A4 • Friday, April 1, 2022 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
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Former L.A. execs live restaurant dream in Gearhart
SEEN FROM SEASIDE
R.J. MARX
A
lan Arora was a CEO for a soft-
ware company before becoming a
consultant specializing in business
development. Jennifer Arora, a senior vice
president for Sony Pictures in media and
marketing, was on the studio lot every day.
When Sony restructured, the couple saw
an opportunity to reimagine their future.
“I was portable,” Alan Arora said. “It
was pretty easy for me to leave LA, so we
made the move to Oregon.”
They both worked from their home in
Lake Oswego. When the pandemic hit, they
began to evaluate what life would be like
coming out of COVID-19.
They are the proud new owners of the
Pacifi c Way Cafe and Marketplace.
“We both fancied ourselves foodies,” he
said. “I used to joke in the middle of my
corporate career — I guess it was a joke
— wouldn’t it be nice if I could just have a
chalkboard bistro out on the highway some-
where, that I wrote on a chalkboard what I
had that day? And if you liked it, you came
on in. If you want a bottle of wine, there’s
a rack, pick it out. That was sort of my
dream, but I couldn’t really see how to con-
nect the dots.”
They began their search for the right fi t
on the Oregon Coast. When the Sweet Shop
became available, they zeroed in on Gear-
hart. When that sold, Arora reached out to
Lisa and John Allen at Pacifi c Way.
“We thought, it’s got a really nice char-
acter,” Arora said. “I called John up one
day and said, ‘Hey, I’d love to come by and
introduce myself. I’m not a Realtor, but
really like the vibe of your place.’”
The Allens opened at the corner of Cot-
tage and Pacifi c Way in the late 1980s. The
restaurant gained favor with locals, visi-
Alan Arora and John Allen in front of the
Pacifi c Way, right after they signed their deal.
PACIFIC WAY SCHEDULE
Pacifi c Way Cafe and Marketplace is locat-
ed at 601-609 Pacifi c Way in Gearhart.
Hours are Friday to Monday, 7 a.m. to 1
p.m.
Updates will be posted in the menu box
outside the cafe near the main entrance
and on their Facebook and Instragram
pages.
Call 503-738-0245 or text 971-404-7604.
Son Jagyr, Jennifer Graham Arora, daughter Allysha Arora, and Alan Arora.
tors and foodies from all over, with glow-
ing reviews from leading food and wine
publications.
At the start of the pandemic, the restau-
rant closed, but the Allens reopened as a
bakery and micro market.
Arora felt at home as soon as he entered.
“I wasn’t interested in fl ipping it upside
down,” he said. “I wasn’t interested in any
radical transformation.”
Arora loved what the Allens had created:
a social hub with food involved. “There’s
good wine and beer involved. There’s
morning coff ee involved, but it’s a hub,” he
said. “And all the pieces fi t together.”
They negotiated for about six months
before announcing a deal in February.
While terms were not disclosed, the
Allens retain ownership of the building. The
family bought the restaurant, the fi xtures
and equipment. They dropped the “bakery”
in the name and will reopen as Pacifi c Way
Cafe and Marketplace.
The Aroras plan to continue serving pas-
tries and coff ee in the morning. They’ll
reopen the former cafe space and expand
the micro market with specialty items. One
side room will contain cafe seating and the
second a wine room. Including dining in the
fi replace room and covered outdoor area,
the restaurant will have a combined seating
of 52. The restaurant will be dine in, take-
out or some combination of the two.
“It’s going to be a hybrid,” Arora said.
To add to the menu, the Aroras pur-
chased the recipes and the trailer from
the former Pacifi c Crab Co., the business
founded by Rhenee Mady and her husband,
David Farrell, who moved to Wisconsin.
The Aroras will bring Pacifi c Crab Co.
to the Portland Seafood & Wine Festival in
late March and the Crab, Seafood & Wine
Festival in Astoria in late April.
For now, Arora said the career change
has invigorated him. He said he can “never
say never,” but doesn’t have the capacity to
continue his consulting at present.
“Revitalizing the Pacifi c Way space in
a way that respectfully honors its Gearhart
heritage is my No. 1 priority and focus,”
he said. “I’m getting up in the morning and
I can’t wait to get to work. I haven’t had
that feeling in — I don’t know how many
years.”
