Using ChangeFunder website, tavern hopes to raise $58,000 in startup capital

The owners of the Lostine Tavern kicked off a crowdfunding project thisweekend to raise money to help rebuild the historic building.

It promises to be the first farm-to-table tavern in Eastern Oregon. Co-owners Lynne Curry and Peter Ferrandeacute; said they will work with area farmers, ranchers and growers to offer a menu featuring locally raised meats, grains, produce and other specialty items.

Built in 1902 from locally quarried Bowlby stone and located on Ore. Highway 82, the Lostine Tavern is a local landmark. Originally a pharmacy and doctor’s office, it has operated as a tavern since the 1940s. The building’s faandccedil;ade is currently undergoing restoration to its turn-of-the-century appearance funded in part with a grant from the State Historic Preservation Office.

The interior is being transfigured by local contractor Charlie Kissinger and his crew, restoring the walls, floors and ceiling to their

historic beauty while

adding a state-of-the-art kitchen with a cowboy bar ambiance.

As residents of Wallowa County and founders of the local chapter of Slow Food USA, Curry and Ferrandeacute; are committed to preserving local food traditions and rural

life.

The Lostine Tavern is using the ChangeFunder website to raise startup capital totaling $58,000. Crowdfunding is a popular and legal gift-based opportunity for individuals to make online contributions supporting a wide range of businesses

and projects they deem

valuable.

For as little as $15, anyone who loves historic places, local foods, rural development and sustainable agriculture can contribute to the Lostine Tavern project and invest in the local economy.

Each donation level comes with a package of rewards from pickles to sandwiches, dinners, parties and even the donor’s initials branded into the reclaimed wood around the new bar.

The Lostine Tavern is the first project to launch on the ChangeFunder site, a platform similar to Kickstarter and Indiegogo. This new online resource created by ChangeXChange Northwest and Springboard Innovation is for businesses with social or environmental missions located in Oregon and

Washington.

In cooperation with the Northeast Oregon Economic Development District, Springboard Innovation is bringing local investing opportunities to Eastern Oregon as a means of

stimulating homegrown prosperity throughout the region.

The Lostine Tavern

crowdfunding opportunity is at changefunder.changexchangenw.org/campaigns/lostine-tavern and will run until April 14.