Along the Street: New cocina plans to open in downtown McMinnville

Mezcal Sabores de Mexico will open a second restaurant soon, this one in downtown McMinnville.

The Fernandez family, which opened Mezcal Sabores at 1208 S.E. Baker St. in January 2019, will call its new location Abuela’s Nuestra Cocina – a name that honors “the accumulation of all we’ve learned” and an homage to all grandmothers, said Allan Fernandez.

A 2022 McMinnville High School graduate who is a freshman at Linfield University, Fernandez works with his parents, Jim and Laura Fernandez, and his sister Mariana, a Linfield graduate, in the restaurants.

He said they have been fixing up the new space, which previously held Geraldi’s Italian Eating Place at 888 N.E. Third St.. They hope to open In February.

It will feature the same flavors as Mezcal Sabores, but a new menu and unique decorations.

Fernandez said they may focus on the Mezcal location in the morning and early afternoon, with dinner service downtown in the late afternoon and evening.

N-R hosts Friday Greeters

The News-Register, 1315 N.E. Miller St., in the McMinnville Industrial Park,, will host the McMinnville Area Chamber of Commerce Greeters program on Friday, Jan. 5. Greeters runs from 8 to 9 a.m.

Loam restaurant, which opened in 2023 at 306 Ferry St., Dayton, will host the Jan. 12 McMinnville Greeters.

Tiger Manufacturing will host the Chehalem Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Greeters program from 8 to 9 a.m. Friday, Jan. 5.

On Jan. 12, the CVCC Greeters program will be held at Willamette Valley Appliance, 705 N. Springbrook Road Newberg.

Wine Library moves

Dundee Wine Library winery has a new home – moving its tasting room from Dundee to McMinnville in early December, to renovated digs at 619 N.E. Third St., in the historic Bennette Building. The winery, aka DWL, moved from space in The Dundee Hotel. The winery is located at 20420 N.E. Sunnycrest Road, outside of Newberg.

Seven days, Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. “It feels like McMinnville’s living room; that’s what I’ve been coining it,” said Sherry Wilson, tasting room manager, who installed the upholstery in the window seat. Filling one wall of the “library’s” main tasting room are book cases that came installed and are now filled with books. A smaller private room for tasting is nearly finished, and a kitchen was added and restrooms upgraded.

DWL plans a grand opening Jan. 13; signage will go up after the front windows are replaced. The tasting room is currently displaying still life and landscape paintings by vintner William Rumsey.

What’s going up

Remodeling is underway on three century-old buildings at Third and Ferry streets, across from Blockhouse Park in Dayton.

The Twin Towers LLC project will develop retail space at ground level and lodging upstairs in buildings that have been vacant for more than 10 years.

The project is partly funded by a $200,000 grant Dayton received through the Oregon Main Street Revitalization program, part of Oregon Heritage, which in turn is part of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.

The City of Dayton and the Dayton Community Development Association collaborated to apply for the grant. Their project was one of 27 successful awardees.

“The project will bring new businesses and jobs to our downtown while preserving our history,” said Judy Gerrard, chair of Dayton’s historical Preservation Committee.

Gerrard said Twin Towers, LLC, shares her committee’s goals of maintaining historic buildings while connecting them to a new building and support the economy.”

- Evasion Brewing, a gluten-free brewery in McMinnville, is making improvements to its building at 4230 N,E, Riverside Drive. The $1,000 interior remodeling project will add a brew kettle, fermenters and canning equipment, along with improving the tasting room.

The tasting room currently is open from 1 to 6 pm. Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. For more information, go to the website,

- Yamhill Soil and Water Council is converting a former residence at 15380 N.W. Orchard View Road into office space. The project is valued at $23,997, according to building permits.

- Stickman Brewing, which has several locations in the Portland area, is preparing to open a new site in the long-awaited Granary Row building on Lafayette Avenue. The company offers wood-fired pizzas, cocktails, wine and 28 beers on tap. Opening is expected is expected in February.

- Signs are up and the drive-through lane is ready at the new Burger King. The 2,000-square-foot fast-food outlet is near completion at Highway 99W and Booth Bend Road, near Lowe’s.

According to a city building permit, the signage project cost $10,000.

It will be the second Burger King in McMinnville, joining one North HIghway 99W near Safeway.

-The city of McMinnville took out a building permit in December for the addition of partition walls to an existing cubicle in its building at 231 N.E. Fifth St. The building houses the planning department, McMinnville Economic Development Program and other services,

- Nash & Nichol Retail is planning $40,000 of alterations to 609 N.E. Third St. The 5,855-square-foot space at Third and Ford streets, once a gas station and care repair business, was converted to offices for the News-Register, then used by First Federal during the bank’s construction project, Alt Coworking and MacHub.

- Chemeketa Community College plans to remodel part of its Yamhill Valley Campus in McMinnville. A $15,000 project is in the works.

- Universal Home Services of Dayton is doing a $5,000 project to improve 1245 N.E. Alpha Drive, Building 2.