A6 • Friday, May 6, 2022 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
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Ruby’s is a piece of Americana in Seaside
SEEN FROM SEASIDE
R.J. MARX
T
hink of Ruby’s Roadside Grill in
Seaside and you are immediately
transported to a piece of Americana.
The former gas station saw a transforma-
tion to the 1950s-style diner when Candace
and David Remer put their signature touch
on the menu and design. Nestled oﬀ U.S.
Highway 101 near Avenue U, it oﬀ ers what
they describe as “the best burgers on the
planet — and then some.”
That may not be so far from the truth.
The quality menu features both the predict-
able (Ruby’s chili, wings and burger bas-
kets) and then the not-so-predictable, like
the Sleepy Monk burger and Chicago dog,
as true to any Chicago-style hot dog on the
Oregon Coast, with mustard, dill relish,
tomato, pepperoncini, pickle spear, onions
and celery salt. “We don’t do fast food,
per se, but we do great food fast, quickly,”
David Remer said.
On Fridays they oﬀ er prime rib, inspired
by the former Bigfoot’s restaurant next door
— but beware, they often sell out, so call
ahead.
“I used to take my little grand-girls next
door to Bigfoot’s Steakhouse. A customer
came in one day and said, ‘You know, Big-
foot’s is closing, where can I get prime rib?’
The chef at the time loved the idea of smok-
ing and roasting meats, so we took it on.
And it has been our blockbuster,” David
Remer said.
The Remers purchased the property in
2015 and Ruby’s Roadside Grill opened
in 2016. They spent a fortune in renova-
tion, adding a breezeway, double doors,
new ﬂ oors and a vaulted ceiling. Since then
they’ve added picnic tables, outdoor seat-
ing, games and a ﬁ re pit. “I wanted to do
something to add a little decor to south Sea-
side,” David Remer said.
He said he fought the urge for just
another fast food burger place, modeling his
restaurant on California-style burger barns,
with an anti-corporate, anti-assembly line
vibe.
Photos by R.J. Marx
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Interior of Ruby’s
in Seaside. Ruby, who proved the inspiration
for Ruby’s in Seaside. Ruby’s merchandise
on display at the counter. Counter service at
Ruby’s.
Dogs are their brand, and the top dog
for the Remers is Ruby herself, the restau-
rant’s namesake. A black Labrador retriever,
Ruby is now 10 and remains the face of the
restaurant. She also travels everywhere with
the couple. “I love dogs,” David Remer
said. “We’re actually a little over the top
with dogs.”
While dogs aren’t allowed inside the
restaurant, there is a canine cabana where
pets and their owners can dine outside
around a heated charcoal ﬁ re. You can even
get your dog a 2-ounce beef patty, 5-ounce
chicken breast or an all-beef hot dog for $2
each.
Ruby’s also oﬀ ers a highly-curated
selection of local craft beers, including
Ruby’s Good Girl Ale. Named after you
know who.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
To the friends of Rod Nichols
To friends of Rod Nichols: I personally
do not have many friends. I prefer it that
way, but to lose one friend is staggering.
Rod Nichols recently died at home, in
bed with his faithful dog, “Spud,” curled up
beside him. How do you tell others of a spe-
cial friend? I thought of him as a hero with-
out a cape.
Rod introduced me to the Chicago Cubs,
and how they could take over Wrigley Field.
In turn, I introduced him to Russell Wilson
and the Seattle Seahawks. We laughed at the
oddities of the sports we saw; crabbed at the
sometimes ineptness of coaches and oﬃ -
cials; but cheered loudly when our teams
played well and won.
Rod helped so many. Helping some
through his commitment to bring fresh pro-
duce to Astoria through the North Coast
Food Web and others through the senior
meals program. He never bragged, and yet
he had so much to give.
But the Rod I knew also loved paint-
ing, sketching and all the arts. Every Sun-
day, Rod would sit in our upright plaid chair
with dog, Spud, curled on a pillow within
reach, to watch sports on TV and eat lunch
or dinner.
We compared notes on sports and art as
only a ﬁ ne friend can do. It was such a pre-
cious time to have a friend who cares what
you think, and feels OK about sharing feel-
ings and insights about subjects we both
loved … art and sports.
Thank you, Rod. My life is better for hav-
ing known you. A friend, indeed.
Mary Covington
Gearhart
Homeless is a consequence,
not a cause
Over the last several years I have been
deeply troubled by actions and comments
from many citizens on a host of issues
including the homeless population.
In 1948 the United States signed an
agreement with the United Nations indicat-
ing housing as a right under resolution 217
A. The United States has not lived up to their
agreement. There are many reasons peo-
ple become homeless. Mental health, drug
abuse, criminal history, divorce, low income,
high debt, monopolies, and market manip-
ulation (these are the causes), and we have
done a really poor job addressing them.
Finland has a policy called “Hous-
PUBLISHER
EDITOR
Kari Borgen
R.J. Marx
ing First” and since initiating it, they have
reduced the numbers of their homeless pop-
ulation substantially. It’s based on getting
people into a stable housing situation then
addressing the cause, it appears to work.
Before someone should be recalled based
on a decision to provide a homeless area.
You might want to know, it’s illegal to crim-
inalize homelessness. In a federal court rul-
ing against the city of Portland. “Criminally
punishing homeless people for sleeping on
the street when they have nowhere else to
go is inhumane” it was found to violate the
eighth amendment. The U.N, 1948 Resolu-
tion and the federal court ruling, is requir-
ing cities across the nation to ﬁ nd solu-
tions for the problem, by providing houses,
and camps during certain hours, times, and
locations.
