Celebrating 40 Years

In the summer of 1983, the Barley Mill Pub opened its doors, unleashing what would become a whirligig of beer, fun, music, mysteries and more. This cozy pub is the touchstone of McMenamins, the place where two brothers perfected their idea of a neighborhood gathering place for all, the place where Captain Neon was born and traditions began.

We’re celebrating 40 years with a Barley Mill birthday bash and a look back at where we’ve been by way of activities and festivities, beloved traditions and old friends. Join us, there’s fun to be had…

Festivities

Barley Mill Pub Birthday
Saturday, June 17 * Barley Mill Pub (Portland, Ore.)
Celebrate the original with us at our all-day, indoor/outdoor party.
 
40th Anniversary Celebration Across McMenamins
Monday, July 3 * All locations
Raise a glass and cheers to 40 years across McMenamins – to where we’ve been and where we’re headed next!
Burger + beer $19.83 * Just-for-fun Passport stamp

History Pub
The Art of McMenamins: Celebrating 40 Years of Creativity, A Conversation with the Artists
Monday, July 24 * Kennedy School Theater (Portland, Ore.)
Meet the unique artists who transform each McMenamins pub, hotel, restaurant, brewery, and music venue into a visual journey that sparks the imagination and reflects local history.

40% Off McMenamins Beer
Monday, August 14 * McMenamins Everywhere!
We like the sound of 40 beers for 40 years (cheers!), but it’s a few too many pints for one day, so we’re offering 40% off pints of McMenamins beers, all day long. Come raise a pint with us!
 
Greenway Pub Birthday
Saturday, September 30 * Greenway Pub (Tigard, Ore.)
Three months after the Barley Mill, Greenway Pub opened, bringing 33 taps and a fish tank (still there today) to burgeoning Tigard. Celebrate pub #2 with us! This is your last chance to wrap up the Discovery Hunt.

It’s Been a Long, Strange Trip Discovery Hunt

June 17-Sept 30 * Across the McMenamins Land
Sleuth your way through clues, learn McMenamins lore & win a prize for solving all 40, and get entered into a raffle for hotel stays, gift cards and more. Pick up a hunt booklet at Barley Mill.

Begin the hunt

Birthday Beer

Limited release of Quarant'anni Italian Pilsner, our 2023 Barley Mill brew, will be on tap at Hillsdale Pub while supplies last.

1983 Lager will be released in cans to go on Friday, July 28. Available at all locations.

Passport Stamps

One day only: Barley Mill Birthday stamp at the party on June 17.
 
July 3 through the end of the year: McMenamins 40th Anniversary stamp available everywhere.

40th Anniversary Merch

Fun goods and memorabilia available online and in gift shops all year.

Shop Now

McMenamins Podcast

Launching Tuesday, September 26
The Red Shed Tapes
hosted by Shannon McMenamin

40th Anniversary Timeline

1974-1983

Before opening their first bar together in the summer of 1983, Mike and Brian McMenamin learn the ropes at various ventures, from bars to a beer & wine distributorship.

July 7, 1983

Let there be songs to fill the air... With a name inspired by an actual barley mill (formerly a kitty litter grinder) from Oregon's first microbrewery, the Cartwright Brewery, the Barley Mill Pub opens and Grateful Dead fill the air.

October 1, 1983

The Greenway Pub opens, bringing 33 taps and a fish tank (still there today) to burgeoning Tigard.

1984

A former Skippers Fish & Chips gets a makeover, becoming the Hillsdale Public House, our third pub.

1985

Senate Bill 813, known as the Oregon Brewpub Bill, passes, allowing proprietors to brew and sell beer on the premises.
Read More

Senate Bill 813, known as the Oregon Brewpub Bill, passes, allowing proprietors to brew and sell beer on the premises. Hillsdale adds a brewery, dubbed Captain Neon's Fermentation Chamber, and brews our first beer, Hillsdale Ale.

Terminator Stout is brewed for the very first time and is still being poured today.

1986

Hammerhead and Ruby ales are created and remain on tap in perpetuity.

1987

The Mission Theater, Oregon's original theater-pub, opens in Northwest Portland.

1988

The first of three Eugene pubs opens, juxtaposing Grateful Dead and vintage charm in a turn-of-the-century house at High Street Brewery & Café.

1989-1990

The dam bursts… this period sees the opening of seven pubs including Sunnyside, Broadway and Ram’s Head.

