Welcome back to Thebeerchaser. This is a long post. If you are seeing this post through an e-mail, please visit the blog by clicking on the title at the top to see all of the photos and so the narrative is not clipped or shortened. (External photo attribution at the end of the post. #)

One of the joys of my Beerchasing hobby – started in 2011 – has been the adventure of discovering new establishments. Many of them have been around for a long time with great ambiance, food, staff and regulars – consistent with the definition of a great watering hole.

Regardless of these attributes, they may have a low profile and are often off the mainstream. Such is the case with Peter’s Bar and Grill as you will see below – established in 2003 or 2004 – with a couple changes of ownership. In 2011, the ownership was assumed by four individuals who made this bar its own community. In 2025, Peter Goforth became the owner.

Like many establishments, it had challenges with the pandemic but Peter’s has come roaring back. This June 2021 Facebook post by one of the co-owners, shows the welcoming mindset:

“A few minutes ago, Tasha unlocked the door and for the first time since March 16th, 2020, welcomed everyone in without a mask. I’m excited for this next step in getting through the pandemic and getting Peter’s back to all it’s glory! If you feel more comfortable wearing a mask, please do!  We know not everyone is vaccinated.

We appreciate your patience and understanding…We are still a bit understaffed. and a bit rusty…But we’ll do our best to put out a good product. So, let’s just enjoy and appreciate our time together! I look forward to seeing everyone’s faces again!” (#1)

EGG Hatches…

A related delight of my Beerchasing hobby is reconnecting with indidivudals from work, civic activities or just friends I don’t often see given the hectic nature of life – even in retirement.

In early 2023, I asked five essentially retired guy friends to join me at the Basement Pub on Portland’s near east side. Click the link above to go to one of the three posts I did on this wonderful pub and you’ll read about this group shown in the photo below (l to r – Tom Kelly, Thebeerchaser, Jim Westwood, Doug Walta, Larry Frank, John Kelly)

We had a great time and at each of the ensuing four gatherings, the group has grown and inexplicably, it seems that the ratio of lawyers to others (1 to 1) in the original group has also increased. The ratio of attorneys to others grew to 1.5 to 1.0 at Peter’s, which some might want to suggest is based on an algorithm, but we shall refrain otherwise I’d be forced to reveal my vast repertoire of lawyer jokes.

Check out the following posts to see this esteemed group at the Sandy Jug, Holman’s, the Tulip Tavern and now Peter’s Bar and Grill on March 31st.

I’m not sure why this collection of “Old Guys” has grown, since the stories are pretty much the same and we often ask the guy next to us, “Repeat that” because of hearing issues, but most of my companions leave asking when the next assemblage will take place.

And I decided rather than continue the label “Old Guys”, I’d name it “EGG” for “Entertaining Group of Guys.” That label would open it for younger fellows to absorb our collective wisdom. I could also recruit new folks with the acronym by citing Mathew 11:30 – “The yoke is easy and the burden light.”

This is the photo at Peter’s and for some insight on a great friendship between two of these guys check the end of the post. (From left to right) Doug Walta, Steve Schell, Bernie Stea, Don Williams, John Limb, Tom Kelly, Jim Westwood, Don Bourgeois, Larry Frank and Doug Blomgren)

Why Peter’s Bar and Grill?

In surveying my bar escapades over the last fifteen years, I discovered that most of my Portland visits were downtown, the northwest or the inner east side. I needed to expand my horizons farther on the east side in Portland. After all, I had great experiences at three bars in this general area – the Sandy Jug, the Hi Top Tavern and the Top of the Hill Tavern.

I’d heard some time ago about an interesting bar named Peter’s Bar and Grill. In researching, I came across other bars with the same name which were east – but too far east (the guys would not be up for an extended road trip) including Peter’s Grill and Bar in Woodhaven, New York; Pete’s Bar and Grill in Albers, Illinois and J Peters Grill and Bar with six locations in South Carolina and one in Lavonia, Georgia….

And then I thought back to my bachelor days in the ’70’s when I used to take dates to Peter’s Inn, owned by the amazing Frank the Flake Peters right in downtown before he went to prison.

