Pastime Bar & Grill closes while reinventing itself

By Gary DeVon • September 12, 2014 1:37 pm
The Pastime Bar & Grill will be transforming into a 21-and-over establishment starting this week. There will be new hours and other big changes are in store, like turning the restraunt half into a lounge, with an emphasis on sporting events, like the Seahawks games which will show on a new 110" television. Gary DeVon/staff photo
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The Pastime Bar & Grill closed last Thursday and will reopen under a new name in the north half of the building. The bold black Pastime Bar & Grill sign will be changed to Pastime Building. Gary DeVon/staff photo

OROVILLE – The Deep Water Blues Band played the last note for the Pastime Bar & Grill last Thursday as the business closed for a month promising to reopen in October under a new name and vision.

The owners, Brant and Vicki Hinze sent out an email blast letting their loyal customers know that Thursday would be the last day for the Pastime Bar & Grill and that while they would retain ownership of the building, Brant’s daughter Stacey would be opening back up with a new business in the north half of the building, which houses the bar. The south half would be closed, with the exception of the kitchen, wash rooms and offices, according to Vicki Hinze in a telephone interview last week.

“We are writing to tell you about the new directions our family has decided to take at the Pastime Bar and Grill, starting by dividing the ownership of the building from the running of a restaurant. The Pastime has played a unique role in Oroville for most of a century, a tradition we expect to continue. We will remain owners of the Pastime Building, a role that fits with the retirement chapter of life we are about to begin,” said the Hinzes in their email.

“Our plan has always been to pass the torch, and now seems the right timing for all of us. To our daughter, Stacey Hinze, we will be giving over the running of a restaurant of her choosing. Having served as general manager since the Pastime Bar and Grill opened, she wishes to establish a new restaurant concept. Stacey worked tirelessly to help restore the building and to build the Pastime into the restaurant it is today. We know she will pour her heart and soul into this new endeavor that is her own.”

The new Pastime Bar and Grill sign will change to Pastime Building, according to Vicki Hinze. Stacey and her fiancé Patchen Gallagher, the chef, are about 98 percent sure what the new name of the 21-and-over business will be, but Stacey Hinze says they’re not ready to announce it yet.

“We plan on an October 1 or 2 reopening,” she said. “The menu will change but we will have the same chef and style.”

She says just what the new menu will include hasn’t been “nailed down” but she expects a lot of rotating specials featuring local meat and produce and that they will continue to offer locally raised bison.

“For Patchen and I are really excited to see what we can do with the fresh stuff, because we have so much right here with the farming and ranching.”

“At the bar we want to start making everything from scratch – right down to the tomato juice for the Bloody Marys,” she said.

The kitchen and washroom areas will be part of the new business, while the south end seating area will be closed off from view. Although they plan the addition of more seating, the two pool tables and shuffle board will remain.

“And they’re always free,” she said.

“I’m excited it is going to be really fun to see what’s in store for the next step,” said Stacey Hinze, inviting everyone to come back and see what the new business has to offer.