McMenamin Brothers to Convert Central Oregon School for Drinking, Eating, Sleeping

BEND, OR-The McMenamin brothers have a two-year option to purchase the former St. Francis School complex in Downtown Bend for conversion into a pub, bed and breakfast and entertainment center.

Brian and Mike McMenamin are the principal partners in McMenamin Pubs and Breweries, a privately held corporation that bought its first restaurant in 1974 and now own more than 40 properties in Oregon and Washington, including pubs, restaurants, hotels and theaters. The brothers say they looked at Bend’s now-vacated Downtown city fire station on Minnesota Avenue, but found St. Francis School more suitable.

The duo has built a reputation for transforming larger, marginal properties, such as McMenamins Edgefield in Troutdale, Hotel Oregon in McMinnville and the former Kennedy Elementary School in Northeast Portland, into vibrant, mixed-use entertainment meccas.