Frank was an outstanding two-sport athlete at Oregon State and after graduation “he bounced around minor-league baseball, dated gorgeous women, drove Cadillacs, and dabbled in politics.”

When he was released from his thirty-month prison sentence (“…a perfect sentence –  ‘Just enough time to get into shape,’ he grins. ‘But not too much to lose my edge.'”,) he eventually managed the notable Grand Cafe before it closed in 2014. 

The Grand was one of my more memorable Beerchasing expeditions (2013) and included a personal tour by Frank – one of the most charismatic characters I’ve met on this journey. We also got a group cha-cha dance lesson.

“(The Grand is) a bar/dancehall at the east end of the Morrison Bridge that Peters was affiliated with for more than 20 years, and where he served everything from reindeer to rodent while presiding over events such as strip karaoke and lesbian dance party.”)  Willamette Week 

But I digress…..

Before I invited the EGG group, I needed to check it out myself – ambiance, tap list, location and a few print and social media reviews – always a good way to discern issues – if one ignores the crazy Yelp people….And overall, they looked good with these two setting the tone:

We weren’t going to eat, but food is a good overall barometer to The Beerchaser:

“Incredible food and service, the fish & chips, little leaguer hamburger and clam chowder were outstanding. Hard to beat this establishment. Ambience was great as well.” Yelp 2/7/25

More edifying was this from Lizzie Acker an Oregonian reporter in a 3/13/2025 column:

“The service was great and the decor and whole scene made me consider giving up my current life and attempting to become a regular there and live out some sort of “Cheers-like, alcohol-soaked sitcom.”  (#2)

And a site in the Cully neighborhood was promising – a community-oriented neighborhood in NE Portland with a diverse mix of Latino, Somali, Asian and Brazilian communities and recognized for its strong community engagement. It’s known for parks, local businesses and strong neighborhood identity.

The location was applauded by one of the invitees. I’ve known Mark O’Donnell for almost fifty years. He’s an outstanding attorney and philanthropist and we initially met at a Clackamas County Commission meeting when I served on the staff and he was representing a client at a land use hearing. (#3 – #4)

“As a 1961 Madison graduate, I spent time at the drugstore on the NE corner of 57th and Fremont. The premises housed a pinball machine…I assume the bar is the former Piggly Wiggly grocery store situated at the Southwest corner of 57 and Fremont.

It will be quite different for this blue-collar neighborhood to host white, resident elitists from the West side that only a Don Williams type would do. Blessings to all!”

I pointed out to Mark that he would have graduated from Jesuit – an elite private Catholic school on the west side – if he hadn’t been expelled and then transferred to Madison – a story he’s revealed many times.

While Portland did have many Piggly Wiggly stores through the mid-60’s, according to a data base of groceries I checked, there was none at the site of Peter’s.

Go Trent!

The clincher, however, was Trent, the afternoon bartender/manager. When I visited and told him about our plans – most notably the need for a large table and no music of the volume that would drown out conversations, he assured me they could accommodate us and he’d be there for the first hour of our visit.

Trent, who’d work there eighteen months was one of the most personable and effective server/bartenders I’ve encountered since I started chasing beer. We couldn’t have asked for a more considerate and hospitable rep for Peter’s.

I love bar idiosyncrasies such as memorabilia, signs, alcoves and restrooms and Peter’s didn’t disappoint. Check out this sign at the entrance to the gender-neutral heads:

And the six lawyers in the group were captivated by the fact that a health-sign in the restroom was humorously redacted. (They assured me none of them had done it…)

I Shall Return

Perhaps it was because my Ancestry Brewing Irish Red Ale was so good, the service from Trent, the plaudits I got from those in EGG or just looking at the photos of their burger, grilled-cheese sandwich and tacos, but I’ll make another visit to Peter’s Bar and Grill – probably during their Happy Hour from 3 to 6 each day (#5 – #7)

One Final Note

Two of the guys in EGG have been good friends for years. They are great human beings and each time we gather, I learn from these guys. 

