Fine dining near a bend in the river

Schwarzbach said he had long coveted the building at 1535 Bargeway Road, which is perched over the Columbia River a couple miles west of downtown.

The building is owned by Mid-Columbia Producers (MCP), a grain cooperative owned by area farmers. It used to be the home of the Windseeker Restaurant, but the site sat empty for several years.

“I didn’t realize MCP was going to lease it,” Schwarzbach explained. “I’ve wanted this building since the 1990s; I saw the potential. I immediately called them.”

Schwarzbach was eager indeed. His first contact with MCP was on that day in July, and by August he was working on the building. On Nov. 8, Schwarzbach opened the restaurant, and now has it going great guns.

“My goal is to purchase it,” he said.

For now, however, Schwarzbach has signed a lease that will allow him to operate his restaurant there for the next 10 years.

“The view can’t be beat,” Schwarzbach commented, but said there is a lot more going on than just the wonderful view of the river.

Todd King, Bent River’s general manager and head chef, pointed out that the menu is unique.

“It’s classic American comfort food with a twist,” King said.

“Everything is fresh ingredients made from scratch. We have a nice array of stuff and a lot of specials:  Meatloaf; mac and cheese; seafood; steaks. For example, our meatloaf is made of buffalo and lamb, and our jalapeno poppers are made of elk meat and goat cheese. Our salmon is wild, fresh salmon; we don’t do farm salmon. You can definitely tell the difference.”

King, who said the restaurant would have a variety of daily, weekly, and monthly specials, has a long history of working in restaurants.

“I started in my dad’s restaurant in Beaverton at the age of 7, pouring coffee,” he explained.

Now as head chef, much of the responsibility for pleasing Bent River’s customers falls on King, and he seems to relish it.

“I want to produce good food for good people and have fun,” said King. “Martin’s vision is long-lasting and brilliant. It’s nice and classy without being pretentious. He cares deeply about the staff, and he wants to take care of the community. I wanted to sign on.”

The business has already made a big local impact, as Bent River has about 40 employees, and Schwarzbach is optimistic about the future for his business.

“I think it could be a big draw for The Dalles,” he said. “There is nothing like it in the gorge.”

Schwarzbach said he is already working on a plan that could dramatically boost Bent River’s profile.

“My dream is to have a second dock and have the sternwheelers dock here,” he said. “If they had another place to dock in The Dalles, it would be awesome. We’ve already started talking to them.”

“It can be another venue for them,” King added. “Our parking lot is big enough for their bus.”

The walls of Bent River’s dining room are alive with attractive and colorful paintings and photographs. There are also a few metal sculptures of lizards and frogs that provide a sense of intrigue. Schwarzbach said the animals abound in the area during the warmer months.

“There are a million lizards out there in the summer and you hear the frogs, and I said let’s represent them,” he said. “Our outside seating is so nice in the summer – all you hear is frogs and birds.”

The restaurant encompasses about 6,500 square feet, all of which is non-smoking, including the outside seating area.

“This really is a family operation,” King said.

“Our outside seating is going to be dog-friendly and bike-friendly,” added Schwarzbach. “We’re putting in two bike racks.”

According to King, the business has some special plans for the outdoor area, which features an arbor covered in grape vines.

“We’ll cover the area and put out some heaters and people can sit out here,” King said.

“In the winter, we can sit out there and watch it snow.” Schwarzbach, who grew up in Mosier but recently moved to The Dalles, said the idea for the name of the restaurant came from its location.

“I was thinking about this place on the river,” he said. “The Dalles is on a large bend, and that’s where the name came from.”

King said the response has been great.

“Before we opened our doors, people were planning parties here,” he said. “We had Christmas parties booked before we even opened, and they’d never tasted our food even.”

The restaurant’s winter hours are from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sundays through Thursdays, and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

But there is still more to come. In January, Schwarzbach will open a bar off to the east side of the dining room, which he will be calling “Bent River Restaurant, featuring Schwarzbach’s Sports Bar.”

“I wanted to get my name in there,” he joked.