1991

Bagdad Theater & Pub opens on Portland’s bustling Hawthorne Boulevard. Edgefield continues to grow...
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Bagdad Theater & Pub opens on Portland’s bustling Hawthorne Boulevard. Edgefield continues to grow, with the opening of an onsite brewery, McMenamins' largest to date, and the timing couldn't be better... The Power Station Pub opens on the property, serving beer crafted mere steps from its taps.

1992

Edgefield Winery crafts its first cider, using local apples from Hood River.

1993

The cold wind was too much for one farmer, but in 1911 county officials thought Troutdale, Oregon was a good place for...
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The cold wind was too much for one farmer, but in 1911 county officials thought Troutdale, Oregon was a good place for a poor farm. 75 years later, McMenamins envisions the now-abandoned institution as a magical spot for adventure, and Edgefield hotel rooms in the manor and the Black Rabbit Restaurant open for guests.

1995-1997

In a growth spurt of epic proportions, 19 pubs, small bars, venues and a hotel open. They include such highlights as...
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In a growth spurt of epic proportions, 19 pubs, small bars, venues and a hotel open. They include such highlights as Rock Creek Tavern, Greater Trumps cigar bar, Downtown Portland's iconic Crystal Ballroom, Olympic Club Pub, Kennedy School, and joining the Seattle-area community with four pubs.

1998

Grappa is the first when spirts begin percolating from the still at Edgefield Distillery, and the adjacent Pub Course opens for...
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Grappa is the first when spirts begin percolating from the still at Edgefield Distillery, and the adjacent Pub Course opens for the first swing of a club.

Echoing with tales of Shanghai tunnels and resident spirits (of both kinds), the White Eagle Saloon & Hotel opens with regular live music to rock the house.

1999

Topped with a rooftop bar and anchored by a cellar speakeasy, McMenamins becomes the custodian of a historic building...
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Topped with a rooftop bar and anchored by a cellar speakeasy, McMenamins becomes the custodian of a historic building to house Hotel Oregon on the picturesque main street of McMinnville.

Our southern outpost, Roseburg Station, opens in an old train depot.

2000

The drumroll of a marching band marks McMenamins' opening of a stately manor on 13 acres in Forest Grove.
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The drumroll of a marching band marks McMenamins' opening of a stately manor on 13 acres in Forest Grove. The Grand Lodge honors Mike and Brian's parents with namesake bars on the property.

UFO mania is resurrected with a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Trent UFO sighting near McMinnville at Hotel Oregon's first UFO Festival.

2002

Formerly a "gentleman's resort," the Olympic Club adds a hotel and theater to the pub in Centralia, making it our first Washington hotel.

2004

Originally a 1936 parochial school, Old St. Francis opens as a hotel with bars, pub, theater and soaking pool in the heart of Bend, Oregon.

2006

Corvallis welcomes the second of two McMenamins pubs, and this one on Monroe Ave. borders Mike and Brian's alma mater, Oregon State University.

2007

With an artesian well bubbling in its basement to this very day, Spar Café opens in Olympia, Washington.

2008

A sign of things to come (see 2012), the Sand Trap Pub opens overlooking the oldest golf course west of the Mississippi in Gearhart on the Oregon Coast.

2011

McMenamins takes the reins of a wedge-shaped block with a kaleidoscopic past in Downtown Portland and opens the...
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McMenamins takes the reins of a wedge-shaped block with a kaleidoscopic past in Downtown Portland and opens the Crystal Hotel, Zeus Café and Al's Den.

Meanwhile, down in Wilsonville, a beautiful old church is refurbished and a neighboring pub is added, complete with grassy amphitheater and gardens.

2012

Four years after opening the Sand Trap Pub on the coast, the rest of the building is ready for guests. Gearhart Hotel opens with 18 rooms, then adds more four years later with the addition of the Annex.

2015

Six years after the last bell ushered students from its halls, Anderson School reopens with intent to break all the rules with bars, brewery, movies, games and a swimming pool.

2018

Well north of the 45th parallel, Kalama Harbor Lodge opens with a tropical vibe (and cocktails to match) and an architectural nod to Lahaina, Maui.

2019

A peal of bagpipes announces the grand reopening of Elks Temple in Tacoma, Washington as a seven-story McMenamins hotel filled with mystery and adventure.

2020

A hard year for everyone. As the Grateful Dead sang, Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile – and that’s what we did with the Crystal Ballroom Balcony Concert Series.

2023

What a long strange trip it's been
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What a long strange trip it's been

When Mike and Brian McMenamin talk about the Barley Mill Brew, an annual brewing tradition on the anniversary of our very first pub, they talk about the "connection with where it all started" and "the idea of sharing and being a part of the brew... that's the idea behind our business." With that in mind, we'll "just keep truckin' on"  for years to come.