REDMOND SPOKESMAN • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2022 A3
LocalNews
Feast set to feed crowds with new restaurant
BY TIM TRAINOR
Redmond Spokesman
A new restaurant has opened
in Redmond, though you may
have already seen its propri-
etors slinging food from their
mobile kitchen, which has op-
erated for years in the city.
Emma and Chris Leyden,
previously of Feast Food Com-
pany truck, have traded up to
a bigger space — albeit with
fewer wheels. The new restau-
rant, which can seat 80 people
inside and nearly as many out-
side, is located at 546 NW 7th
Street. It will go by the same
name, Feast Food Company.
Its new location, a former
home built in the 1940s, was
renovated into a restaurant
space in 2002. It housed the
former Smith Rock Brewing
and Vine-N-Tap, among other
eateries.
“I think we’re the fourth
restaurant to operate out of
here and we hope to be the last,”
said Emma.
The Leydens — originally
from Nebraska and Kansas, re-
spectively — cut their chops
in the restaurant game at the
famed Husk Restaurant in
Charleston, S.C., which spe-
cializes in Southern cuisine.
They moved to Central Ore-
gon a decade ago and for years
Chris ran the kitchen at down-
town Bend’s upscale restaurant
900 Wall. Emma specializes in
front-of-house duties, though
while operating out of the mo-
bile kitchen she learned line
cook skills as well.
“That was super valuable for
me,” she said.
Deschutes County
representatives fill
House Republican
leadership roles
Feast has long supported lo-
cal agriculture, buying from
a number of local farms and
ranches with the help of the
High Desert Food and Farm
Alliance. The HDFFA works to
connect consumers and restau-
rants with local growers in or-
der to support small farms.
Katrina Van Dis, executive
director of the HDFFA, said she
is excited that Feast is expand-
ing its presence in Redmond.
She said the restaurant, and the
Leydens, are showing how the
locavore movement isn’t just for
big-city foodies.
“It should be normal, right?”
she said. “Feast is a perfect ex-
ample of a comfortable envi-
ronment and affordable food
that has a local connection. I
like that Feast is making that
available to everyday people.”
The restaurant is currently
open Thursday through Mon-
day from 3-9 p.m. and Sunday
from 3-8 p.m. The Leydens said
they hope to gradually expand
their hours, adding weekend
brunch first, then hoping to
open for lunch throughout the
week.
Its menu ranges from a $12
fried mushroom appetizer to a
$15 cheeseburger, a $26 short
rib pappardelle and a $12 fun-
nel cake for dessert. Happy
hour includes affordable op-
tions, including raw oysters
at $2.25 each or a $6 order of
french fries. Feast has a full bar
with specialty cocktails, as well
as numerous beer and wine op-
tions.
█
Reporter: ttrainor@
redmondspokesman.com
FACES OF HOMELESSNESS | REDMOND
Man living amid the junipers still has hopes and dreams
BY TIM TRAINOR
Redmond Spokesman
BY JOE SIESS
CO Media Group
The Oregon House Re-
publican Caucus recently
elected its leadership for the
82nd leg-
islative
session,
which will
get under-
way Jan. 9
in Salem.
The
Breese-Iverson
caucus
re-elected
Representative Vikki Bre-
ese-Iverson (R-Prineville),
whose district includes north
Redmond, to serve as the
House Republican Leader.
Representative Breese-Iver-
son has been serving as a
state legislator since 2019
and was first elected to serve
as the House Republican
Leader in 2021.
Representative Shelly
Boshart Davis (R-Albany)
was elected as the deputy
House Republican Leader,
and Representative E. Wer-
ner Reschke (R-Klamath
Falls) was elected to serve as
the House Republican Whip.
Reschke’s district extends
into southern Deschutes
County.
“I look forward to con-
tinuing to serve alongside my
friends and colleagues in this
role,” said Breese-Iverson in a
release. “We will continue to
fight for much-needed bal-
ance. House Republicans will
not stop pushing for solu-
tions that focus on the most
critical needs of Oregonians.”
