Wednesday,April21,2021
Columbia Gorge News
www.columbiagorgenews.com
11
GORGE LOCAL — IN BUSINESS
Sustainability a focus of Henni's Kitchen and Bar
At left, Henni's co-owners Christiaan Erasmus and Sarah Morton-
Erasmus pose in front of the restaurant. Right, Christiaan displays
new tableware: a local handcrafted cutting board from Dave Swan.
White Salmon couple seeks to renew
the spirit of Henni's Kitchen and Bar
Jacob Bertram
■ By Columbia
Gorge News
“Pizza Leona kept the
lights on,” Christiaan said,
and noted that selling to-go
"Chef's boxes" out of Henni’s
“Not often does a restau-
through the pandemic “really
rant have a chance after 10
kept up our morale.”
years to reinvent itself.”
“We were insanely lucky,”
Such were the words of
Sarah said. Around this time
Sarah Morton-Erasmus,
co-owner of Henni’s Kitchen last year “we were looking
around at what other jobs to
and Bar. In late April, the
do. We were in such limbo.”
restaurant, located at 120 E
To their great relief, the
Jewett Boulevard downtown
property manager and the
White Salmon, will be back
“restaurant’s godfather”, Mark
open for business following
Watterson, has been beyond
months of uncertainty. This
time, Sarah and her husband supportive of their efforts to
hit the ground running. With
Christiaan have made the
decision to revamp the menu some shuffling around last
and the flow of the restaurant year, Watterson gave Sarah
and Christiaan the opportu-
to accommodate a slower,
more purposeful dining
nity to move their pizza ovens
experience.
to open up Pizza Leone.
“We want to be more like
Watterson also invested in
a bistro,” Sarah said, with a
an expanded outdoor dining
focus on serving “excellent
area for Henni’s, by hiring an
quality food on each plate.”
architect and contractors to
The restaurant, Sarah said, construct a canopy and pur-
“won’t be so server-heavy”
chasing outdoor amenities.
and will discard the idea
The outdoor dining room
of a turn-and-burn dining
will add 24 seats, as well as
experience, instead opting to gas heaters and sky lights to
strive for a perfect experience the restaurant.
for patrons.
“It makes a big difference
In preparation of the up-
when someone is invested in
your success,” Sarah said.
coming opening, Sarah and
While the internation-
Christiaan have been hard
at work over the past couple
al flavors will continue to
of months experimenting
premiere on the menu, much
with dishes, deep-clean-
as they have over the 11
years the couple has owned
ing the kitchen and dining
Henni’s, they are seeking
room, and, with the help of
healthy, sustainable, and
relatives, installing a wall to
separate customers of Sarah hearty meals.
“Right now the whole thing
and Christiaan’s pizza take-
is sustainable,” Christiaan
out spot “Pizza Leona” from
said. “We want to be more
patrons of Henni’s.
conscientious about where
Pizza Leona, opened last
year by Sarah and Christiaan we are sourcing out next dish,
and our fish.”
in an effort to offset the loss
Christiaan said their
of business due to the shut-
tering of indoor dining due to daughter announcing her
the COVID-19 pandemic, will intention to explore a vegan
stay open alongside Henni’s, lifestyle inspired portions of
Henni’s menu.
the couple told Columbia
“Don’t get me wrong, I still
Gorge News.
GRANTS
So, what can we do? We
can use the Community
Needs Assessment to develop
Housing costs
strategic planning. We can
'unfathomable'
focus on nurturing local
Continued from page 10 partnerships and find ways
to help people be self-suffi-
general search for a property cient. We can encourage local
governments and agencies
to rent in Klickitat County
to create new opportunities,
yielded just two options: A
such as affordable hous-
one bedroom for $1,400 per
month and another one bed- ing developments for our
low-income population. We
room for $2,200 per month.
Skamania County fared about can get active with our local,
state and federal represen-
the same and yielded two
hits, one for a studio apart-
tatives to find real solutions.
