“A woman’s place is in the kitchen … as long as she owns it!”

—Ark owners and chefs Jimella Lucas and Nanci Main

Our amazing Peninsula women

Because March is Women’s History Month I thought I’d feature some of the amazing women of our community who do so much to keep us vibrant, active, fed, entertained and healthy. These are some of the fantastic women I’ve written about over the years: Carol Newman, Sue Svendsen, Nanci Main, Jimella Lucas, Charlotte Paliani, Lani Karvia, Nancy Allen, Rachel Lake, Maddy Matson, Betsy Millard, Colleen Smith, Marlene Quillin, Katie Lindstrom, Roseanne McPhail, Una Boyle, Rita Nicely, Nancy Gorshe, Martha Murfin, Jill Gance, Sue Raymond, Bette Lu Krause, Kaarina Stotts, Thandi Rosenbaum, Tiffany Turner, Sydney Stevens and many others. Kudos all!

Just last week we lost another talented community leader, Carolyn Glenn. I worked with Carolyn when I returned to the beach in 2004, just in time to get involved in her Lewis and Clark bicentennial team. Carolyn was a class act from start to finish: kind, passionate about our community, and always impeccably dressed at the same time she was ready for action. I’m grateful to have had a taste of her dedication and commitment to people. So, tip of the hat to Carolyn, and heartfelt sympathies go out to her family.

North Beach Tavern

Now back to the topic at hand: food! Last week I spoke with three hard-charging women chefs and a couple great guys supporting them. Let’s start with Carla Curtis, owner of North Beach Tavern in Long Beach. This, as we know, is a popular place with exceptional pizza, a great outdoor space for friends and families, and a place to hear live music while you sip a brew. “I purposely renamed the Pioneer Tavern the North Beach Tavern when I bought it in 2017,” Carla says, “because I’m a history buff and ‘North Beach Peninsula’ is what’s on all the old sea charts.”

She continues, “I love what I’m doing — my staff and I have a lot of fun — but I’ve always wanted to serve the north end of the Peninsula too. If you live in Ocean Park, Nahcotta, or Surfside, sometimes you just don’t want to make that drive down to us — but I just couldn’t figure how to do it right away.” (Carla and her crew had to make it through the covid shut down years — a difficult time for all small eateries.)

“We already do catering [and delivery] for large pizza orders. Now we just need a driver who knows the north end, has great people skills, and wants to join a fun team so we can expand our service. When we find a driver, we’ll deliver pizza up to Bay Avenue and set up a transfer spot so people can drive in from Surfside or wherever and pick up their pizza from there. We’d like to be able to serve pizza to everybody! — it would be another step for us. I didn’t think pizza was going to be my claim to fame,” Carla says, “but feeding the Peninsula community is a dream come true for me!” (If you’re interested in the driver spot, contact Carla at 360-474-4005. North-end pizza delivery, Tuesday through Thursday, will be happening soon.)

Formosa Bao

Last week the Chinook Observer had a short piece about the Baumann family: Rhoda, Richard and daughters, Rhea and Mira, who are delighting the Peninsula community with delicious cuisine in the form of pot stickers and bao (buns). I spoke with them last week and got the skinny on their story. It starts years ago when Richard, who’d been biking around the world for five years, decided to stop for awhile and teach English in Taipei. His first week on the job he met Rhoda: they ended up getting married and he stayed for 18 years! After leaving Taiwan, a few twists and turns brought them to the Peninsula and they love it here.

The most popular Formosa Bao seems to be the barbecue pork, though Richard says, “That’s a sweet bao. I prefer the beef filling.” Rhoda says, “My favorites are the shrimp pot stickers. I didn’t learn to make bao from my family. I started experimenting with recipes during the pandemic and making them for family and friends. Then people encouraged me to find a place where we could sell them.” They landed at 811 Pacific Ave. S in the Tinker Towne Mall in Long Beach. Open hours are 11-6 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday (503-440-8096).

The business is a family affair. “It’s hard work,” says Rhoda, “but we’re teaching our daughters this way of life; they’re learning to be entrepreneurs.” After school, their 17-year-old helps make bao, and the younger daughter is often at the register helping customers. As the business grows, they’re hoping to add more products, but also, as Richard says, “Maybe when we get the business on its feet, we can take a vacation!” Bao and pot stickers are available fresh or frozen. They also sell tea eggs and green onion bread. Stop by early — they usually sell out.

Sierra’s Place

Change is also coming to the old Berry Patch building in Ocean Park. After a couple other café attempts, the Port of Peninsula purchased the building and adjacent lot and plans are quickly taking shape for a new eatery there.

Port of Peninsula manager Jay Personius says, “The business of the port is business. We’ve been helping entrepreneurs — investing in our community’s job growth — since Nov. 6, 1928 when the port was founded. So when the last restaurant was closing and all those jobs would be lost, the board decided to acquire the property. The rates were so low that it offered us a better return on public funds. It was a win win all around.”

“Sierra Briggs’s food truck was known for her tasty food and fair pricing, and when she saw the empty building she contacted us — she took the initiative! We’re super excited to be teaming up with her.”

From Sierra’s point of view, it was the right place at the right time. “Jay’s been great through this whole thing. The port and I have been working very closely together to make a long-standing affordable place to eat with quality food. We cater to tourists — which is great — but the locals still need good places to eat.” There will also be some exterior upgrades in the works.

How did Sierra get into the food business? “I knew since I was nine that I wanted to be a cook and that was it. I started working at the Waffle House when I was 15. I went to culinary school. Then I had the food truck, but in Ocean Park I’ll have more space. I can still make my biscuits and gravy, but I can also do benedicts and other offerings. One of my best sellers is my breakfast burrito that’s two and a half pounds — share size. In fact a lot of my food is for sharing.”

“We still live in Astoria — I can’t afford to sleep here yet — but give me a couple months and I’ll be living in Surfside or Ocean Park. I’m working my way across the river,” she says. “I’m a Goonie but when you live in Astoria who can stop themselves from crossing the bridge? Then I fell in love with the Peninsula. My daughter Bricade, ‘B’ for short,’ and I had a five-year plan — but it’s only taken us two years so far.”

What is it about the Peninsula that delights her? “It’s the people! I mean sure, great, I love the beach, but it’s the people that drew me here.” We knew that! Stay tuned for more women’s stories as we march through March.