Along the Street: Bad Dog Bakery prepares to open storefront in Mac

Bad Dog Bakery is planning to open this fall in the building that once held Jake’s Deli and most recently was Mezcal Sabores de Mexico.

The Mexican restaurant closed in June and the owners opened a new restaurant, Abuela’s Nuestra Cocina, on Third Street.

Bad Dog Bakery will share the building at 1208 Highway 99W with Posh Florals, which offers cut flowers and events, and Summon Coffee, said Kelsey Ramer, Bad Dog’s owner and baker.

She and her father, Kelly Ramer, and sisters have been working on preparing the building for the three businesses. The bakery will occupy the central space and kitchen area.

Previously, Bad Dog Bakery had a food truck that parked at the Baker Creek Road/Baker Street intersection several days a week. It also took orders via a website.

But Ramer closed the truck at the end of 2021. “We outgrew it,” she said. “We’ve been biding our time to find the right place.”

Moving into the building at Highway 99W and Linfield Avenue is the fulfillment of a longtime dream for Ramer, a McMinnville High School graduate who has been cooking and baking for many years.

She was in the ProStart culinary program at Mac High. She studied business management at Chemeketa Community College and earned an associate’s degree in culinary arts at Linn-Benton Community College.

She was the baker at Community Plate Restaurant in McMinnville for three years before opening Bad Dog’s food cart near the end of 2018.

Initially, the menu at Bad Dog Bakery will be similar to what Ramer offered in the food cart, including bagels, English muffins, breakfast sandwiches on either of those breads, and pastries such as cinnamon rolls and items made with croissant dough.

“Being in our own building will let us expand the menu with lunch and other items,” Ramer said.

Program features local history

The Yamhill County Historical Society will host a Secrets of the Past history program on Tuesday, Oct. 15, at the Yamhill Valley Heritage Center.

The program will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Yamhill Valley Heritage Center. Admission is free for members, with a suggested donation of $5 for non-members.

Guest speaker Edward Loy, author of “Chasing the Echo: The Call of the Klondike,” will talk about the lives and contributions of the Watts family during the Klondike Gold Rush. He will discuss the legacy of Charles W. Watts, whose letters from Alaska document a remarkable chapter in Oregon’s history.

Beginning in 1863, John W. Watts settled in Lafayette. His son Charles, a journalist and printer, ventured from Lafayette to Salem, eventually settling in Albany in 1882. Charles then journeyed to Alaska in 1897 during the gold rush. He wrote 79 letters to his wife and daughter in Albany while there.

The Yamhill County Historical Society began in 1957. Its mission is to protect, preserve, and share the history and heritage of Yamhill County.

For more information, go to yamhillcountyhistory.org or call 503-472-2842.

‘Liquid Courage’ raises money

During October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, With Courage is raising funds with a community event in which restaurants and other businesses donate $1 in return for every pink beverage special ordered.

“Liquid Courage” brings in funds to help patients and survivors.

Participating businesses include:

Carlton: Bull Run Distillery, Carlton Corners, Common Grounds Espresso, Craft Wine Co., Ghost Hill Cellars, Ikigai, Ken Wright Cellars, Park & Main, The Blind Pig, The Horse Radish.

Dayton: Loam Kitchen, Seufert Winery.

Dundee-Newberg: Bubble Bear, Day Wines, Good Company, Old Town Bar & Grill, Social Goods Market.

McMinnville: 1882 Grille, Alpine Crossing, Alpine Kitchen, Blue Moon Lounge, Celestial Hill, Chris James Cellars, Conservatory Bar, Cypress, Flag & Wire Coffee, Grain Station, Humble Spirit, La Rambla, Local Flow. Pike Road Wines, Pinot Vista Tasting Lounge, Pura Vida, R. Stuart & Co., Serendipity Ice Cream, Terra Vina Wines, The Bitter Monk, The Diner, The Sage, Two Dogs Taphouse, Union Block Coffee, Velvet Monkey Tea.

Yamhill: Fairsing Vineyard, The Larson House

For more information, go to withcourage.org.

More help for cancer patients

In addition to the Liquid Courage event for With Courage, the Willamette Valley Cancer Foundation is benefiting during October and November from sales at Honey Pie Pizza.

The pizza shop in Mac Market, 11th and Alpine streets, McMinnville, will donate 10% of its sales of a seasonal pizza.

The cancer foundation helps cancer patients with nonmedical needs, such as paying rent or utility bills, buying food or covering transportation costs.

For more information, call Willamette Valley Cancer Foundation, 503-435-6592.

Greeters planned Friday

Encore Home Furnishing, 2730 N.E. Highway 99W, McMinnville, will host the McMinnville Area Chamber of Commerce Greeters program Friday, Oct. 11. Greeters runs from 8 to 9 a.m.

