Pappy Van Winkle-Gate Has Taken Down Another OLCC Official

In a recent development in the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission’s (OLCC) frenzied and much publicized bourbon diversion scandal, board chairman Paul Rosenbaum resigned Thursday. The announcement followed a February 15 board meeting in which Rosenbaum publicly addressed the OLCC’s internal investigation for the first time. Executive director Steve Marks’ resignation went into effect on the same day.

Governor Tina Kotek asked Rosenbaum, who was serving in his second four-year term on the board, to vacate his position. In Wednesday’s meeting, he delivered an impassioned yet vague defense of the OLCC’s citizen board, claiming that himself and the six other members knew “nothing” about agency officials circumventing the regular channels to purchase rare bottles of liquor. Rosenbaum also described the OLCC as “the most open public agency in the state, bar none.” Meanwhile, the Oregonian reports that the five OLCC managers aside from Marks who were found to be at fault and subsequently reprimanded remained employed by the commission as of earlier this week. No mention was made at the meeting as to the status of their employment, although the governor has also asked for their termination.

Tusk will host venerated Honolulu chef Jeffery Hayashi

Michelin-starred chef Jeffery Hayashi, who is also the 2023 U.S. candidate for the prestigious biennial global chef competition Bocuse d’Or, will serve a five-course tasting menu at Tusk on Sunday, March 5. Dishes will include sweet and sour confit trout and rack of lamb with snail ragout. Tickets are $150 with an optional add-on drink pairing, and 10 percent of ticket sales will be donated to the Red Cross in support of earthquake relief in Turkey and Syria.

Historic Columbia River Gorge restaurant space back on the market

Shirley’s Tippy Canoe, a roadside restaurant along the Sandy River, is on the market again as Sugarpine Drive-In owners Emily Cafazzo and Ryan Domingo have backed out of their plans to turn the property into a restaurant called Sugarpine Roadhouse. The restaurant space dates back to the early 1930s and caught fire in January 2020 — its current asking price of $875,000 includes a new wastewater treatment system and architectural plans approved by the Columbia Gorge Commission.