News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
They’re still in the saddle after 10 years, with a summer of music planned. photo provided
Steve and Darcy Macey opened Hardtails Bar & Grill in 2011. photo provided
It’s not easy for any bar and grill to make it for a decade, especially when they go through a year as tough as 2020 was. Steve and Darcy Macey, owners of Hardtails Bar & Grill know this — and they’re grateful to the Sisters community for supporting them through the years.
“We feel blessed to have found Sisters when we decided to open up our business 10 years ago,” Steve told The Nugget. “Bend would have been much closer to our home, but we could not find any spaces that we liked! We found the old ‘Scoots’ building sitting empty, and fell in love with the possibilities.”
When Hardtails opened in April 2011, Steve Macey told Nugget correspondent Jeff Spry, “I really want locals to feel welcome and comfortable here and know this is their place. Giving customers great food and service at reasonable prices is my goal.”
That goal has stayed at the forefront through the decade, and Hardtails has, in fact, become a place that many locals call their own.
Macey cites being able to buy the building five years ago as a key moment in the history of the establishment. Owning the building meant that the Maceys could make improvements, including creating a concert venue in the courtyard, that allowed them to fully realize their vision for the place.
Hardtails has since hosted a summer concert series featuring a wide range of classic-rock tribute bands.
This year, the series is going forward under whatever COVID-19 restrictions are in place, with plenty of outdoor space in which to spread out in the courtyard.
The series will feature Bruce Springsteen tribute band Lucky Town; the Prince tribute Erotic City; Gold Dust featuring the music of Fleetwood Mac; a band will be sending out an S.O.S. in tribute to The Police; In The Pink pays tribute to Pink Floyd. The much-loved Petty Fever will return, as will Unchained, celebrating the music of Van Halen the year after the passing of guitar great Eddie Van Halen.
New this year will be a Pearl Jam tribute, Washed in Black.
“Some of the shows are already halfway sold out,” Macey noted.
Tickets are available now through BendTicket.com.
Music is a centerpiece at Hardtails. Steve Macey cites booking Love & Theft for the Sisters Rodeo a few years back as a real coup for Hardtails — and for the Sisters community.
Creating a music venue was an important step, but Macey also notes that they’ve significantly enhanced the bar — which started with just six beers on tap. He noted “the new, extended bar (and) large beer cooler, 16 beer handles on tap, with the glycol system.”
All of these additions and enhancements were possible because of the ongoing support of loyal Sisters locals and customers who come from near and far to make Hardtails a destination stop.
And Hardtails has made it a point to give back, hosting many charity events and fundraisers for a variety of causes. Those events, too, mark a highlight of their tenure for the Maceys.
Most of all though, the couple appreciates the relationships that have been founded and nurtured through the business: “just all the good people we’ve met since we’ve been there. Made a lot of good friends.”
Hardtails Bar & Grill is located at 175 N. Larch St. For more information visit www.hardtailsoregon.com.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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