Sprinkles of Joy Baker will host the Chehalem Valley Chamber’s Greeters program from 8 to 9 a.m. Friday, Oct. 11, at 621 E. First St, Newberg.

Film festival screens showcase

McMinnville Short Film Festival will continue its series of fall events with a “Horror and Comedy Showcase” at 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26.

The event will be held at Bierly Brewing, 624 N.E. Third St., McMinnville. Admission is $10.

The evening will include “Girls Night In,” a satirical horror short directed by Alison Roberto; “Oswin Woods,” about an offer of $20,000 to anyone who can stay overnight in some scary woods, directed by Jacob Bunn; “Smiley Death Face,” about a girl who stumbles into a mysterious text message conversation, directed by Andrew Patrick Torrez; and “Baby Fever,” about a teen who dreams of becoming a prom queen, directed by Hannah May Cumming.

The popup event is a prelude to the 14th annual short film festival, which will be held Feb. 27 to March 2, 2025.

In addition, there will be Native American film previews on two dates in November and film trivia in January.

For more information, go to mcminnvillefilmfest.org.

Hotel offers writers’ residencies

The Atticus Hotel, which recently was awarded a Michelin Key for top hotels, is launching a new program to support the arts by granting residencies that will give them time and space to focus on their creative process.

The Atticus Hotel Artist in Residency offers writers four-day, two-week and four-week residencies between Nov. 15 and April 1. The application deadline is Oct. 15.

In collaboration with the Linfield University Creative Writing Department, the artist-in-residency program will provide opportunities for college students to review and score submissions. Writers will be invited into Linfield classrooms during their residency for programs ranging from readings to workshops and Q&A sessions.

“One of the main objectives of the program is to meet writers where they are at, both creatively and logistically,” co-owner Erin Stephenson said.

“In an increasingly chaotic feeling world, we all need to find moments of peace where we’re able to step back, take a deep breath, and reconnect with our creativity,” she said. “Artists need our support now more than ever to be able to find the space to create works for the rest of us to enjoy.”

To integrate residents with both the hotel and Linfield communities and to foster connections locally, chosen participants are expected to contribute a representative piece. Contributions could include a copy of a previously published work to the Atticus library; a reading at the local library or bookshop; or a writing workshop or other experience that fosters and deepens connections, Stephenson said.

Locally owned and operated, the downtown McMinnville hotel “celebrates the community’s history and culture, shared with guests through storytelling, art, architecture, and locally sourced and crafted products,” Stephenson said.

In addition to the Michelin rating, it has been named by Trip Advisor as one of the top 25 hotels in America.

For more information, go to atticushotel.com/about/atticus-hotel-artist-in-residency-ah-air/.

What’s going up

- The walls are up for a new apartment complex at 2425 N.E. McDonald Lane, McMinnville.

The lot was cleared for construction earlier this year in a burn to learn exercise by the McMinnville Fire Department. The previous building had once been a dental office.

Hanish Basra is building the new multi-family building, Ruby’s Corner Apartments. The nine-unit apartment building is a $1.7 million project.

- Ben Fackler Construction will complete a $300,000 project to make alterations at 525 N.E. Third St., McMinnville, for Celestial Hill Winery’s new tasting room.

- Valley Baptist Church will tear down 3,327 square feet of its building at 2631 N.E. McDonald Lane, McMinnville. Minister Micah Cooksley took out a demolition permit for the $50,000 demolition project, according to city building permits.

- The Housing Authority of Yamhill County was issued four building permits for construction at the new Stratus Village affordable housing project at 2450 S.E. Stratus Avenue. Two of the buildings will house 35 units each; they are estimated to cost $5,976,000 apiece. The two others will contain 53 and 52 units, respectively, and cost $7,768,800 each.

- Ether Form Inc., a defense contractor that develops next-generation open architecture digital RF and mission system solutions for the U.S. government, soon will break ground for its new 10,080-square-foot steel building at 2860 N.E. Rivergate in McMinnville’s industrial park. Haworth Construction will take on the $1.25 million project.

- Hillside Retirement Community is continuing work on its new cottages, which will be visible from West Second Street.

- First Federal’s new branch office at Highway 99W and McDaniel Lane is nearing completion.

The new branch, which will replace one on Evans Street near the Baker Creek extension, is located on the former site of Bank of America and, prior to that, Umpqua Bank.

- New Energy Works is continuing construction for its new warehouse at 2675 N.E. Orchard Ave., McMinnville. Traffic is being flagged in the Orchard Avenue area while new sidewalks and other improvements are being installed.

To submit items for consideration in Along the Street, email Starla Pointer at spointer@newsregister.com.