McMenamins Rams Head

Specialties

The name «McMenamin» is well known throughout the Pacific Northwest, signifying a great place to enjoy handcrafted ales, wine, spirits and pub fare with family and friends. The dream began more than 30 years ago in the hearts of brothers Mike and Brian McMenamin and continues to spiral upward. With 57 properties (and counting!), the siblings are considered to be pioneers of the Pacific Northwest microbrew, historic hotels and music venue industries. Go to mcme​namins​.com for additional information, photos and more.

History

Established in 1990.

This dining area was originally part of the venerable Campbell Hotel, an upscale apartment house known for its refinement and personal service. The Campbell is a neighborhood historic landmark and this restaurant is perhaps the most distinctive and well-​preserved space in the building. The ornate Campbell would have appealed to the public’s growing sophistication during the ‘20s and census records show that the 93-​unit building regularly housed well over 100 people. One local boy, Dick Randall, still recalls that the Campbell’s dining room was one of Portland’s biggest speakeasies during Prohibition. Sometime in the early ‘70s the Campbell became low-​rent housing, the number of residents fluctuating with the seasons. By the time of its closure in 1986, the Campbell’s restaurant had been dark for an extensive period of time. With McMenamins’ opening of the Ram’s Head in 1990 the elegance and refinement of the once popular dining room came roaring back.

Meet the Business Owner

Mike and Brian M.

Business Owner

The creative force behind McMenamins is brothers Mike and Brian McMenamin. At first glance, these down-​to-​earth men seem an unlikely pair to head the hotels, pubs and breweries company that began when older brother Mike and a couple friends opened Portland’s Produce Row Café in 1974. They just don’t fit the typical corporate make-​up — and perhaps that’s why it’s all worked out as well as it has? The McMenamins are of Irish descent and Portland birth — Mike was born in 1951, Brian in ’57 — and both fully absorbed the culture and quirks of their upbringing in Oregon’s City of Roses. From great bartenders to the razing of the classic Portland Hotel to the launch of Oregon’s first craft brewery and beyond left indelible imprints upon their psyches and cultivated their appreciation for local character and characters. Mike and Brian expanded their educations at Oregon State University in Corvallis, both graduating with degrees in political science during the 1970s.