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Gearhart needs new fi re
and police station
Those of us who are fortunate enough
to live in Gearhart haves the opportunity
to vote “yes” on Measure 4-213 to build a
new fi re and police station.
Our volunteer fi re men and women are
the community’s fi rst responders to emer-
gencies — fi re, accident, medical, storm,
and at some point, earthquake and tsu-
nami. In addition to responding to sev-
eral hundred calls each year, they spend
many more hours of their own time train-
ing to improve their readiness and profes-
sional skills.
They do this operating out of a
60-year-old building that has served the
community well, but is too small for cur-
rent needs and is structurally unsafe.
The arguments against Measure 4-213
seem to center around “Yes, we need a
new station, but” — not in that location,
not that big, or not that expensive.
We are in danger of making the perfect
the enemy of the good. I urge you to vote
“yes.”
Dianne Widdop
Former mayor
Gearhart
Firehouse bond will
be money well spent
Owning a home in Gearhart since 1992
has never been dull. An honest debate on
town issues is always invigorating. But the
battle over a new fi re and police station is
downright gnarly. The proposed $14.5 mil-
lion price tag has poison tongues wagging.
To fi nd clarity on what my tax increase
would be I looked at my home’s assessed
value and had an awakening. Gearhart’s
assessed property values are especially,
thankfully low. For the fi rst three years of
the bond I would pay about 93 cents a day
extra in tax and as the water bonds are paid
off the price tag drops to less than a quarter
and dime a day. Money well spent.
It’s critically important to challenge
the twisted facts and focus on the real fi s-
cal bottom line — saving lives. Those pre-
cious lives of our family, friends, and nay-
sayers alike. Our awesome paid staff and
volunteer fi rst responders know they may
be risking their life each time a call comes
in. But they are there for us. We need to be
there for them.
Yes the tsunami threat is real — it
scares the bejesus out of me — yet per-
sonal disasters like a chimney fi re, high-
way crash, heart attack are possible every
single day. A vote no won’t make these
go away. Gearhart is growing and so will
the calls. A vote yes for Measure 4-213
replaces an outdated crumbling fi rehouse,
provides the tools, training, and higher
PUBLISHER
EDITOR
Kari Borgen
R.J. Marx
ground facility our town needs. Come
together. Vote yes!
Vicki Abrahamson
Gearhart
Vote yes for safety
and survival
What does $14.5 million look like to
me? It looks like safety and survivakl
for my family. Passing this bond is cru-
cial to safeguarding our loved ones and
neighbors.
What does $14.5M look like to me and
you?
Saying yes to the bond gives our First
Responders the home, tools and train-
ing facility critical to our survival in a car
crash, fi re and God forbid, tsunami. $14.5
million seemed like a scary monster num-
ber until I fi gured out my own share
based on our property’s assessed value. A
yes to Measure 4-213 will add the cost of
a daily McDonald’s coff ee, about $1.14 a
day to my taxes. This will be money well
spent, a very good value. Defi nitely not a
monster.
The need for a new fi re/police sta-
tion will not go away. Our current facil-
ity is crumbling, inadequate for our mod-
ern-day needs. Call the fi re department
non-emergency number for a tour of our
current station. If we don’t do this now,
we will only be revisiting this issue in the
near future, at a much higher cost to all of
us. Construction costs increase with each
passing year, they don’t decrease.
Please, let’s do this by joining
together! Support our fi re and police
with a yes. It is an investment in a resil-
ient future for our priceless Gearhart
community.
Vote yes on Measure 4-213.
Jeanne Mark
Gearhart
Extension cords posed
safety hazard at pool
I’m a regular three times a week user of
our community pool and I’ve been going
there for over 15 years. On Monday I was
completely dumbfounded and horrifi ed by
what I saw happening.
The main pool is currently closed. I’m
told it’s because of the failure of a main
pump. They are apparently awaiting a
replacement.
Now I was taught at an early age that
combining electricity with water is a very
quick and easy way to die. I’ve read more
than one story about folks dying when a
radio or heater falls into a bathtub. Imag-
ine my surprise (and concern) when I
saw not one, but two 120-volt extension
cords plugged into the wall outlet and sub-
CIRCULATION
MANAGER
Shannon Arlint
ADVERTISING
SALES MANAGER
Sarah Silver-
Tecza
ADVERTISING
REPRESENTATIVE
Haley Werst
PRODUCTION
MANAGER
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
John D. Bruijn
Skyler Archibald
Joshua Heineman
Katherine Lacaze
Esther Moberg
SYSTEMS
MANAGER
Carl Earl
CONTRIBUTING
PHOTOGRAPHER
Jeff TerHar
merged into the water on opposite sides
of the pool. There was no management
on-site, but employees assured me that it
was “OK” in their words.
