McMenamins Elks Temple

The company began in 1983 with the Barley Mill Pub in Portland, named after a barley mill from the Cartwright Brewery, which was Oregon's first microbrewery. Brothers Mike and Brian McMenamin founded the business, and it remains family-owned. Over the following decades it grew from neighborhood pubs into a collection of properties that includes historic hotels, theaters and music venues, many of them restored older buildings such as former schools, a county poor farm, a train depot and a 1915 Beaux-Arts lodge.

Beverages are central to the business. McMenamins brews its own beer, runs 24 breweries and has produced more than 68,000 batches since its first brew in 1985. Edgefield Winery, founded in 1990, makes wines and ciders served at locations in Oregon and Washington. The company also operates two distilleries, one at Edgefield in Troutdale and one at Cornelius Pass Roadhouse in Hillsboro, producing gins, whiskeys and brandies. It roasts its own coffee and says it uses only beans from the Coffea arabica species. Beverages also include THC and CBD drinks.

The hotels range from Hotel Oregon, in a building dating to 1905 in McMinnville, where each of the 36 guestrooms is named after a historical figure, to the Kennedy School and Old St. Francis School in Portland and Bend. Hotels commonly include bars, restaurants, breweries and movie theaters, and several offer guests complimentary use of saltwater or heated soaking pools. At the Grand Lodge in Forest Grove, Ruby's Spa provides massages and pedicures on site. Some hotels offer a choice between private and shared bathrooms, and lodging packages are available, including a Wine Package and a Romance Package.

Entertainment is a major part of the offering. The Crystal Ballroom, Mission Theater, Bagdad Theater & Pub, Kennedy School Theater and Edgefield Concerts on the Lawn host live music and films, with music venue bookings requested through an online inquiry form and event tickets sold through the box office. The company also offers private event and wedding planning, a Passport program for guests and patrons, an online store and gift cards.

The company says it researches each property and its surroundings, interviews people and compiles materials so that the history of each building stays part of the experience.

Locations range from neighborhood pubs to historic hotels, and artwork covers walls, ceilings, floors and doors at many of the pubs, breweries and hotels.