By KATHLEEN O’CONNOR/YachatsNews
Barbara Schmaltz was nine when she started picking berries in the fields around her hometown of Newberg. With seven children in her family, she wanted to earn money for school clothes. By age 14 she had a job at a Newberg restaurant, and by 16 she was a waitress.
Her husband, Dave, grew up on a farm outside Salem. There were 10 people in his family and they learned to work early on. He got his first restaurant job at age 19, moving to a manager position within a year.
In 1985, a few years after they married, Barbara and Dave Schmaltz took a leap of faith and became part owners of the Chalet restaurant along U.S. Highway 101 in Newport. The restaurant, one of 17 in Oregon, was not profitable and the quality of the food and service varied greatly.
The Schmaltz’s set out to build a better reputation for theirs. Now, 39 years later, Barb is the sole owner, and the Chalet is a Newport institution, recognized for its breakfasts, lunches, and desserts.
Dave Schmaltz died unexpectedly in January while on vacation in Hawaii. His family says there are no words to describe how much he is missed.
The Schmaltz’s have three children: Rachel, Karly and Phil. Rachel and Phil have taken other paths, but Karly (now Karly Walker) has worked for the restaurant in some capacity since starting as a hostess at age 13. She’s been back in Newport since 2016, helping with the business and says “general manager” would best define her current role.
Question: How did you feel about buying into a restaurant when you were a young adult?
Answer: Quite frankly, I was terrified. The first thing we had to do was fire a whole lot of people, per our agreement with Chalet corporate headquarters. Then we had to find new people to work for us in a town where our restaurant did not have a good reputation. Dave and I had to learn to work with our partner and our new employees and our new community. We were outsiders in a town that had quite a few long-established restaurants. It took quite a while to learn about the culture on the central Oregon coast and to make friends.
Q: What has been your biggest challenge since Dave passed away so suddenly?
A: Dave took care of so many things. He did the landscaping, he took care of all the equipment, he cooked, he baked. All we can say is that we are adapting. We have good cooks and bakers and wait staff who have stepped up, and there are others who can help us with landscaping and equipment. Dave was such a great baker. He could create 10 fresh peach pies in an hour, which is twice as many as anyone else can do. And he had all the connections for us to get fresh berries and peaches in the summer — connections with farming families he knew growing up on his family farm. We are learning to navigate those connections without him.
Q: What are the key factors to the long-term success of The Chalet?
A: Work, lots of hard work. For years we were at the restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner almost every day. And then we went home and did the paperwork. We make everything from scratch — jam, mashed potatoes, gravy, salad dressing, clam chowder, everything. Just about the only thing we don’t make ourselves is ketchup.
From the beginning we worked to build a reputation for pies. We started with the recipes that we got from Chalet corporation and have adjusted them many times. Using the freshest ingredients is critical. We make an average of 40 pies per day. At Thanksgiving we make up to 400 pumpkin pies.
We pay our employees well and we try to treat them well. We have cooks and bakers who have been with us for more than 20 years. And we have waitresses who came to the restaurant as children when their mothers were waitresses. We also try to support our community by providing food for major events like the Newport Christmas dinner and by providing financial support when we can. We love the tourists, but the backbone of our customer base is our community members. We try to be there for them when we can.
Q: What have you enjoyed the most about having this restaurant for so long?
Barbara: In time Dave and I did become part of this community. When you’re in a public-facing business you get to know people, and we have made many wonderful friends who are truly like family. Those people have been a source of strength to me in the wake of Dave’s death.
Karly: Rachel, Phil and I are so appreciative of the opportunities that working in the restaurant has provided us. We have all been able to attend college and buy homes and travel with the money we have earned here.
Q: What challenges are you facing now as a restaurant owner?
A: The restrictions necessary during Covid were extremely challenging, and we are thankful the community stood behind us to get through that. One consequence is that people view work differently. Many of our applicants prefer to work four days a week instead of five, for example, so our challenge has been to adjust our staffing and scheduling. Another consequence is that we stopped serving dinner, which has made life much easier for us. Another challenge is deciding when to modify our menus. We serve mostly traditional menu items, but we must always be willing to adapt and make changes from time to time.
Tell us a secret.
Barb: All four of my grandchildren want to work at the restaurant when they are old enough. They call me Mimi, and they think the restaurant should be named “Mimi’s Place.” I love them to pieces.
Karly: I became fluent in German during the time I was working on my master’s degree in international business degree at the University of Mannheim, and that’s been quite helpful many times and in many ways.
- Kathleen O’Connor is a Waldport freelance writer who can be reached via email at kmoc8916@gmail.com