It’s OK to have 120-volt power fl ow-
ing into the pool when there are patrons
in close proximity to the water? Most of
the patrons are seniors when I attend and
we are not as quick as we were in younger
years. We also have a much greater pro-
pensity to slip and fall. One slip in this sit-
uation could mean instant death for a pool
patron. This would be followed by law-
suits that could cripple Sunset Empire
Park and Recreational District and cost
Seaside millions of dollars.
I have to ask: Where was facility man-
agement and why did they allow this very
obvious safety hazard to even exist? It
seems to me to be a lack of common sense
on the part of folks we trust to manage
this pool.
Is this the best that we can expect
of Sunset Empire Park and Recreation
District?
John Huismann
Seaside
Response to Sunset
Pool pump concerns
Our maintenance department takes the
safety of its patrons, staff and visitors very
seriously.
Electrical cords were on deck operat-
ing submersible pumps to keep the pool
water moving while staff were tending
to an inoperable motor that operates the
pool pump. This reduces the chances of an
immediate algae bloom which can occur
with no water movement combined with
the temperature of the water and ambient
air temperature coupled with the required
humidity levels of the natatorium.
The pumps that were used are approved
to be submersed in the water and were con-
nected to an extension cord that was prop-
erly secured to poles with approved water-
tight fasteners. The connection of the cords
to the pumps were secured at a height of
10 inches above the pool deck. In places
were the cords impeded the walkway of the
pool deck, an ADA-approved cord protec-
tor was installed to reduce the chances of a
trip hazard with cones on each side.
It is not uncommon for pool profession-
als and operators to have equipment pow-
ered by electricity in the water, especially
during a maintenance activity related to
the body of water. Modern day pool vacu-
ums have an electrical cord that is plugged
in to an outlet of appropriate size. Our
pools have underwater lights that are pow-
ered by electricity and pose no immediate
threat to users due to equipotential bond-
ing. These strict regulations are set forth by
the National Swimming Pool Foundation,
National Electrical Code, and other federal,
state and local regulations and codes.
The comparison of a commercial swim-
ming pool and a bathtub electrocution can-
not be compared due to the vast number of
regulations and code requirements. Ground
fault circuit interrupters have been required
near swimming pools since 1971 and 1975
in houses, specifi cally bathrooms.
Staff was not apprised of any such con-
cerns from any patron. Our management
team was available and received no inqui-
ries from patrons or staff regarding any
safety concerns.
Staff were acting in the most profes-
sional manner regarding the safety of
patrons and staff , in an eff ort to minimize a
complete facility closure.
Levi Conner
Director of facilities and maintenance
Sunset Empire Park and Recreation
District
Swiss cheese
The initial problems with short-term
rentals are the nuisances, the noise, the
dogs, the parties, the traffi c and park-
ing. But move along a bit in time and it
becomes the more serious lack of people
living in an area to provide needed ser-
vices, paid and volunteer services that
tourists just cannot help with. Tourists
don’t volunteer at the schools, don’t help
with the community events, don’t volun-
teer to fi ght fi res. And neither do the short-
term rental owners who live elsewhere.
A community becomes like a block of
Swiss cheese with so many holes where
once there was a close-knit fabric of peo-
ple who helped each other and knew each
other. The holes don’t fi ll in. They stay
open, empty and useless to the community
where they exist.
Imagine instead that those holes were
fi lled with families. Families who would
become productive members of our com-
munity. They would volunteer at our
schools, our community events, their
child’s school. They would live here, work
here and thrive here. But when you favor
investors over residents it erodes the com-
munity. It creates those holes and once the
holes grow big enough, there is no com-
munity left.
Please Clatsop County commissioners,
reconsider your short-sighted plan to make
Swiss cheese out of our small, coastal
neighborhoods. At their April 13 board
meeting at 6 p.m. the commissioners will
consider a proposal from the county to
change the zoning for every zone in the
county to allow short-term rentals — do
you want mini-motels next to you?
Charles Dice
Arch Cape
See Letters, Page A5
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