No. 10: Hamley Steakhouse sizzles amid struggles

One of the most talked-about and visible projects of 2007 was Parley Pearce, Blair Woodfield and Vince Cannone’s renovation of the buildings in the 200 block of Pendleton’s South Main Street to create Hamley Steakhouse.

The project barely was under way as the year began, but several months and more than $3.75 million later, the Hamley’s crew officially opened the steakhouse June 19. Cannone, the steakhouse general manager, said the establishment is now going “full steam ahead” with “all pistons firing.”

But he acknowledges it has been hard work for he and his partners to make it so, something Pearce also admitted during a recent Pendleton Rotary Club meeting. The steakhouse has had some difficulty finding enough qualified service staff and obtaining consistently good beef, both cornerstones of any high-end steakhouse.

Cannone recently explained the steakhouse has made a deal to bring in American Kobe beef, which is better than USDA prime quality, and that will resolve the beef situation. Likewise, the steakhouse has hired, fired and then hired some more to bring on the kind of service workers the steakhouse requires.

A city the size of Portland, for example, with numerous upscale restaurants, has a population of qualified service employees. But Eastern Oregon simply doesn’t have that base to draw from, so Cannone said the steakhouse had to build that kind of foundation as well.

Cannone also said the business has had to contend with some negativity and rumormongering aimed at the venture, including accusations it isn’t financially stable or has even locked its doors, a notion he dismissed as lunch was coming to a close Monday. And Cannone said the steakhouse has a simple defense against anonymous accusations.

“We show up everyday and do what we do best,” he said.

Cannone said there’s a statistic in the restaurant business that says about 50 percent of a community will support a new establishment and really act as cheerleaders, while the rest either won’t care about the business or will degrade it.

“If I were to listen to everything I heard, I would never get through a day,” Cannone said, then pointed out the restaurant’s reservation list is routinely full.

Furthermore, Cannone said the steakhouse and its sister business, Hamley Coffee & Wine, serve Pendleton seven days a week and that’s just the plan he said he wants to continue in 2008.