Along the Street: Shari’s Restaurant in Mac shuts doors

Rusty Rae/News-Register##Lights on, parking lot empty on Monday morning, Shari’s McMinnville restaurant on Northeast Baker Street abruptly closed Sunday night after 43 years.

Kirby Neumann-Rea/New-Register##Kim Myers created “Jareth the Goblin from ‘Labyrinth’” for the annual Scarecrows on a Lamp Post contest, sponsored by the McMinnville Downtown Association. Displayed in the 300 block, it’s one of 14 scarecrows on Third Street. Community members can vote for their favorite at downtownmcminnville.com.

Shari’s Restaurant in McMinnville has apparently ceased operations. Employees and customers posted on social media on the night of Sunday, Oct. 20, that they had been informed that day of the closure of the business. The Newberg location has also reportedly closed.

No one at Shari’s corporate office or the McMinnville restaurant could be reached for confirmation of the closure. However, evidence points that way: the lights were on inside the restaurant but the door was locked and there appeared to be no one inside. No signage indicated any change of status with the business, and no one answered the phone.

Media reports for months have reported financial struggles including the closure of some restaurants and cutbacks at others, including no more sales of the restaurant’s famous pies

The online newsletter That Oregon Life reported that the McMinnville, Corvallis and Redmond locations had been closed.

“Shari’s was more than a restaurant. It was a place where families gathered, where memories were made, and where coffee flowed endlessly into the night,” wrote Tyler James in That Oregon Life.

There was also extensive social media discussion of the closure, with comments from longtime customers, memories of parties and late-night hangover meals.

One customer wrote that they were told by one McMinnville employee who recently bought eggs to stock up the restaurant after the company stopped fully supplying the kitchen.

Cook Louis Jessing, a seven-year employee, confirmed that staff had been told to place no more food orders but management had made long-standing assurances the restaurant would stay open. Workers were told Saturday it would close Sunday and a call from corporate that day said to close the doors at 5 p.m.

“It was shocking for all of us,” Jessing said. “It wasn’t OK the way they did this.

“I’ve got applications out and I’ve been cooking in the valley for years so I’ll be OK but a lot of these folks will have a hard time finding a job. There’s not a lot of restaurant work left around here.”

Scarecrow contest underway

Fourteen scarecrows — 15, if you count the Daughters of the American Revolution entry as two — are smiling, scowling and raising Cain on Third Street this month.

The decorations were put up by a variety of businesses and organizations in the McMinnville Downtown Association’s annual Scarecrows on a Lamp Post competition. Community members can vote for their favorites.

Photos of the entries and a link for voting can be found on the MDA website, downtownmcminnville.com.

Voting is open through Oct. 29. Winners will be announced Oct. 31.

The scarecrows went up Oct. 15. When MDA officials visited them Wednesday, they found that several had been damaged.

For instance, the hat was removed from the McMinnville Garden Club’s entry; the hat has been replaced. Habitat for Humanity’s first-ever entry, a scarecrow named Homer made from recycled goods, had been torn apart, but Habitat volunteers were able to fix it.

The most damaged was an entry by the Atticus Hotel and Cypress Restaurant, which featured a small scarecrow, Tonya the Traveller, setting off on adventures to mythical places such as “Willamette Valley Insane Asylum” and “the Mysterious Mack Theater.” The scarecrow’s suitcases were stolen, MDA officials said.

Atticus staff members said they were able to repair the scarecrow, located around the corner from the hotel in the 700 block of N.E. Third St. But it was vandalized again, so it was taken down.

The MDA managed to get a photo of the intact scarecrow, so it is included on the online voting page.

This may be the first time entries in the annual contest have been vandalized. MDA officials said they are considering adding a new rule next year: that scarecrows must be displayed several feet off the ground.

The MDA has talked with McMinnville police about having more patrols downtown following the scarecrow incidents and recent broken windows at La Bella Casa, Timmreck & McNicol, Mac Stage and Cupcake Couture.

Brews & Barbeque starts Friday

Oregon Brews & Barbeque returns for its Oktoberfest version, Friday through Sunday, Oct. 25 to 27, at Yamhill County Fairgrounds.

The event moves inside to the Leslie Lewis Pavilion, and will feature beer, wine and cider, and food including brats and pretzels. Bavarian-style beer will be emphasized, with Cooper Mountain Ale Works of Tigard and Ridgewalker Brewing of Forest Grove serving wares. Details are at orbrewsandbbq.com.

Games in the pavilion will include beer keg shuffleboard, pretzel toss, and hammerschlagen — driving nails into logs. Elizabeth Wisler will perform polka music.

“We’ll make this a Bavarian beer-hall experience, complete with long tables and servers in dirndls,” said organizer Richard Bert of Bert’s Chuckwagon, who created the first Brews & Barbeque event in 2023.

Activities and events are free with $10 admission. The festival is 21-and-over (this corrects an earlier version of this article.) Food and drinks will be available for purchase. Proceeds from the event will go to Yamhill Community Action Partnership.

Festival hours are 4 to 11 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25, noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 2. Parking is free.

‘Go Be Great’ art camp offered

McMinnville High School art teacher Christine Garrison will lead a “Go Be Great” art camp, sponsored by the See Ya Later Foundation.

Aimed at elementary and middle school students, the art camp will encourage self-expression. Youngsters will work with high school artists and educators as they explore materials and learn new techniques. Each day will focus on a different style, media or artistic process.

Two sessions will be offered: 9 to 11 a.m. for grades one to four, and noon to 2 p.m. for grades five through eight. Both will meet Nov. 16 and 17 in Room A117 at Mac High.

Cost is $40. Scholarships are available.

For more information, contact Waylon Zabriskie of See Ya Later, at 503-648-9366 or waylon@seeyalater.org. Or go to the nonprofit organization’s website, www.seeyalater.org.

Greeters gatherings planned

MV Advancements, a program that helps developmentally disabled people live full lives, will host the McMinnville Area Chamber of Commerce Greeters program on Friday, Oct. 25. The event will run from 8 to 9 a.m. at Lum’s GMC, 830 N.E. Highway 99W, McMinnville.

Chehalem Valley Dance Academy will host the Chehalem Valley Chamber of Commerce Greeters program from 8 to 9 a.m. Friday, Oct. 25, at 311 E. First St., Newberg.

Hospital adds screening program

Willamette Valley Medical Center has launched a new “Healthy Person Program” which WVMC officials say will improve early detection and patient follow-up, thereby improving patient care.

The hospital is partnering with Eon, considered a healthcare IT leader in cancer screening and incidental finding management.

The new program will ensure provider and patient notification, improve patient follow-up, and detect findings earlier, leading to earlier treatment and better outcomes, said Webb Cass, director of radiology.

“Early identification and prevention is the foundation of making our communities healthier,” Cass said. “We are proud to offer this new advanced technology to better serve our communities and ultimately save live.”

In particular, the program will identify incidental findings, which are things that show up on imaging exams but aren’t the reason the tests were ordered in the first place. Artificial intelligence and evidence-based guidelines will help detect incidental findings and provide appropriate follow-up.

WVMC already has implemented the technology for lung cancer screenings and incidental findings management of liver findings, abdominal aortic aneurysms thoracic aneurysms, incidental lung nodules, thyroid nodules and pancreatic cysts.

The hospital has been recognized as a Gold Center of Excellence by EON for the effectiveness of its implementation of the Healthy Person Program.

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