Our History
The Pacific Way is located in the heart of downtown Gearhart, Oregon & is comprised of a restaurant & bakery. This small, family-friendly oceanfront community (population 1000 or so) is located on the northern Oregon coast about 85 miles west of Portland, Oregon. Gearhart is famous for its beautiful, uncrowded 18 mile long beach, the oldest golf course west of the Mississippi, and for being the childhood home of food legend James Beard.
Built by Jim & Peggy Cutler during the winter and spring of 1929, the building began life as a mom & pop grocery store with an owner's apartment in the back. A six-room boarding house upstairs soon followed, originally used as bachelor's lodgings for loggers in the Gearhart area. The grocery opened July 4, 1929, just months before the Great Crash of '29. An enlarged photograph of the store interior on opening day is on the wall as you enter the building by way of the front door. Jim Cutler went on to operate several other businesses in this building, including a realty office & an insurance agency. Peggy Cutler became Postmistress of Gearhart (the Post Office was located in a comer of what is now the front dining room of the cafe) in 1929 and held the position until she finally sold the building in 1980.
After a brief stint of four years as the seasonally operated coffee shop and deli Eat Your Heart Out, the building then stood empty for four years until Lisa & John Allen purchased the property in early 1988. The Pacific Way Bakery & Cafe opened for business on Memorial Day weekend of 1988.
After 34 years, the baton was passed to Alan and Jennifer Arora in early 2022. Their vision was to continue the historical charm of Pacific Way, while thoughtfully adapting the restaurant to showcase local seafood, farm-to-table seasonally driven dishes along with an extensive wine list. The bakery continues too, offering morning in-house baked goods & espresso drinks.
Alan and Jennifer, both with a corporate executive background, are long-time foodies who appreciate great customer service. They both fell in love with the Oregon Coast and the small town charm of Gearhart. Alan often dreamed about a “chalkboard bistro” but could never see a realistic path to that from the corporate world…until The Pacific Way.