According to an article by Portland Eater, Epilogue Kitchen and Cocktails will soon move locations in Salem to become a part of the Pringle Creek Community.
“Epilogue Kitchen and Cocktails, the Salem, Oregon restaurant from two-time James Beard Best Chef Northwest semifinalist Jonathan Jones, will soon depart downtown for greener pastures. At the end of the year, Jones, along with co-owner and wife Maura Ryan, will relocate the restaurant to an eco-focused sustainable community development in Salem called the Pringle Creek Community.”
“Epilogue’s new home will be Carpenter’s Hall, one of two historic buildings on the site that were modernized and sold to individual entrepreneurs. The restaurant will occupy the Carpenter’s Hall space in the evenings. In the mornings, it will be home to Prismatic Coffee, Evan Delgado and Ariel Ellis’s two-year-old specialty coffee collaboration.”
“For Jones, the move represents a dream realized and a way to “get through this hellscape of landlords and rising costs.” Like many restaurants, Epilogue felt the pinch when overhead costs rose during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but never dropped back down. And like many chef-owners, Jones has been frustrated by the power dynamic between landlords and tenants.”
“Epilogue will also change as a result. It will move down to 35 seats from its current 65, and from a traditional kitchen to a more minimalist setup. This more focused kitchen setup means that Jones’s autobiographical menu of dishes inspired by Black culture around the Mason-Dixon Line and Philadelphia (and, to a smaller extent, the Midwest) will also change.”
“The a la carte menu will be abbreviated but includes signature dishes like blue crab cakes with Old Bay remoulade, a garlicky meatball hoagie, pimento cheese with bread and butter pickles, and a few of the crowd-favorite salads. The beloved pepperoncini-stuffed cheesesteak is coming off the menu, though it will likely show up occasionally as a special offering in warm weather months when they can set up a station outside.”
