The Talent Café Story
by Debra Moon
The Talent Café was a truly beloved eatery in our town. It was unique. It was Denise O’Brien’s special brand of hospitality. From the artwork on the walls, the music, the décor, the authentic home-made food, everything was unique, right down to the home-made catsup sauce. Denise painted all the art on the walls. They were scenes from her life.
Covid was hard on the café. Denise did receive a couple of covid relief grants which helped her to make adaptations to accommodate social distancing and fewer customers. She added a deli case for take-out. Even with these adjustments, business was just not good enough to keep the café open. Denise decided she had to close the café and regroup. She intended to open in a smaller place with a take-out window and outdoor seating. She had her eye on a place in town that might be coming up for sale where she thought she could manage a smaller version of the café and stay in business. On July 27th of 2020, she moved out of the location off of North Pacific Highway 99 and put her supplies and equipment into a unit at Bear Creek Storage, which her insurance would not cover. She had several refrigerators and freezers, still full of food, in her yard, plugged in with the use of extension cords. On September 8, 2020 the storage unit burned in the Almeda Fire. Denise lost approximately $70,000 of equipment and supplies in that fire and had no insurance to cover it.
Not willing to give up, Denise applied for more grants and loans, and eventually she ended up in a small food truck across from Gather Café and Bistro on Talent Avenue. The food truck business was not that good either, and what’s more, it seemed depressing after running her lovely café.
Denise had lived in Kona, Hawaii before moving to Oregon. She owned a hair salon for a long time and then worked for Aloha Airlines for a while. While still in Hawaii she began making pies and selling the big, delicious desserts for $35 each, delivered in a hat box. I’d say that’s unique too. She wanted to start a business called Beauty and the Bean, where customers could go for hairstyling and coffee. Denise was leaning toward a café kind of enterprise when she saw the Talent Café advertised for sale on the internet. In 2005, wanting to leave Hawaii and thinking that Oregon was appealing, Denise came to the mainland and started looking around the area. She came upon the Talent Café accidentally and remembered seeing it for sale online. It was still for sale, and the previous owner was happy to sell to her.
When Denise bought the Talent Café in December of 2005, it was located at Main Street and Talent Avenue, where the Pump House is now. She ran the restaurant there for six years. In 2011, the café moved to the strip mall on North Pacific Highway. The section of the strip mall that was the site of Talent Café was built to suit. It was a very artistically designed restaurant, decorated well, warm, and welcoming. This was accomplished because of Denise’s artistic eye and discerning touch in planning the construction and implementing the set-up and décor of the restaurant. For fifteen years in the two locations, the Talent Café was a success serving breakfast and lunch to the community and to visitors generated through tourism. The café has also hosted many special events in the evenings, and it was the site of countless business meetings and gatherings over the years. It was one of those restaurants where you feel comfortable settling in, and where you could actually hear well enough to have a conversation while eating. The music was up-beat, not too loud, and acoustics seemed to be good. And the food was the best!
The signage and set-up of the new place, and the food truck itself, were all very attractive, and the food was still very good, it just didn’t meet Denise’s need for creativity, inspiration, or her special brand of atmosphere. She ended up selling the truck after a year.
And yet, through pandemic, fire, loss, and all the red tape of grant applications and personal stress, she still did not give up. She started a nail salon. It is called Mystic Moons. True to her nature, she has made the nail salon welcoming and artistically decorated. Her prices are extremely reasonable, the music is up-beat, and not too loud…you can settle in there and enjoy your manicure or pedicure. All you have to do is call for an appointment…541-227-3255. But she does miss her restaurant. She is on the lookout to start again if she can find the right place.
The Talent Café was a little jewel of hospitality and comfort in our town and will not be forgotten by all who loved it.
