A new twist, a familiar favorite: The Baldwin Saloon has reopened

Making their way around the Pacific Northwest, California, Utah and Arizona, the couple found themselves periodically returning to Oregon — more specifically, The Dalles — to visit Blaze’s mother.

“My mother-in-law has lived here for about eight years, so we would always come back and stay with her for a couple of months and then take off again,” Greenhoot said.

After three years of traveling, the couple eventually decided to start looking for land to purchase. Wanting to stay in Oregon, they started searching around the coastal and southern parts of the state, though nothing came to fruition. While once again visiting The Dalles, the two decided to look around for opportunities to open a business.

“I looked at a couple of places here, and then The Baldwin came up as available … and when that opportunity presented itself, we couldn’t pass it up,” Greenhoot said. “It just had to happen.”

Over the years of traveling to The Dalles, the two had been to Baldwin Saloon three times before its closure, and they were able to experience the previous iteration of the restaurant.

“We got a chance to catch the piano player here one time, so that was a blessing because she passed away recently,” Greenhoot said, referring to Carolyn Homer, whose passing was announced on the Baldwin Saloon Facebook page in August 2021. The post noted that Homer had been the Baldwin’s weekend piano player for more than 10 years, playing “old saloon tunes” for its patrons.

“This place is vitally important to [the] history of The Dalles, and people take it very seriously,” Greenhoot said.

While they had previously owned a business in Portland, opening a restaurant was a new experience for them. Initially desiring to run the saloon themselves, they quickly realized that idea was a bit ambitious. “When we first opened this, we’re like, we’ll just work it ourselves,” Greenhoot said. “I don’t know whoever came up with that idea, like, that is totally crazy. We hired a kitchen staff two weeks into it.”

The two divided up the work, with Greenhoot taking charge of the kitchen and Blaze the bar.

“I’m very proud of him ... he’s never been a bartender, really, but … his mind is just very inventive,” Greenhoot said, highlighting two specialty cocktails Blaze created — including the “My Old Man,” a mix of Lucid Absinthe, Zaya Rum, lime and agave, and the “Lost in Mexico,” a mixture of Espsolon, Mezcal, lime agave and smoked salt. “The balance in [the Lost in Mexico] with the tequila and the lime and the sweetness is pretty phenomenal,” she said.

As for Greenhoot, while she had never run a kitchen professionally before, cooking has always been a part of her life. Aside from working as a barista for 10 years, while growing up, Greenhoot grew up often spending time in the kitchen and garden with her family. She also delved into new recipes while traveling, preparing meals in her solar oven and flat-topped propane stove.

“I feel like over the last three years, I really developed more of my cooking style,” Greenhoot said.

Offering a selection of pizza, paninis, nachos, salads and even meatballs, when developing the menu for The Baldwin, Blaze and Greenhoot wanted to honor both the saloon-like nature of the restaurant, and their experience traveling.

“It’s things that we like or love about places around Oregon, places we’ve been, restaurants at the coast that we loved. We kind of picked things up and made a place that is made up of all those things,” Greenhoot said.

They even offer a deep-dish, cornmeal crust pizza that can be ordered by the pie or the slice. “It’s thicker and richer,” Greenhoot said.

They also offer cheesecake for dessert, the flavors changing up every week — one of their most recent being Peach Bourbon Streusel.

While the menu is simplified from the last iteration of the Baldwin Saloon’s menu, Greenhoot emphasized that quality is important to them. “For how simple we wanted this place to be, we have a very high standard for everything.” She noted that they utilize Sandoz farm for some of their ingredients. “This is the most important thing, making sure the community is thriving, and I think that’s important everywhere, you go.” She noted that some customers who frequented The Baldwin Saloon before its initial closure had asked them why they decided to change the previous menu from a finer dining establishment to more of a simplified menu.

“I just say that [is] someone else’s vision, and if we did present that there’s no way that we can recreate it to the satisfaction of people who are asking for it,” Greenhoot said. “We have what we have, and we’re proud of it here, and we hope everybody gives [it] a chance and enjoy it.”

Which an emphasis on simplicity and retaining a pub-like atmosphere, Greenhoot and Blaze have made the decision to not accept credit or debit cards. “I feel like it goes along … with our idea of simplicity,” she said, noting that there is an ATM located in the bar for anyone who needs it.

Another important aspect of what the couple is trying to create in The Baldwin is the atmosphere. Besides creating the restaurant’s interior design, Blaze is familiar with the construction of instruments and how to create an acoustically sound environment, using the experience to create a pleasant atmosphere to talk and connect in.

“My husband is a designer, and he grew up with an artist,” Greenhoot said. “Over the years, we’ve had several ideas for different businesses that we could do, and one would be like, going into bars and restaurants and helping them with their atmosphere.”

In building their desired atmosphere, Blaze and Greenhoot decided to remove some of the restaurant booths and add games, including pool and shuffleboard tables. They even installed an old ski ball machine originally built in the 1950s, which, according to Greenhoot, is one of 170 still in existence. Using spotlights to create “golden hour lighting,” the couple wanted to create a space for connection as well as a fun, romantic place for couples.

“To us, a saloon is more of like … a community center, if you will, and so we needed to get rid of the kind of stiff, uncomfortable and very like separate booth situation to more of an open atmosphere to accommodate and facilitate talking and everyone kind of being together … while also maintaining some booths for privacy, or more romantic interactions,” Greenhoot said. 

She also emphasized the large array of artwork that is on display at the restaurant. “I would consider it an art museum, and I feel like more people should be coming around just to see the paintings in here,” Greenhoot said.

Overall, Blaze and Greenhoot hope to give the community a unique yet timeless experience where they can connect with one another while they visit.

“I think we just want people to kind of have an experience that they’ve never had before, and that’s kind of what we’re offering here,” Greenhoot said, “I think we just want people to come in and be blown away by what they’re seeing.”

The Baldwin Saloon is located at 205 Court St. in The Dalles, open Wednesday through Saturday, from 5 p.m. to midnight. As the business has transitioned from a fine dining restaurant to a bar, minors are not admitted.