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By EILEEN GARVIN
For the Hood River News
July 26,
2006
MOSIER — The owners of the WildFlower Café in Mosier are calling
it quits after five years in the business. The café, which has
been a popular gathering place for the small community of 408
people, will serve its last customers on July 30.
Owners Suzi Conklin and Mark Cherniack entered negotiations to
sell the café this spring. The new owners will open with a
different look and menu under the name Wild Ginger.
Cherniack and Conklin decided to sell after Cherniack took a
full-time job with the nonprofit New Buildings Institute in
White Salmon last year. Conklin became overwhelmed running the
café solo. “I’ve been 120 percent consumed by it,” she said. “It
was too much.”
The WildFlower was the couple’s first hospitality venture. When
they opened the café in 2001, Conklin had 25 years of experience
in radio, TV and film while Cherniack had worked in the
sustainable energy field since the 1970s. They learned on the
job about keeping inventory, managing a staff of 22, running the
kitchen, and keeping things smooth in the dining room. “In one
hour I’ve washed dishes, prepped food, cooked on the line,
served dishes and taken money to the cash register,” Conklin
said.
Trying to maintain a balance between the kitchen and the dining
room created a lot of stress. “It’s exciting (in the kitchen).
People thrive back there, but it is really intense. The finish
line is out here,” she said. “You really want people out here to
be happy.”
While the café has done well, Conklin ultimately decided that
the pace was too much for her. “I’ve had a hard time relaxing
out here,” she said, “There hasn’t been a minute in these five
years that I’ve been able to step away from it,” she said.
While it might have been stressful for its owners, the
WildFlower has been embraced by the town of Mosier, becoming the
unofficial town center. For five years locals have gathered to
eat, listen to music and share news. “We just learned everything
about what was going on,” said Conklin.
The two often fielded calls from people needing directions or
looking for their friends. On one occasion a man called to say
he’d found a lost parakeet and thought the owner might live in
Mosier. Conklin made flyers and posted them around town. By the
time she returned from that short errand, the bird’s owner had
seen the sign and contacted the man who found it.
Tourists have come in droves too, enticed by accolades in such
publications as “Sunset Magazine,” the “Los Angeles Times” and
“The Oregonian.”
The new owners, Debra Mazzoleni and Barry Rumsey, relocated to
Hood River this summer from Baltimore. “The new owners are
exactly what I was looking for. They understand the community of
Mosier. They are community-minded,” said Conklin. “I don’t think
anyone is going to be disappointed in what it is going to
become.”
Mazzoleni and Rumsey have not yet set a date for opening Wild
Ginger. Regular customers Pat and Ray Galligan, who’ve lived in
the Gorge for 70 years, are sorry to see their favorite
restaurant closing. “It’s our first choice,” said Pat Galligan,
“We hate to see them leave.”
Longtime employee Tonja Steelman has mixed feelings. “I’m sad
because the regular customers love it here. But I’m happy
because I know how tired Suzi is. She’s made her dream come true
and is moving on to another one.”
Cherniack said he watches the WildFlower pass on with no
regrets, although he will miss the customers. “I will miss the
interaction with folks that we didn’t know from Adam and now
we’ve been seeing once a week for five years,” he said.
Conklin said she feels happy that the endeavor was such a
success. She said she will miss the customers and the
conversation, but is pleased that the building will continue to
house a restaurant.
While Cherniack has returned to his prior field, Conklin intends
to keep a foot in the culinary world. She’s thinking of offering
personal chef services and teaching cooking classes. She
published “The WildFlower Cookbook” this month to make some of
the café’s favorite dishes available to the public. “Yes,” she
said, “Grandma Vera’s Bread Pudding is in there. Customers have
been asking me that.”
Whatever she does next, she’ll be in Mosier, near the café that
she put so much heart into. “When I come down here, I will be
able to socialize with people.”
Cherniack agrees. “It will be nice to be in the new place for
breakfast, lunch or dinner and not have to worry about what is
going on in the kitchen.” |
