Historical Sidenote

Since this blog is about Brookings-Harbor restaurant history, I strive for historical accuracy. Sometimes discrepancies arise. For example, I read in an old Curry Coastal Pilot clipping (pictured below) that O’Holleran’s was established back in 1953. I read it again in a separate article (also pictured below). Yet, the sign (pictured above) claims ‘1952’ as the start year…curious.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Rodney Minnier (the most recent and final owner of O’Holleran’s), for clarification via a phone interview. When asked, Rodney laughed and said, “no, that was my fault. I had the sign made up and I got the year wrong. The correct year was 1953, but I mistakenly told the signmakers 1952. It was a big sign, and it was already made, so we just went with it.”

Also, The Curry Coastal Pilot article about the original owners (Jack and Louise O’Holleran) indicates that they “purchased” O’Holleran’s in 1953, not established. When I asked Rodney for clarification, he said, “as far as I know, The O’Holleran’s established the restaurant after buying the building–which I believe was a drive-thru burger joint prior to that.” I could find no evidence to support his claim, so if anyone reading this has proof (pictures or otherwise), please let me know and I’ll update my post with the appropriate info.

O’Holleran’s officially operated between 1953 and 2021 (almost 70 years in the same location at 1210 Chetco Avenue), between just two families (The O’Holleran’s and The Minnier’s). To my knowledge, O’Holleran’s was the longest-running (and longest-standing) restaurant in the history of Brookings. Sadly, the building was demolished in 2023–the same year as Richard O’Holleran (the son of the original owners) passed away.

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Origins Of O’Holleran’s Restaurant

Jack and Louise O’Holleran opened O’Holleran’s Prime Restaurant way back in 1953. Their son, Dick, joined the family business in 1956.

Back in the early days, the menu was simple, just like the times, and a far cry less expensive. Just look at those prices! Sure makes one hunger for the old days…though in my case it’s just anemoia.

At some point over the years, Dick and his wife (Mary) took full ownership of O’Holleran’s. With nearly 50 years of his life invested in the family restaurant, Dick was finally ready to retire in 2005, when he and Mary sold O’Holleran’s to Rodney and Eileen Minnier.

Passing The Torch

Rodney and Eileen had already retired when they moved to Brookings. They spent their first few years of retirement managing rental units to ward off the doldrums of the so-called “Golden Years,” but found that unenjoyable. The opportunity arose to purchase O’Holleran’s and they decided, “why not?” Rodney and Eileen originally met one another at a restaurant in which they both worked (per the Pilot article above), so it seemed fitting to finish their working years in a restaurant together.

The Minnier’s took over O’Holleran’s Fine Dining with full confidence that they could run it successfully (indeed, the first year they quadrupled sales of the previous year), on account of their years of experience working in and running restaurants. They successfully ran and sold two restaurants in Ventura, California (both of which are still in operation to this day); The Golden Egg Cafe (sold in 1994) and Seaward Seafood (sold in 1998). Rodney also owned a Horseradish business named Atomic Horseradish Distribution Co. between 1988 and 2002 (when he sold and they moved here). When we spoke, Rodney sounded very proud of his successful businesses. Nostalgic even.

Time For Change

In their third year operating O’Holleran’s (2008) The Minnier’s decided to remodel the interior and exterior of the building, including the addition of patio-dining.

Christmas, 2008, they began a new tradition after the remodel was completed: the annual O’Holleran’s Christmas light displays. There were many O’Holleran’s traditions for locals to enjoy prior to that (celebrating Anniversaries, Birthdays and Holiday dinners and other special occasions). Nothing more memorable than the Christmas lights, though. They were extraordinary. Legendary even. It took their team many hours of work every year, but all of us locals always appreciated their efforts.

Rodney and Eileen made a few other changes, including menu updates, and alterations to their hours of operation. For example, for all of three months in 2008, they added breakfast and lunch to the menu and they were open all day. When asked why it was so short-lived, Rodney said, “Our California restaurants were successful breakfast spots, so we figugred we’d give it a try here. I came to the realization really quickly that I was way more profitable being open only five hours per day.” Dinner service maximized profits vs time. Because of that, they ran only dinner service for the remainder of the restaurant’s life.

