Hood River’s Crush Cider to celebrate seven years in business

Beyond new hard drinks, the cafe will be featuring local chef Roman Deingruber, who will be making a goulasch for the weekend. Cupcakes will also be available — the party will go all day from noon to 9 p.m.

Co-owner Linda (Sam) Bailey said that Crush Cider Cafe makes all of their ciders from local orchards in the Hood River Valley.

Bailey said it has taken a combination of things that has kept Crush Cider serving happy customers to this day. Despite the Eagle Creek fire in 2017 that hampered the young business’ growth and later the pandemic, Bailey said she, and co-owner Guntram Jordan have stayed determined and remained adaptable to succeed. During the pandemic, the cafe’s doors closed to in-person dining, but Bailey and Jordan invested in a canning machine and began selling takeout items. Their landlord, Jeff Hammer, was extremely helpful by allowing them to expand outdoor seating. “I think it’s been a combination of things, and if it hadn’t been for Jeff, we probably wouldn’t have been successful,” Bailey said. “I would really like to thank the community for their support through these rough times that we’ve had in Hood River the last couple of years. That’s part of what the anniversary party is about.”