New owner reimagines the business of dining

EDITOR

About a year ago Cameron Read and his cousin were running what he calls “a little food truck thing, just trying something fun.” Now the 23-year-old owns and runs the HonkTonk Bar & Restaurant in Goldendale, a much more complex venture. Having grown up in Goldendale, Cameron saw a chance to do something unique for the town, and he seized the opportunity.

“It was a blast,” Cameron says of his food truck days. “It was really fun. I like serving people. But there was not really any option for more than just a truck.”

He’d been working with his father, Jason, for the past few years at his Goldendale Exhaust and Auto Repair (GEAR) shop. “I love cars, I love working on cars,” he says. But the day-to-day part of the business—the oil changes and brakes routine—didn’t call to him. Then about six months ago he started talking with Mike and Jennifer Kallio, then owners of the HonkyTonk.

“They had started up the restaurant, and I was talking with them a bit about it and said, ‘Hey, maybe I could work a couple of shifts there, just for fun,” Cameron recalls. “They needed some help.” So he came in and started working and found he really enjoyed it. “It was a lot of fun,” he says, “really cool. And then, a little while later, I started talking to them, and I asked, ‘Hey, what would it take if you guys ever wanted to sell? I know you just renovated and did all this work.’ And they said, ‘We hadn’t really thought about it, but you know, it would be really cool to see somebody young now take it over and continue from what we’ve built.’”

Conversations between Cameron and the Kallios developed from there. Jennifer had recently sold her real estate business, and the couple began talking about how if they sold the bar too, they could travel and go see their daughter playing college volleyball. “The more we talked, the more it made sense to them,” Cameron says. A point came when the Kallios were ready to make the move—but was Cameron?

“It was, ‘Just take a leap,’” he recalls. “It wasn’t like I had a lot of experience in it, but growing up in the town, I saw a market that was being missed.” By that, Cameron means he sees a chance to give Goldendale something far more than just another bar or restaurant.

“That’s why we’ve really been upgrading the food and the drinks and the atmosphere,” he states. He wants the HonkTonk to be upscale casual, a place with class and an ambiance that a family would not hesitate to venture into. The restaurant part of the establishment can seat people separately from the bar area.

“We’ve done a lot already,” Cameron says. “The menu has changed from what it was when [the Kallios] opened. And it’s going to change again. The whole goal I’m just trying to get to is a place where you can bring family in if you want, you can bring whoever you want. It’s a nice place to gather where there’s really good food. It’s a place where a family

(The Chamber hosts a Community Business Workshop on February 9 at the Goldendale Grange Hall at 6 p.m. Anyone wishing more information on this article series or about Chamber activities and focus is welcome to attend. For more information, visit goldendalechamber.org or call (509) 773-3400.)

Chamber Executive Director

Mindy Jackson says Schroder’s claims about the Chamber’s finances are largely inaccurate. “People have a right to know what happened to the money, and how,” she says. “There’s the suggestion that funds from the Klickitat County and City of Goldendale Lodging Tax programs were mishandled by the Greater Goldendale Area Chamber of Commerce over the past three years. This has introduced ques- tions about unused funds and the accountability of the Chamber along with the records of the City. So, what happened?” Jackson says the place to start looking is the year 2020. “The Chamber of Commerce had submitted their application to the City for the Lodging Tax funds at the end of 2019,” she reported in a written statement. “They began the year with community tourism and event planning efforts—and then a global pandemic struck, closing everything. However, the Chamber did not stop. It became an information partner with the local media, Small Business Development Center, the City of Goldendale, Klickitat County, and state agencies. Time was spent collaborating with these information partners. Emails were continually distributed to Chamber members and community email lists. Countless communications were shared via Facebook in community groups, forums, and message boards. These communications also included continued promotion of the Goldendale and Central Klickitat County areas from Lyle to Bickleton through their website, print media, and other resources. The staff and voluntary board of directors continued their work as well.” Jackson says there are some critical misconceptions about funds from the Lodging Tax programs. “First, these are reimbursement programs,” she says. “A contractor must identify how they plan to use the funds within the application process in the prior year. Then the funds are only to be used for purposes specified in RCW 67.28.1816. The contractor then completes their obligation and submits their receipts for reimbursement. Money is not received in advance. In addition, it is a use-it-or-lose-it type of fund, and any funds not reimbursed under the annual contract stay with the City or County. Funds are not carried over year-to-year.”

See Chamber page A6