Timber Pub and Grub; Boring, OR – Boring isn’t so boring

By Kurt “Swingcat” Johnson

Things are not so boring in Boring, Oregon. A small town about 30 miles east of Portland, Boring is situated in rolling farmland on the western flanks of Mt. Hood.

A very small town, there are only a couple of bars in town and even fewer karaoke places. The primary karoake bar in Boring is the Timber Pub and Grub located at 28052 SE Hwy 212. If you blink you’ll miss it.

As a rural location, the crowd tends to be a mix of farming, logging and local patrons as opposed to people just passing through. Present owners are Greg and Sharon Tripp. Since taking over three years ago, they’ve undergone numerous upgrades and done some remodeling as well.

Sharon explains they’re efforts, “We’re trying to create a comfortable atmosphere where people can have good food and drinks at a reasonable price”. Greg adds, “From my perspective, customer service is what its all about. A beer’s a beer, and a drink’s a drink – you can go anywhere to get those. It’s all about your people, your staff. This is a good wholesome environment here. We get people from their twenty’s to their seventies. Everybody’s comfortable. You’re welcome to visit, you won’t be disappointed and we LOVE BORING PEOPLE!”

The karaoke hosts are KJs RC and BJ. They had KJ’d here for several years but took a break and have now been back for over six months. They are using a computer-based system with a house sound system. They offer thousands of songs to sing.
RC talks about the crowd at the Pub & Grub, “It’s a good mix of C&W, pop that depends on the night. We believe that it’s entertainment. We want people to be entertained whether they’re singing or not. We want them to enjoy the experience and sound as good as they can, so we constantly adjust the mix of the sound. The reason we put ourselves in the mix is to get a standard of sound quality, like a sound check, not a skill check.”

He continues about the results they see, “When we were first here, it built up, then we left and came back. Now the singers are coming back again. The reason, I believe is that we get out in the crowd and interact with the customer. Both of us. BJ easily attracts people. All you have to do is look at her smile once and you’ll be coming back. Our goal is simple; we want them to have fun.”

You can see more of the Timber Pub and Grub online at their website: www.timberpubandgrub.com.