Hurry In Curry Delivery Service And O’Holleran’s Restaurant

I met Rodney and Eileen before I opened Hurry In Curry, back when I did sales for Palm Industries, between 2012 and 2015. I set up a cleaning deal for the kitchen floors at O’Holleran’s, so I got to know Rodney while we settled our agreement. It went well enough.

In 2016, when I opened Hurry In Curry, I didn’t expect to do any fine-dining deliveries, but I got calls for O’Holleran’s early on. Rodney and Eileen were hesitant to let their food go out for delivery on the chance it would diminish the quality. I persuaded them to give it a try and let the customers decide.

Thus began a successful five year relationship, during which time nobody ever complained about the quality. The customers were happy to get what they wanted. I was happy to have another delivery partnership. The Minnier’s were happy selling more meals.

So it went until the Covid times. Many local businesses were impacted, especially restaurants. Hurry In Curry kept delivering right through the bulk of 2020 and 2021 with brief closures. O’Holleran’s stayed open and we drove deliveries for them frequently, since so many community members chose to stay indoors, but still wanted their fine-dining fix.

Covid Fallout

During the Covid years, I was often in restaurants. I saw firsthand how unruly some customers were about being asked to wear masks. That conversation wore thin with restaurateurs very quickly. Eileen worked head of house, so bore the brunt of those conversations and disagreements, but Rodney caught his fair share of them as well. I watched the scene play out too many times. That wasn’t the reason they closed, but it helped make the decision easier.

Regardless, The Minnier’s had been at it for 14 years past their original retirement date and were ready to retire for keeps. So in 2021, they listed O’Holleran’s for sale. In an unstable economy, buyers were scarce. Rodney had wanted to sell to his niece and keep the business in the family, but that didn’t pan out.

Eventually, Rubicon Investments made Rodney an offer he couldn’t refuse and O’Holleran’s officially closed for good in November, 2021, ending a legacy. Due to the nature of the contracts, the deal was very hush-hush, so there wasn’t much word on the street about the matter while O’Holleran’s sat vacant for just over a year. Alas, Rubicon Investments had no interest in preserving a longstanding piece of Brookings history, and demolition began on January 30th, 2023.

The New 1210 Chetco Avenue

Wonder what the new building will look like when it’s done? Wonder no more!

Acknowledgements & Appreciation

Although I have a long memory, I wasn’t est’d until 1981. As such, uncovering historical tidbits for this article proved difficult. As I mentioned, Dick passed away before I started writing this article and since I couldn’t get direct info from the long-time owner, I fell back on research. The obvious starting point (good old Google) produced next to nothing. Then I tried the Chetco Community Library and The Curry Coastal Pilot. Neither had much info either. As a last ditch effort, I cast a wide net with a facebook post asking locals for photos and stories of their best O’Holleran’s memories. I got back a few of each, but not many.

Luckily, I ran into Eileen Minnier at our local Fred Meyer, in typical small-town-style. She gave me Rodney’s phone number. I called him and he agreed to a phone interview (which I greatly appreciated). He recommended I first visit The Chetco Museum, as he had just delivered several items of O’Holleran’s memorabilia there (including newspaper clippings). So I did.

Special Thanks To The Chetco Museum

Big thank you to The Chetco Museum and their volunteers for their invaluable assistance poring through their historical records. Longtime locals, Darlene Harroun and Shelly Mattson, were both amazing! They suggested scouring old Brookings Harbor High School yearbooks for photos, which was a great idea. They had loads of old yearbooks at the museum. Darlene and her husband even checked their own personal yearbook collection and sent me restaurant photos from them.

To learn about the early history of Brookings-Harbor, the Chetco area, and its Indigenous People, I recommend visiting The Chetco Museum at 15461 Museum Road, in Harbor. You can book a tour on their website at chetcomuseum.org. Like and follow their Chetco Valley Historical Society Museum facebook page.

They provided the following photographs from their yearbook collections:

They also allowed me to take photographs of the following items of memorabilia in their posession:

Fond Farewell

O’Holleran’s restaurant and Richard O’Holleran are no longer with us. Though their legacies are preserved at: The Chetco Musem; right here in this blog; and in our stories and memories.

Gabriel Chatman
Owner/Operator
Hurry In Curry Deliveries