On the side of Highway 730 running through Irrigon stands the Rustic Truck Bar and Grill, a bar and restaurant that started less than a year before the coronavirus pandemic began but quickly become a town staple.
The restaurant on July 31 published a video on Facebook with America’s Best Restaurants, a media company highlighting small restaurants in a video series, to highlight the business’s fare. Owners Cherie and Rodger Bumpaous, who also own The Pheasant Blue Collar Bar and Grill in Hermiston, said they hope the episode shows people how much they care about the community.
“It’s just important for us that the community knows that we appreciate how much they’ve supported us,” Cherie said. “I mean, we started nine months before COVID and the community supported us 110%.”
A win for the town
In the episode, America’s Best Restaurants host J. Russell tried the Rustic Truck’s surf and turf, baby back ribs with onion rings and bacon macaroni and cheese, all of which have special in-house recipes. Manager Michelle Patton, who also is Irrigon’s mayor, said she believes the feature will be good for business.
“We’re proud,” Patton said. “We love that people come from all over, and they keep coming back.”
There are regulars who come as often as a few times a week to have a drink and eat some food. It’s one of the only local bars that’s in Irrigon, giving residents easy access to it, but people also travel from Pendleton or the Tri-Cities for a meal.
Customers on Friday, Aug. 2, said they liked the food, atmosphere and people.
“It is a very nice place,” a member of one group said. “We love the people here, really good people.”
“Their food is really good,” another said. “We want to support a local business.”
Patton said she’s excited by what the video could do for the restaurant and even the town of Irrigon.
“Being the mayor, it was pretty cool to have my little town be featured on something. That’s huge, because I’m hoping it’ll bring more people in,” Patton said. “I’m big on community and big on the volunteering, so bringing people here, that’s a huge thing for me.”
She added the exposure of their restaurant and town has excited the whole team.
For the love of the food
Kelly Branson, the head cook, has worked at the Rustic Truck for almost a year, but used to work at The Pheasant. She cooked onion rings for the episode, but said she specifically asked not to be on it because she would have felt flustered.
“It was a fun experience and it was nice to be recognized,” she said of the filming, which occurred in April.
Branson said it was especially meaningful to be featured because of how important the restaurant and her colleagues are to her.
“It’s home, we’re a family, we’re a community,” she said. “We respect each other, we help each other out and we’re always there for each other.”
Donna Lear, who’s only worked at the Rustic Truck for about three months, said she was surprised when the episode was published.
“I thought it was really cool,” she said as she chopped peppers. “It makes you pretty proud. This is a small town so that’s a big deal.”
She said everyone she’s talked to or heard from has been happy with their food, and hopes the video will bring more people in to try the food and give the restaurant a chance. She’s not the only one.
“I hope that we can expand our customer base,” Cherie said, “and that people will get out of it that we really appreciate our customers and that it’s important what they think and what they like.”
