News & Updates

Posted on

Letter to OLCC on Riverside Market

Katie Siefkes
License Investigator
Oregon Liquor Control Commission
2146 NE 4th Street Suite 160
Bend, OR 97701

Re: The Riverside Market & Pub

The Riverside Market & Pub is located within the boundaries of the Old Bend Neighborhood Association (OBNA). Old Bend Neighborhood includes the Old Town and Drake Park Neighborhood Historic Districts, the Mill Addition, Mirror Pond, Drake Park and Miller’s Landing.

The Riverside Market and Pub is a long-existing commercial use in an otherwise densely populated neighborhood. The Riverside is a popular neighborhood establishment and we support owner Jonathon Gaipo’s request to the OLCC for an extension of their outdoor seating area. While supporting the request for approval, the OBNA urges the OLCC to advise the Riverside’s owner of our concerns about parking, noise, and on-site smoking.

Since the adjoining neighborhood is quite dense, with little off-street parking, we hope that the three parking spots that will be vacated by the enlargement of the outdoor area can be re-located. We strongly support the termination of the three spaces as presently they pose a hazard; we support a realignment of the parking area on the north side of the lot, along with the addition of a roadside parking spot that should become available when the southern parking is vacated and the egress is closed. We also support the owner’s suggestion to include additional bicycle parking.

We were pleased to see that the owner plans to continue closing no later than 10 pm. We request that he also encourages patrons to leave the premises at closing time. Again, due to the area’s density, any nighttime noise is amplified, especially during the summer when neighbors’ windows are open.

We appreciate the development of a specific smoking area and we hope that the owners will consider becoming a smoke free establishment. It is our belief that the outdoor changes being proposed should encourage more families to utilize this outdoor space. We further believe that a smoke free environment would add to their enjoyment.

Again, we support the owner’s request to the OLCC for an extension of their outdoor seating area. We believe this addition, along with other improvements to the existing outdoor area, can only add to our already vibrant neighborhood.

Thank you,

Old Bend Neighborhood Association

Posted on

Riverside Market & Pub designates a ‘Smoking Area’

The Riverside Market has a new smoking area.

The Riverside Market & Pub setup a designated smoking area today in response to neighborhood concerns.

The new smoking area is east of the concrete bar where the cornhole boards were located.  The cornhole game will now be setup further south.

“We believe this addition, along with other improvements to the existing outdoor area, can only add to our already vibrant neighborhood,” stated the Old Bend Neighborhood Board.

Posted on

“Let’s Pull Together”

The Deschutes County Weed Advisory Board and the “Let’s Pull Together” (LPT) event organizers are gearing up for noxious weed pull events that begin Saturday, June 9 during Noxious Weed Awareness Week. The week’s weed pull events help to educate in preserving Central Oregon’s ecosystem from non-native noxious weeds.

Noxious weeds are non-native invasive species which threaten our ecosystem. They not only crowd out native plants, but they starve wildlife, use water and create allergens. Noxious weeds also provide significant amounts of ladder fuel which during wildfires, can radically change the speed and fury at which wildfires burn.

Let’s Pull Together is a family-friendly countywide noxious weed-pulling event held around Deschutes County. All residents are welcome to attend one of the events, to help rid the area of noxious weeds. Grab your kids, your friends, your neighbors and meet us at the weed pull.  After the weeds pull events, all volunteers are welcome to feast at the complimentary volunteer appreciation lunch, which are held in every participating community. Festivities include entertainment and great prizes.

In past years, the region’s weed pull events have been among the best attended of all the community service projects throughout the Deschutes County. So, get your neighbors and…Let’s Pull Together.

For more information about LPT locations and how to participate, please visit the “Let’s Pull Together” event web site at www.letspulltogether.com . For assistance and information about noxious weeds, please visit the Deschutes County web site at www.deschutes.org/weeds or contact Dan Sherwin, Vegetation Manager at (541) 322-7135.