Staff photo by Nicole Barker

In late 2006, Parley Pearce, Blair Woodfield and Vince Cannone conceived of a high-end steakhouse in downtown Pendleton. Just about nine months later they opened the doors to Hamley Steakhouse and started cooking what smells like history.

Pearce and Woodfield, of course, were the team that brought new life to Hamley’s at 30 S.E. Court Ave. When they decided to embark on the challenge of a premiere steakhouse, they brought in Cannone, who has 25 years of experience in the food business and owns Jacoby’s in Walla Walla.

“The steakhouse – the concept of Hamley Steakhouse – is a legend in the making,” Cannone said.

He’s serious and sincere in his comments. He, Pearce and Woodfield are each one-third owners in the steakhouse and the investment is several million dollars, including a $3,748,577 federally guaranteed loan through Community Bank in Pendleton.

And it all started at Cannone’s kitchen table in Walla Walla, where the three men drew out the idea for the steakhouse on napkins and loose leaf paper. They created the early draft of where things would go, what they wanted to see and what kind of atmosphere they wanted to create.

“… I’ll never forget,” Cannone said, referring to that night. “And we shook on it and said we’re in it for life.”

That commitment has produced a steakhouse Cannone described as not just unique to Pendleton or Eastern Oregon, but to the West Coast. And it has often meant full reservations for the place, which is open seven days a week.

“First off, we have more business here at Hamley Steakhouse than our original projections,” Cannone said.

And the number of reservations and bookings show the business is growing. Even though it has been open only a few months, Cannone said the steakhouse has acquired a name well beyond Eastern Oregon. Companies and organizations from Boise and Portland now make reservations here. A Seattle law firm plans to fly its bigwigs to Pendleton to dine at the steakhouse for its company dinner. Oregon Public Broadcasting has shot the steakhouse for a segment tied to the Walla Walla wine culture, and the steakhouse has received national accolades for its tin-stamped ceiling and wood molding.

Riding a roller coaster of change

But it hasn’t been easy. Pearce admitted that recently at a Pendleton Rotary Club meeting, when he said if he’d known what it meant to get into the steakhouse business he’d rather have been kicked in the head by a horse.

Cannone said he can relate. He said opening this kind of establishment is a journey, and the steakhouse is still at the beginning.

“We knew we would have a lot of roller coaster,” he said.

That ride has entailed long hours, firing a head chef and promoting the sous chef – the second in command in the kitchen – to the lead role. The steakhouse also has had turnover is other positions, such as wait staff and dishwashers. All of that, Cannone explained, is to create a team that shares a collective vision of success.

“We’ve got a great team,” Cannone said, “youthful, energetic, passionate people working for Hamley Steakhouse.”

And while the Hamley Steakhouse had to bring in new staff, it also had to contend with sourcing consistently high quality USDA beef. That, however, is on the verge of changing. Cannone broke down the solution to three words:

“American Kobe beef.”

He punctuated each word the way a boxing announcer would say a champ’s name. “This is a cut above prime,” he said, referring to highest grade the USDA gives beef.

Hamley Steakhouse, Cannone said, will offer the very same American Kobe beef that world-famous chef Wolfgang Puck serves in his restaurants.

Cannone said bringing in American Kobe beef was always part of the plan, but finding someone to supply as much beef as the steakhouse needed wasn’t easy. Now the steakhouse has a deal to get beef directly from Snake River Farms in Idaho, which will halve and quarter the beef and section it into what are called primals. The beef then comes directly to Pendleton, where the kitchen crew will carve steaks on-site.

But only after aging the beef first.

“I’m thinking Wednesday, we can make our debut,” Cannone said.

Cannone emphasized this is the kind of beef that will help make Hamley Steakhouse a top 10 spot in the nation. Additionally, new menus go with the new beef, offering a much larger salad selection and new dessert menu.

Here to stay

In relating the adventure Hamley Steakhouse has been, Cannone recalled how Walla Walla revived its downtown, which led to increased foot traffic and business. He said he sees the same thing happening in downtown Pendleton.

He’s keenly aware Hamley’s and now the steakhouse are playing a pivotal roll in that movement.

And he’s not alone. Sam Loftus, owner of Loftus Jewelers in the 200 block of South Main Street, said the steakhouse is an asset to downtown and reflects Pendleton is improving and is ready to progress economically. He also praised the steakhouse owners for their investment.

“It’s showing there are some people with vision,” he said.

Furthermore, Loftus said he hopes what has happened at Hamley’s will give incentive to other downtown property owners to follow suit.

“That’s what we need, Pendleton to grow,” Loftus said.

Todd Thorne, CFO of Bisnett Insurance, described the steakhouse as an anchor for downtown that not only represents an investment of millions of dollars in downtown, but has helped prompt other downtown changes that benefit all of Pendleton.

“I think everybody in the town should appreciate what it means now and what it means going forward,” Thorne said.

Like Loftus, he said the Hamley crew has helped light a torch for others to follow. Thorne said that shows in the other investments and improvements happening on and near Main Street, from a new furniture store on the corner of Southwest Court Avenue and First Street to Ted Betz’s renovation project on the 200 block of South Main Street to Al Plute’s work to reinvigorate the Temple Hotel.

Thorne said integrating a first-class restaurant into the building didn’t mean smooth sailing. Like any new business, it would have early ups and downs, just as Cannone described. To expect anything different would be unreasonable.

Thorne said the owners and managers of any successful business figure out what works and what is needed to get to the top of the game. Considering the people behind the steakhouse, Thorne reasoned that’s just what’s happening, and he said townspeople should be patient as Hamley Steakhouse progresses.

Rather than poking holes in the Hamley armor, Thorne advised the community to embrace what Parley, Woodfield and Cannone have done and are trying to do. Taking that attitude will benefit not just the steakhouse, but all of Pendleton as the community moves forward, he said.

He may be on to something. Cannone looked around the expansive interior of the steakhouse.

“This was built with heart,” he said. “We’re not going anywhere.”