Dr. Doug Walta, is founder of the Oregon Clinic and retired CEO of Clinical Services for Providence Health and Services in Oregon.  He had a distinguished career as an gastroenterologist and served on the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners. He is also an avid hiker, outdoors-man, skier and international traveler.

I got to know Steve Schell when we were on the City Club of Portland Board years ago. He is a retired attorney at Black Helterline LLP. and focused on land use, environmental, energy, and construction law with for over 40 years of experience serving clients before local, state, and federal agencies. (#8 – #9)

Active in the community, Steve was a key figure in Oregon’s land use planning program in the 1970’s and was a member and vice-chair of the first appointed Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission (1973-76).

The two met when they partnered with Catholic Charities of Oregon in 2006 and authored with two others (John Wiley Gould and Tuck Wilson) an amazing 94-page treatise “The Challenge of Homelessness in Portland.”

Doug and Steve became good friends and started traveling together (extended road trips with their dogs – usually camping). The first was through the Channeled Scablands in Eastern Washington:

“a relatively barren and soil-free region of interconnected relict and dry flood channels, coulees and cataracts and the typically flat-lying basalt flows that remain after cataclysmic floods located in the southeastern part of Washington state.”

The visit included a thorough tour and then camping at Grand Coulee Dam where in a severe storm, their tent blew down in the middle of the night. (#10)

This trip is where Doug learned that Steve liked to chat and “..could even enjoy talking to a rock.”  Doug also learned about Steve’s unusual fascination with dams.

There was speculation on the origin and furtherance of Steve’s intrigue with dams. Research revealed that it was reinforced during his law firm days. (#11)

• Many people refer to lawyers as “Sharks.”  Steve was labeled “Salmon.”
• Hard chargers such as Portland Trailblazer, Deni Avdija, are sometimes nicknamed “Turbo.”  As a take-no-prisoners negotiator, Steve’s moniker was “Turbine.”
• When he’d remark, “That’s a lock!’, he wasn’t referencing a final settlement, but a water-filled chamber with gates on both ends that allows boats to move between different water levels caused by a dam.  (Sorry for that one…)
• He once advised a client by quoting Proverbs 17:14: “Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out”

Retirement Goals

Goals are important to maintain an active retirement. My goal in starting Thebeerchaser was to visit every bar and brewery in Portland. I have another retired journalist friend who vowed to visit a game at every Major League Baseball stadium – he only has two left. Another couple has visited every National Park in their Sprinter van.

It wouldn’t surprise me that Steve, after consulting the National Inventory of Dams (next to the old law books in his library) that he’s aware that according to the Army Corps of Engineers, the US has 91,804 dams across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Guam.

Doug and Steve’s next road trip starts on June 1st, through California and they could hit some of the state’s 1534 dams. I don’t know if he’ll hit all 92,000, but I do know that Steve will make a dam good effort! (#12)

Pay a visit to Peter’s and say “hello” to Trent.

External Photo Attribution

#1.  Peter’s Bar and Grill Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1446116564180719&set=pcb.1446117644180611).

#2.  Peter’s Bar and Grill Website (https://www.petersbarandgrill.com/)

#3 – #4.  Mark O’Donnell Law Firm Website (Lake Oswego Law Firm, O’Donnell Law Firm LLC | Mark O’Donnell – Beyond The Briefcase).

#5 – #7.  Peters Bar and Grill Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/petersbarandgrill/photos).

#8. Linked-in (Douglas Walta, MD, FACG | LinkedIn).

#9.  Linked-in (Steven Schell | LinkedIn).

#10.  Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grand_Coulee_Dam.jpg) This image contains material based on a work of a Bureau of Reclamation employee, created as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, such work is in the public domain in the United States.  Author: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation – August 1986.

#11.  Chatgpt Image Generator (https://chatgpt.com/c/69f2ddf7-4b38-83ea-beda-1a6734a9247b.

#12.  Wikimedia Commons (File:Water released from Shasta Dam (2017).jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.  Author: Bureau of Reclamation – 12 February 2017.