N
█
Reporter: ttrainor@
redmondspokesman.com
Tim Trainor/Spokesman
Emma and Chris Leyden, owners of Feast Food Co., have traded up from their food truck to a new brick-and-mortar location.
avigating to Mark
Pitzer’s camp-
site on a rugged
stretch of forest land east of
Redmond requires a vehicle
with four-wheel drive and
an exceptional sense of the
territory.
Pitzer, 55, has lived in the
area known by residents as “The
Junipers” for four years, only
making the meandering trip to
town to get supplies when nec-
essary. He lives alone in a moto-
rhome with his 3-year-old cat,
Iddy, and that’s how he prefers
it. It’s a solitary life, and not ev-
eryone has what it takes to sur-
vive out there. But Pitzer is resil-
ient and makes it work.
“I’d stay out here the whole
month if I didn’t have to (go to
town),” Pitzer said. “I just don’t
like people. I think people are
mean. I think they are getting
meaner by the day.”
Pitzer started living in the
forest after a debilitating moun-
tain biking injury in 2009 ren-
dered him disabled. Because he
could no longer work, he left his
job as the head meat cutter at
Cinder Butte Meat Co. in Red-
mond.
The accident broke his neck
and his skull in five places,
which over time, developed into
a form of degenerative nerve
disease. Today, his body is in
constant pain, and he finds it
difficult to fall asleep at night.
“I messed myself up pretty
good,” Pitzer said.
After leaving his job, he
Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin
Mark Pitzer in the camp where he lives outside of Redmond.
“I pretty much lost it all, and this is where
I’ve ended up, and with no way out, once
you don’t have a good income. Just on my
disability. I barely get by.”
— Mark Pitzer
Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin
Mark Pitzer in the camp where he
lives outside of Redmond.
started his own hauling busi-
ness. But when the COVID-19
pandemic struck, his life took a
turn for the worse.
“It never did get better for
me,” Pitzer said. ”And I tried.”
Pitzer used his stimulus
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checks to keep his business go-
ing, using the money to buy
equipment and vehicles. Even-
tually, he had to sell his trail-
ers and a truck to keep afloat.
Things got increasingly difficult
for Pitzer, who routinely sought
odd jobs. Eventually, as the
world settled into lockdowns,
those opportunities dried up
as well.
Now, he lives in his motor-
home parked at his campsite
near Redmond. He said his only
income source is his Social Se-
curity check, which is automati-
cally wired into his account each
month. While he only scrapes
by, he is unable to access other
forms of assistance because he
makes just enough to not qual-
ify, he said.
“I pretty much lost it all, and
this is where I’ve ended up, and
with no way out, once you don’t
have a good income,” Pitzer
said. “Just on my disability. I
barely get by.”
Pitzer, who was born and
raised on a farm in Albany, is
uniquely equipped to handle the
rough lifestyle he lives, he said.
Growing up hunting, fishing
and camping prepared him to
live in a way that most people
could not handle.
“Luckily, I did know some
stuff because there are some
people out here who don’t,”
Pitzer said. “I like it for the free-
dom. And the peace and quiet.
But the rest of it I really don’t,
there’s a lot out here.”
He said his disability along
with his getting older, has him
thinking of getting out of the ju-
nipers and moving into town.
He said it is simply not safe
anymore, as people routinely
drive through the area and ha-
rass residents like himself.
Despite his difficult circum-
stance, Pitzer still dreams of a
brighter future, even honing
his skills as a salesman with
hopes of eventually getting into
the field. He also pictures him-
self living out in the country
someday where he can build
a small house with a couple of
bedrooms. His plan is to hand
that home down to his chil-
dren.
“I got to leave them some-
thing when I go. I don’t want
to leave them nothing. Because
that is what they think of me
anyways, and I want to prove
that wrong,” Pitzer said. “I have
goals, see? It’s amazing that I still
have them.”
█
jsiess@bendbulletin.com,
541-617-7820
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