Gem again serving New Orleans fare

Rusty Rae/News-Register##Kathy Stoler said she “had” to reopen the Gem Creole Saloon because of customer demand. Fans were eager for the jambalaya, fried chicken, oysters, po’boys and other New Orleans-style food served at the Third Street restaurant.

Anne Rice would feel right at home in the newly reopened Gem Creole Saloon, with its deep purple walls, chandeliers, candles and dozens of round, square and rectangular mirrors.

The late “Interview with a Vampire” author might not reflect in the mirrors, though. But having a ghost at the bar would be in keeping with the New Orleans vibe, as well.

The vibe is as much a draw as the bourbon and the Creole food, which patrons were missing in the months the Gem was closed.

“I had to open again. People wanted it,” owner Kathy Stoler said.

The bar and restaurant fill a unique niche in McMinnville and draws patrons from out-of-town, as well, she said.

The menu lists gumbo, étouffée, crawdads in season and other New Orleans staples. Oysters get a separate section on the menu, which lists several preparations, from on the half shell to deep fried to stuffed onto a po’ boy sandwich made with bread imported from Louisiana.

Burgers, including one topped with Southern pimento cheese, are represented, as are muffalettas, New Orleans’ signature sandwiches, with a choice of meats, seafood or cauliflower.

And Stoler is excited about the new broasted chicken, made with Draper Farms birds in a pressure fryer that cooks the pieces crispy outside and succulent inside.

For dessert, there are beignets, New Orleans-style donuts, along with bourbon layer cake and banana pudding icebox pie.

The bar features a full selection of bourbon and other liquors, along with mixed drinks such as the Creole Bloody Mary.

Stoler first opened the Gem in late 2013 after buying the building next to her first McMinnville restaurant, La Rambla. She renovated both structures extensively.

“I gutted this one and took it down to dirt” before rebuilding, she said. She also removed suspended ceilings and worked with the state Historic Register to properly update the building’s vintage details.

Operations were going well before Covid, she said. During the pandemic, she had to close the Gem four times, twice because of state mandates and twice because people who had been in the saloon tested positive for the virus, necessitating cleaning and a waiting period.

After the final closure, Stoler used the space for private events. She renovated again before reopening the saloon in late November.

The Gem Creole Saloon now is open daily, starting at 4 p.m.

Earlier each day, the dining room receives natural light from an original skylight that was “put in when Third Street was dirt.” Back then, the 1912 building housed the Gem Saloon, which Stoler kept for her own business. Previously, the historic structure housed a kitchen shop.

The La Rambla building, which also is on the Historic Register, started out as the Boss Saloon, she said.

Stoler moved to McMinnville from Minnesota, where she had been in the furniture business for more than 20 years. She owned five stores and three factories at one point, she said.

She also was an antique dealer in the past, which led her to acquire the Gem’s mirrors and other decorative fixtures, such as a chandelier from an old mansion in Sacramento and a piece of iron grating featured at the far end of the room. The decor also includes her grandfather’s saxophone and an old Dobro guitar Stoler used to play.

She moved west to be closer to her two daughters, five grandchildren and three great-granddaughters.

One of her daughters, graphic designer Andrea LaRue, does the marketing imagery for the restaurants. LaRue’s husband, Michael, made the wooden signs.

Her first restaurant focuses on the foods and beverages of Spain, a culture she was acquainted with from her former husband who had lived there.

La Rambla serves traditional Spanish tapas, or small plates of food; customers often order several at a time to share.

When she was preparing to open in 2006, she said, there was a rumor that a newcomer from Minnesota was opening a “topless” restaurant. Not many people were yet familiar with “tapas,” she said.

She found the La Rambla building through Nicole Dell. “Nicole sold me the building, then joined the staff and stayed with me until she died” in 2024, she said. “She was a good friend.”

After acquiring the adjacent building, Stoler opened her second restaurant with a theme based on another place she loved. She had been to the New Orleans Jazz Festival and explored the city several times, she said — and she’s ready to go again, hopefully soon.

Creole culture and food are popular in the Crescent City, which has historically been a melting pot of French, African and Island cultures. “Creole food is a blend,” she said; the other type of food associated with New Orleans, Cajun, derives more from rural areas than the city.

“I wanted a blend of cultures,” Stoler said. “It’s nice to have a different choice of food here.”

Stoler planned to reopen earlier in November. But two days before she was scheduled to welcome guests, her new chef died tragically in a house fire.

While Stoler was saddened by the loss of a friend and employee, she said she is pleased with the new chef, Stephanie Westby.

Customers will enjoy Westby’s food, she said. “Creole food attracts,” she said. “Everybody loves a good bowl of gumbo.”