Benny Westcott
In less than a year, a new local restaurant has already opened up in the shell of a longtime classic Sweet Home dining establishment.
The Cedar Shack closed in December of last year after nearly 58 years of doing business. In its former building at 4102 Highway 20, The Rusty Bucket Tap House opened for business on Thursday, Sept. 21.
Like at the former haunt, burgers feature prevalently at the new eatery. So do wraps, salads and appetizers. Patties are fresh, not frozen. All of the food is cooked on a pellet grill, and dishes feature homemade sauces.
There is indoor and outdoor seating aplenty and a separate tap house structure apart from the main building.
The bar has 12 taps and eight signature cocktails. There is outdoor cornhole to be played, and the venue will probably play host to some tournaments in the future.
Minors are allowed on both sides of the property, contributing to a family friendly atmosphere. And companies can book the restaurant for Christmas parties.
The Rusty Bucket also runs a 100 member “Mug Club.” If someone buys a mug as an annual subscription, they get 50% off their birthday entree, 10% off Rusty Bucket swag, and 5% off of one entree a month. Mug Club members get a new mug at Rusty Bucket’s annual anniversary.
Sweet Home resident Michelle Daniels is the owner. She and her business partner KayDee McDaniel own Tipsy Gypsy’s Tap Trailer in town, which they started in 2020. Daniels has been an insurance agent for 15 years, and she also works in property management.
Born in McMinnville, she has lived in Sweet Home for 26 years. Her two kids go to school in Sweet Home. The Rusty Bucket employs her daughter as well as five other local high school ståudents.
So how did the Rusty Bucket come to be? First, the group of investors that built Tallman Brewing in Lebanon came to Daniels and asked if she wanted to do something like that in Sweet Home. She said she would, but the investors backed off after the real estate market started taking a dive and a bank wouldn’t lend to the entrepreneur because she didn’t have prior restaurant experience.
So Daniels took her business plan and sent it to a personal friend of hers and local community member who agreed to invest.
“We decided to do our own restaurant and bring our Tipsy Gypsy vibe to the Rusty Bucket,” Daniels said. “I really enjoyed going out and about and doing community events and stuff, and then this transpired. And I’m not a ‘no’ person, I’m a ‘let’s do it’ person. What’s the worst that could happen?
“It’s kind of like a sports bar, but family friendly,” Daniels continued. “We just want to make a great place for the community. People are very grateful that we invested in the community and brought in another place for people to enjoy.”
She said that “If I’m going to go out to eat, our options really are The Point, or we’ll even go to the Downtown Lounge because they allow minors before 8 p.m., but it’s kind of that bar scene and it’s not necessarily family friendly. So I think there’s a huge need here, and I know I personally like to experience a certain vibe when I go out.”
The Rusty Bucket will seek to appeal to local recreation enthusiasts. Daniels said the restaurant has a lot of parking because there’s nowhere to park a boat in town. “We have online order drive through so you can come through with your boat, pick up an order and go to the lake,” Daniels said. Patrons can also have their cooler filled with ice.
She said the inside of the building is totally redone compared to the previous ownership. And since she wasn’t able to expand the existing building, she had a separate building constructed “to give us more seating and bring a different environment and vibe.”
She added that “We’ll do football games and bring in some live bands. OSU will be pretty prevalent here as well.”
Daniels grew up watching the sitcom Cheers, an eighties show about a bar in Boston, and said she wants this restaurant to be the Cheers of Sweet Home.
“I want people to come in here, and we know each other,” she said. “It’s friendly, it’s neighborly. I think people will find themselves pretty comfortable.”