Family-Style Golden Pick Saloon and Grill Opens on Sumpter Main Street

The Golden Pick Saloon and Grill opened Feb. 18 at 175 Mill St., Sumpter’s main street, restoring a family-style sit-down restaurant to the town of 210 residents about 28 miles west of Baker City. The business occupies a building the owners have held for three years and includes separate restaurant and bar sections tailored to both locals and tourists who visit Sumpter’s historic mining area.

The opening matters because Sumpter lost key dining options in recent years. The Elkhorn Saloon, a venerable Sumpter establishment, was destroyed by fire in August 2023. The Sumpter Nugget cafe closed last year, and the building at 175 Mill St. had been vacant since Outlaws Bar and Grill closed prior to the Golden Pick’s launch. Those losses left residents and local leaders seeking restored sit-down dining options that serve tourists and neighbors alike.

Owner-operator Kathy Todhunter, who moved to Sumpter five years ago with her husband, Jim Eckstein, said the couple decided recently that the building needed to start producing income. The owners purchased the property three years ago and chose to reopen it as a family-style restaurant and bar. “We decided we might as well put it back to work,” Todhunter said.

Preparation for the opening was a neighborhood effort. Friends and neighbors helped ready the space, and Todhunter said she was astonished by the turnout. “This little community just came together to make it happen,” she said. “I can’t even describe how amazing it’s been, the outpouring of support I’ve received.” Todhunter added, “I didn’t do this all by myself.”

The Golden Pick emphasizes a mining theme in honor of Sumpter’s legacy as one of Baker County’s major mining centers. Todhunter credited her brother, Ron Shapland, with coming up with the restaurant’s name. The menu includes hamburgers, pizza, spaghetti and homemade lasagna, and Todhunter said, “We want to have as many homemade items as we can.” Desserts will feature apple and lemon meringue pies crafted by local baker Nancy Lukens; Todhunter said she is particularly partial to the lemon meringue.

The restaurant served its first meal two days before Feb. 18 and opened to the wider public on Feb. 18. Operation hours are Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Todhunter said she is working on a Facebook page and a website for the Golden Pick to share menus and hours with visitors.

The building at 175 Mill St. has housed several restaurants over the years, including Borello’s, an Italian restaurant, and most recently Outlaws Bar and Grill. With the Golden Pick now serving meals and maintaining extended weekend hours, Sumpter’s Main Street once again offers a sit-down option that owners hope will attract both residents and the steady stream of tourists who come for the town’s mining history.