We can find solutions we’re
ment for $1,200 per month
and one for a three bedroom passionate about and learn
how to advocate for our
home for $2,500 per month.
communities.
Let’s put this in perspec-
Most of all, we can have
tive. To be classified as af-
fordable housing, to rent the empathy for our neighbors
who are struggling to make
least expensive 595 square
foot apartment at $1,200 per ends meet. We can show
month, a person would need them compassion. Although
to have a monthly income of the problems of the present
echo the problems of the
$4,000 or $48,000 annually.
past, it is essential to support
For the $2,500 per month
three bedroom, a household them on their journey and
keep their families safe and
would need to make $8,333
secure.
per month or $100,000 per
We can’t give up. These are
year. For many people, these
numbers are unfathomable. our communities and our
love a grilled lamb chop,”
said Christiaan. The couple
invested in a new charcoal
grill, because, in Christiaan’s
words, “the main thing
we want to do is piri-piri
chicken.”
The restaurant will contin-
ue to provide a craft cocktail
program, Sarah said.
As the restaurant’s im-
provements kick up the pace
and things start picking up
for reopening, Sarah and
Christiaan said they expect
Henni’s to be open four days
a week at the beginning.
While they continue to man
the counters at Pizza Leona
and Arrowleaf, an artist
collective located down the
street which Sarah helps
neighbors. What affects one
person affects us all. I think
back on my childhood and
how my parents struggled
to make ends meet after my
dad lost his job in the logging
industry. Thanks to the
kindness of this agency I now
helm, my family was able
to make ends meet and get
back on our feet. For me, it’s
personal, and it is for you as
well. Think of your commu-
nity and the people you see
every day. Many of them are
struggling. Working together
we can make a difference for
them, for us, and for future
generations.
I encourage you to get
involved. Whether it is
WAGAP, another local
agency, your city, county
or state government — be a
part of the solution. Find the
complete 2020 Community
Needs Assessment pdf online
at bit.ly/2PEDocj. The link is
also on our website at www.
wagap.org/what-we-do. For
more information, email
info@wagap.org.
Friends appeal logging decisions
Friends of the Columbia
Gorge recently appealed
decisions by the U.S. Forest
Service and the Washington
Department of Natural
Resources (WDNR) that
allow the logging of one-mil-
lion board feet of timber
(roughly equivalent to 250
logging trucks) within one
of the most highly protected
areas in the Columbia River
Gorge National Scenic Area.
The Forest Service and
WDNR decisions both ap-
prove a commercial logging
project proposed by Synergy
Resources LLC within a
Gorge Special Management
Area near Major Creek in
Klickitat County. Friends ap-
pealed the Forest Service de-
cision in federal court on Feb.
12 and appealed the WDNR
decision to the Washington
Pollution Control Hearings
Board on March 3.
“In the Columbia River
Gorge National Scenic Area,
there are six basic land use
designations which are
administered more forcefully
in the Special Management
Areas due to the high
incidence of scenic, cultural,
recreation, and natural re-
sources,” said a press release.
“Special Management Area
Open Space is the most
restrictive of all the Scenic
Area’s land use designations
and is vital to protecting key
areas of the Gorge with sensi-
tive resources. Commercial
logging is prohibited on
lands designated as Open
Space.”
Among key species
impacted could be west-
ern gray squirrel habitat,
currently listed as a Species
of Greatest Conservation
Need under the Washington
State Wildlife Action Plan
and a Priority Species under
the Washington Department
of Fish and Wildlife’s
Priority Habitat and Species
Program.
maintain, the couple are
looking for extra hands to
help out. Henni’s is looking
to hire a bartender, and a
prep cook. The couple is also
seeking a part-time worker,
perhaps a high-schooler, to
man the counters of Pizza
Leona.
Over the past month,
the fact that the restaurant
is about to open again has
really set in for Sarah and
Christiaan.
“We’ve been all giddy,”
Sarah said. “I feel a sense of
freedom for sure. It’s a little
bit like ‘oh boy. Here we go.’”
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