A2 Hood River News,
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
G REATER G ORGE
www.hoodrivernews.com
New Lyle Hotel owners aim to ‘Make it what it’s meant to be’
By AMBER MARRA
The Enterprise
It hasn’t been easy, but the
Lyle Hotel is back in busi-
ness.
Richard and Trece Simp-
son bought the historic, 10-
room hotel last July and
began remodeling it in Au-
gust. Originally built in 1905,
the Lyle Hotel had sat closed
and unoccupied since 2012
until the Simpsons scooped
it up.
Though there is still work
to be done on the exterior of
the building, the Simpsons
have lightened up the interi-
or of the hotel. The lobby’s
previously crimson walls
have been changed to a
creamy antique white and
the bar area, which was a
simple light oak surrounded
by blue walls, has been
stained and is now backed by
an antique piece of furniture
that features intricate carv-
ings.
“We didn’t know what it
used to be. We’d been to Hood
River a bunch of times but
we had no idea what the Lyle
Hotel used to be. Our goal is
to make it what it’s meant to
be now,” Trece said.
Though neither of the
Simpsons has ever run a
hotel before, both are feeling
confident about their busi-
ness’s potential given their
separate backgrounds and
experiences. Richard is a
classically trained chef from
the Califor nia Culinary
Academy and even served as
a cook with the USA cycling
team for the 1989 Tour de
France, while Trece man-
aged orthodontic practices
for 25 years, as well as a con-
struction business.
And so that’s how it works:
He manages the kitchen and
the food side of things, while
she handles the hotel and
hospitality.
“This opportunity has
been the perfect culmination
of all our experience. It was
the most natural thing for us
to do,” Trece said.
The interior decoration of
the hotel isn’t all that’s
changed. Richard said in
order to get the kitchen up to
snuff it had to be totally gut-
ted.
Since opening, he’s man-
aged the restaurant’s menu,
which changes periodically
and focuses on French, Ital-
ian, and American cuisine.
Everything is made from
scratch and eventually the
menu will feature all locally
sourced ingredients, similar
to the bar menu, which in-
cludes all locally sourced
beer and wine.
“It’s an all-star lineup,”
Richard said.
It is the hope that the Lyle
Hotel can serve the recre-
ation community of hikers,
mountain bikers, kite board-
ers, and windsurfers that
come to Lyle, but also those
who flock to the surrounding
hills throughout the year to
visit the multiple wineries
that now call Lyle home.
“We have tried to make it
as much of a symbiotic rela-
tionship as possible. We’re
sending the wineries people
and they’re sending people
down here,” Richard said.
The Simpsons also want
the Lyle Hotel to be a go-to
spot for the local community.
Since opening on New Year’s
Eve, the bar and restaurant
have been open for dinner
starting at 4 p.m. every day
except Tuesday and brunch
on weekends from 10 a.m. to
1 p.m., giving them plenty of
opportunities to hear about
residents’ previous experi-
ences at the hotel.
Upon hearing of the Lyle
Hotel’s reopening, one cus-
tomer decided to repeat his-
tory.
“Fourteen years ago his
then-new-date surprised him
by picking him up after work
and not telling him where
they were going until they got
here, so they had their roman-
tic dinner and not long after
were engaged and have been
married for 14 years since, so
when he found out the hotel
was reopening he did the
same thing for her for New
Year’s Eve,” Trece said.
That said, there have been
some growing pains associat-
ed with opening a hotel for
the first time and revamping
its restaurant. During their
Valentine’s Day celebration,
the hotel was fully booked and
several items on the restau-
rant’s menu sold out. For the
upcoming St. Patrick’s Day
celebration, which will fea-
ture live music and a special
menu, the Simpsons say they
are ready for more.
“We want the food to evolve
and have it all be a good, new
experience. That’s what we
want to do,” Trece said.
Friends of the Columbia Gorge offers
Spring-Summer Hike Program
Events celebrate
Friends’ 35th
anniversary
Spring is in the air a bit ear-
lier than usual in the Colum-
bia River Gorge — ready to
get out and explore? It’s a
great time to kick off a new
season of discovery: fascinat-
ing trails, colorful wildflow-
ers, bracing waterfalls, and a
new wealth of Gorge discover-
ies! From March 15-July 18,
Friends of the Columbia
Gorge will host over 65 hikes,
outings, and land stewardship
events as it celebrates the or-
ganization’s 35th anniversary.
The spring-summer sched-
ule offers a terrific variety of
options for all ages and en-
durance levels: you can tune
into wildlife at night in the
Steigerwald National Wildlife
Refuge; walk among the annu-
al explosion of flowers at
Catherine Creek, Mosier
Plateau, and Table Mountain;
Photo by Mark McConnell
SPRING SCENES like this one await hikers who sign up for the
Friends of the Columbia Gorge’s Spring-Summer Hike program that
runs from March through July. Sign-ups for the general public begin
Friday, March 6; see www.gorgefriends.org for more information.
hike with the whole family on
kid-friendly waterfall walks;
spend a day wiking (hiking
followed by wine tasting) or go
from an invigorating trail to a
refreshing beer at a Gorge
brewpub on a Trails to Ales
outing. Let Friends take you
to Gorge spots beyond the
Public meeting on Rooster
Rock future March 18
A public meeting for Roost-
er Rock State Park is sched-
uled for Wednesday, March 18.