Troy Prouty
McMinnville
Former legislator asks vote
for Thompson
I have known Lianne Thompson for years,
including the eight years she has served on
the County Commission. Her background in
all levels of government enables her to hit the
ground running and not spend precious time
learning the system. Her experience is broad
and adequate to her to continue the job in
which she has served two terms and speaks
well to the level of conﬁ dence in her abilities
the citizens have.
As the state representative in House Dis-
trict 32 I worked with her extensively on
emergency preparedness and was grateful to
have her input on the Oregon Resilience Plan
as it was being developed into legislation.
She spent countless hours educating herself
on the issues and as a result became one of
the most prepared public servants in Oregon.
Her support and hard work on statewide
issues that aﬀ ect us all was integral to ensur-
ing cooperation among all levels of govern-
ment on those issues that aﬀ ect our com-
munities here in Clatsop County including
homelessness, the need for more childcare
services, and more aﬀ ordable housing for our
workers and seniors.
Lianne understands how to get things
done and her accomplishments are admira-
ble. She has worked tirelessly with all the
players to bring broadband to the rural areas
of the county and her work on water policy
is timely as we deal with continuous drought
conditions and hotter summers that threaten
our forests and farmlands.
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
I am pleased to support Lianne for Clatsop
County Commission District 5.
Deborah Boone
Cannon Beach
Show your gratitude, vote yes
Humans excel in environments where
they receive support and appreciation. The
police and ﬁ re personnel work very hard to
protect the citizens in the city of Gearhart.
I would ask our citizens to show their grat-
itude by voting for the new ﬁ re and police
station bond. We need to let them know they
are valued.
Sharon Kloepfer
Gearhart
Gearhart mayors endorse
bond measure
As mayors of Gearhart, we’ve had a
“front row seat” towards the goal of a new
ﬁ re station for Gearhart. It has been a very
long and arduous process!
In 1958, the Gearhart ﬁ reﬁ ghters vol-
unteered their time and skill to build a ﬁ re
station for the city. It looks very much the
same today. That is, until you take a closer
look. The concrete holding the cinder blocks
together is crumbling. The building will
likely collapse in an earthquake.
In 2006 Mayor Kent Smith was able to
put a $3.75 million bond measure on the bal-
lot for a ﬁ re station/city hall (at the current
site). The bond failed by 96 votes. Since that
vote was taken, much has been learned about
the Cascadia Subduction Zone and the earth-
quakes and tsunamis it can create. Coastal
cities, including Gearhart, began eﬀ orts to
improve resiliency following a disaster.
In 2015, a citizen’s ﬁ re station committee
was formed by Mayor Dianne Widdop. The
group evaluated nine alternatives. The rec-
ommendation of the committee was to build
on the eastern half of Dunes Meadow Park.
The public outcry was loud, and clearly
against moving the station to the park. Next,
a homeowner expressed interest in selling
property located at 13th and Marion (High
Point) for a station. After public education, a
community survey was done asking the pub-
lic to choose a site, ranking the current loca-
tion ﬁ rst, the park second and High Point
third.
As a result of the survey, the High Point
location was the No. 1 choice.
Mayor Matt Brown also gained unani-
mous City Council support for eliminating
the park as a location.
In 2019 the City Council adopted Ordi-
nance 924 which created a tsunami overlay
zone for land use planning in the city, as rec-
ommended by the state of Oregon. This ordi-
nance limits both density and prohibits crit-
ical infrastructure built in the tsunami zone.
The council again voted unanimously to
focus all eﬀ orts on High Point.
Unfortunately in 2021, the High Point
owners withdrew their oﬀ er of sale of the
property.
Later in 2021, Cockrum and the coun-
cil learned of the availability of land at one
of the original locations studied, near High-
lands Lane. The new owners are request-
ing annexation of this property into the city.
In exchange, the owners agreed to transfer
ownership of 4.5 acres of land to the city for
a ﬁ re/police station and a park. At an eleva-
tion of 70 feet, the proposed site is on some
of the highest ground in the area. This land
is adjacent to the city, and a natural place for
Gearhart to grow.
The time is now. The longer we wait, the
more this facility will cost. Worse, it could
cost more if we do nothing now, experience
a disaster and relief eﬀ orts are compromised!
Measure 4-213 is supported by Gear-
hart’s current and past Mayors: Paulina
Cockrum, Matt Brown, Dianne Widdop and
Kent Smith.
Mayberry, where did you go?
As anyone who has been at the coast for
a number of years can attest, Gearhart has
changed. The entire Northwest Coast has
changed. Families are moving here from
other locations far and wide bringing a new
richness to the area. Traﬃ c is heavier, the
population is growing, services are strained
from demand, and the number of calls
received by our selﬂ ess police oﬃ cers and
volunteer ﬁ reﬁ ghters continues to increase.
Change is unavoidable in life. There’s
an old saying that “if you don’t change you
die.” People are constantly adapting, grow-
ing, and evolving how they view the world.
Nostalgia is a wonderful thing. It oﬀ ers com-
fort, warm memories and familiarity. But
nostalgia doesn’t save lives.
Acknowledging that we’re a growing
community with complex needs, particu-
larly in regards to keeping our community
and citizens safe is critical. Our emergency
response volunteers deserve updated,
See Letters, Page A7
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