PAGE A8, KEIZERTIMES, JUNE 5, 2015
It’s all in the family at El Patron Death penalty debate
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
Carlos Pineda wasn’t too
picky when looking for a pos-
sible location for a restaurant.
Pineda and his wife Miriam
knew they wanted to open a
Mexican restaurant somewhere
in the Keizer area.
Pineda’s family owns a meat
shop and market in Woodburn
and he’s a carpenter by trade.
Thus, he was willing to turn
about any building into a res-
taurant. He opened El Patron
Mexican Restaurant at 3844
River Road North in the Keiz-
er Village shopping center on
March 3.
“I wanted to make sure there
was a hood already dug out for
the grease to go,” Pineda said.
“As long as I had the hood, I
was ready for any project.”
As it turns out, Pineda didn’t
have much work to do after he
found a Mexican restaurant that
was already open, Salsa Rica.
“This was already made,”
Pineda said of the location,
which is next to Goodwill. “A
friend of the family had this
before. We walked in and were
just so persistent. We worked
out a deal. I told him it’s perfect.
It had everything I wanted.”
Pineda liked what Juan and
Elsa Fernandez had done with
the building, including the in-
side decorations. Thus, most of
the items in El Patron were in
place before, with Pineda add-
ing a few personal touches like
a hanging cowboy hat and a
couple of horse head statues. A
bent horse head makes up the
“P” in the sign.
“My dad is big time into the
Western theme, with big som-
breros. I’ve always liked horses.
The guy I bought it from was
very Western,” said Pineda,
who convinced Fernandez to
leave the picture frames and
benches with wagon wheels
behind. “Then I added some of
my stuff and my wife has some
things. It goes with the Western
style.”
Pineda wanted to steer away
from the usual look.
“I didn’t want it to look
like your traditional Mexican
restaurant,” he said. “I wanted
customers to walk into a clean,
different place. You come in
here and feel like it’s clean.”
Opening the restaurant was
the culmination of an idea
the Pinedas had been tossing
around for a while.
“It’s been lingering in the
back of our heads for two
or three years,” Pineda said.
“About seven months ago we
said we need to do something
for ourselves. I knew that’s
what I wanted to do at some
point.”
As soon as he owned the
restaurant, Pineda had it closed
for one day of transition.
“The fi rst thing I did was
change the name,” Pineda
said. “I knew that’s the name I
wanted, using the design of the
horse. I couldn’t get it out of
my head.”
comes to Keizer June 12
Oregonians for Alternatives
to the Death Penalty (OADP)
host its 2015 annual meeting,
dinner and program Friday,
June 12, at the Keizer Civic
Center.
This year’s keynote speaker
will be Mike Farrell, a po-
litical and social activist best
known for his portrayal of
Army Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt in
the TV-series M*A*S*H and
Dr. Jim Hansen in the weekly
NBC series Providence. Farrell
is the president of Death Pen-
alty Focus, a grassroots orga-
nizing group, comparable to
OADP, seeking alternatives
to the death penalty in Cali-
fornia.
KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy
Miriam and Carlos Pineda inside their new Keizer restaurant,
El Patron.
Pineda uses many of his
mom’s recipes and works
alongside Miriam.
“It’s defi nitely challenging,”
Pineda said of working with his
wife, who worked for a lawyer
for six years previously. “It’s
defi nitely different to work
with my wife, because we’re
co-workers here. That was an
interesting transition, to work
together. It was interesting at
fi rst, but we have a good sys-
tem.”
El Patron is open seven days
a week, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Monday through Thursday
and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday
through Sunday. Hours may be
expanded in the summer. To-
go orders can be called in at
503-339-7732.
Bark for Life June 20 at Keizer Rapids
Bark for Life an event for
dogs and their owners will be
held at Keizer Rapids Park
on Saturday, June 20, to raise
funds for the American Can-
cer Society.
The event, scheduled from
8 a.m. to noon, will feature
a one mile/5K fun run/walk
for dogs and their owners.
After the run/walk the day
will feature demonstrations, a
silent auction, a doggie fash-
ion show, games and food.
Past participants have dressed
their dogs in costumes.
For information visit
the Bark for Life website at
bfl ofsalemkeizer.com.
Oregonians for Alternatives
to the Death Penalty promotes
discussion on Oregon’s death
penalty and favors programs
that demonstrate evidenced-
based outcomes to deter
crime, violence and murder.
A reception with guest
speakers will take place start-
ing at 5 p.m. Individual tickets
are $40 and tables of eight can
be reserved by calling (503)
990-7060. Tickets are also
available online by going to
www.oadp.org. Dinner will
start at 6 p.m. and the program
for the evening will follow.
The Keizer Civic Center is
located at 930 Chemawa Rd.
NE.
Sign up soon for
choir, drama camps
Keizer students interested in singing and acting can sign up now
for the annual McNary Area Choir and Drama Camps.
Camps are open to students entering fourth through ninth
grades and run July 13 through 17.
“We are in our sixth season of running the camps and each year
the attendance just keeps growing,” said Andy Thomas, Whiteaker
choir director and one of the staff at the camps.
Last year, the camps reached 150 participants and had 13 in-
structors and assistants between the two camps, the most yet.
The choir portion runs from 9 a.m. to noon and the drama
camp runs from 12:30 to 3 p.m.
Kids are welcome to participate in just one of the camps or
both, but one feeds into the other.
Participants will get to work with Jim Taylor, choir director
at McNary High school, Thomas, three McNary choir graduates
and Angy Thomas, a middle school drama specialist
Drama camp exposes participants to teamwork, imagina-
tion, voice, pantomime and many other aspects of the theatre.
Registration forms are available from music teachers at each
Keizer school, at McNary High School offi ce, the Whiteaker main
offi ce, and via e-mail at thomas_andy@salkeiz.k12.or.us.
Registrations are due by June 5. Cost is $65 per camp which
includes a camp T-shirt and all materials.
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