Paul Christen (center), owner of the Antlers Saloon, talked about renovations of the historic Twisp tavern during a Twisp Chamber of Commerce tour.
Antlers Saloon needs cash infusion to complete renovation
Twisp business owners and residents took a tour Monday (June 11) of four downtown businesses that are new or in the process of renovation, including a visit to Antlers Saloon, where work to restore the historic building came to standstill about a year and a half ago.
Owner Paul Christen said he ran out of money to complete the renovation. “It will take about $100,000 to finish, and I will have spent about half a million [dollars] when it’s done,” he told the group.
The tour of local businesses was organized by the Twisp Chamber of Commerce.
Antlers has been a gathering place for more than 90 years, and the saloon’s history is replete with colorful stories, including brawls and shootings. “When the mill was running there were thousands of people who went through the Antlers,” Christen said as he led the tour through the building. “Some people went through the front windows.”
The renovation work includes preserving an old mural of running deer painted on a concrete wall in the main room, complete with scars from bullets fired at the painting by bar patrons long ago.
The old siding on the building’s exterior was stripped off and the interior of the building was gutted in preparation for renovation after Christen bought Antlers in 2014. Considerable work had been completed on the new bar and restaurant when funds ran out.
An impressive new mahogany bar sits on the floor, waiting to be installed. The building has been locked and its windows are covered with paper that prevents passersby from seeing inside.
Local chamber of commerce members were clearly interested in seeing the prominent Twisp landmark open its doors again; some even talked, only half-joking, about a Go Fund Me campaign to get the project done.
Others visited
The Chamber of Commerce group first gathered in the Twisp Movement Studio on Glover Street. Sarah Prochnau and Becky Studen explained that the studio serves a variety of uses, including aerial classes, yoga, pilates, dance and martial arts.
The group visited Pinetooth Press, which opened last year in the former Motion Auto building on the corner of Glover Street and Second Avenue and makes screen-printed apparel with original designs. Owners Bryan and Regan Putnam said they plan to create an interactive space where people can try their hand at printing.
“We will try to attract people from the Farmer’s Market on Saturday … let people push some ink and make a T-shirt,” Bryan Putnam said.
The group also visited the new Thrifty Fox thrift store opened two weeks ago on Glover Street. The tour concluded at the Methow Valley Inn, where owner Chris Webb, who purchased the Inn last year, is working to complete a new coffee shop that will be open to the public.
Webb said the proceeds from coffee shop will go to a river habitat restoration project initiated by his daughter Sophia called the Methow River Education and Research Center.
Webb is also creating an outdoor beer garden and barbeque area that can accommodate about 150 people in a patio next to the inn.
