful. Dino showing Leslie’s parents around. Caleb, Tyler and Jim pretending to work. Uhh… No quip required.
Interior of 325 Court Street, Salem
OK, in no particular order… Regan, Dino and Crit moving in the booths Booths before being reupholstered Hallway looking toward upstairs restrooms Kitchen before demo From kitchen looking toward dining area (but this will change…) Dino, Regan and Crit moving booths into placement (don’t worry, they’re being reupholstered) Kitchen before demo Tyler, Caleb and Nate…
Doug Addicot, general contractor
Doug Addicot, a long time friend and loyal customer, is the general contractor for the Venti’s Cafe move. His knowledge and experience is giving Dino lots of confidence in a successful move. He da man!
Venti’s Logo options March 15, 2008
Now that we like the look of the rooster, there are options for placement of the rooster icon relative to the Venti’s wordmark. See below.
Home to Roost
Dino figures he’s cut 50 tons of chicken in the 12 years he’s been in business. He’s got it down to near perfect science and has an arsenal of tools and implements for the duty. People like chicken. People like his chicken. So here we go. Moving into a larger space in downtown Salem, OR….