Park staff with the Oregon
Parks and Recreation Depart-
ment (OPRD) will present site
development plan options for
the park that include improv-
ing the park entrance and de-
veloping an accessible walk-
ing path along the Columbia
River, while maintaining ex-
isting park features.
Proposed improvements
aim to increase interpretation
and ranger-led educational
programs that highlight the
natural and cultural history
of the Gorge, as outlined in
the 2015 OPRD Columbia
River Gorge Management
Units Plan (available at
www.gorgeparksplan.com,
pages 154-57).
The meeting will be held
from 6-8 p.m. at the Corbett
Fire House, 36930 E. Historic
Columbia River Highway.
Another planning meeting
will be held in May to review a
preferred site plan option. A
timeline for construction has
not been set.
Visit www.gorgeparks-
plan.com and join the mailing
list to stay updated on the
process, or contact Ben Hed-
strom at (503) 986-0745 or
ben.hedstrom@orgeon.gov
with any questions.
ones you can see from the
road.
Online registration for
hikes started this week at
Friends’ Hike With Friends
page
(gorge-
friends.nonprofitsoapbox.com
/hikes) for Friends members,
and begins Friday, March 6 for
the general public. Many of
the outings are open to the
public, though some are for
members only. Friends’ basic
membership is $35 annually.
You can join when signing up
for a hike, either online or by
contacting Kate Lindberg,
Outreach Assistant, at 971-634-
1265
or
katel@gorge-
friends.org.
“While you can always ex-
plore the Gorge on your own,
we can take you to places
you’ve never seen, hear sto-
ries you’ve never heard and
meet people you’ll never for-
get,” said Friends Executive
Director Kevin Gorman. “Our
staff and volunteer hike lead-
ers and shepherds are eager to
share their knowledge and en-
thusiasm. Not just preserving
the land, but experiencing it,
has always been part of
Friends’ mission during our
35 years advocating for the
Gorge.”
The guided hikes and out-
ings
aren’t
all
the
Spring/Summer program of-
fers. Friends is launching the
35 & Gorgeous hike challenge
later this month. The chal-
lenge invites participants to
hike 15 trails and complete 20
other activities (from visiting
waterfalls to identifying wild-
flowers) as a way of commem-
orating the 35 years that
Friends of the Columbia
Gorge has spent working to
protect this unique American
natural treasure.
Friends is also re-launching
its Play & Stay program as an
all-inclusive Columbia Gorge
weekend vacation package. A
single price includes activi-
ties, a Friends staff member
as a guide, lodging, trans-
portation, and meals. Choose
from two weekend options,
held April 10-12 and May 15-17.
■
Visit the Friends of the Co-
lumbia Gorge website at
www.gorgefriends.org.
Photo by Amber Marra
RICHARD AND TRECE Simpson have brought life back to the Lyle
Hotel, which closed in 2012 and recently reopened under their
ownership. A classically trained chef, Richard creates menus for the
newly renovated restaurant
area and keeps the bar stocked
Whether it’s an
with local beer and wine, while intimate dinner setting
Trece welcomes guests and
for two, or simply
manages the rest of the hotel.
unwinding with
Joe Guenther
Financial Advisor
1631 Woods Ct
Suite 102
Hood River, OR
97031
541-386-0826
co-workers after a
long day, the Tiger
Lounge is the perfect
place to relax and
enjoy yourself.
Grace Su’s
Restaurant
& Tiger Lounge
www.edwardjones.com Member SIPC
Open Tues.-Sun. 11am-9pm
Intersection of Hwys 30 & 35
(541) 386-5331 • Hood River
www.chinagorge.com
Your
Mortgage
Lender
Call Bernie today
541-490-0167
Bernie Dittenhofer
Licensed Mortgage Banker
NMLS #2550 NMLS #114231 ML 832-21
A division of Mann Mortgage, LLC
509 Cascade Ave., Suite F, Hood River
Apply at berniedittenhofer.westcorpmortgage.com
the 51 st annual
Pine Grove Fire Dept. auction
th • 9 a.m.
saturday,
March
7
NOW ACCEPTING DONATIONS OR CONSIGNMENTS OF:
Appliances, furniture, toys, antiques, collectibles, power tools, hand tools, cars,
trucks, boats, motorcycles, bikes, snowmobiles, tractors, trailers, household
items, garden tools, lawnmowers, rototillers, equipment of all types.
We ask that all items be in working order.
Business Owners: Please consider donating excess or obsolete stock.
Please bring items to the Firehouse.
For more information or drop-off times, call 541-806-1173.
Located 4 miles south of Hood River on Hwy. 35 at Van Horn Drive
WEEKLY SUDOKU
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this year’s Hood
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