By Laura Swanson
What’s been going on at 2nd and Pacific in Tillamook? The former Blue Moon Café has had several tenants over the past year or so, without finding the right “fit”. “For the love of coffee and community” – now in downtown, Tillamookians can welcome the Oregon Mess Hall, part coffee shop with experienced, enthusiastic baristas, part Internet café – free wi-fi, with special attention and recognition for our veterans and service members – the Oregon Mess Hall claims all of these descriptions and more to come.
Eddie and Denise Ebel of Afloat Ministries have transformed the space into a welcoming, light-filled café of reclaimed furniture, custom-built table tops (they are amazing works of art!) a space for any one and everyone.
The Oregon Mess Hall will be open at 7am – 9pm, Monday through Saturday. “We are encouraging all ages to come throughout the day. We’d especially love to have a place for the youth to hang out after school and on December 7th- Winter Formal After Dance Hang Out as well!” said Denise. “This is a place for the community to hang-out,” said Denise. “It takes a community, and we saw this need and decided that this was something we could do, and then this location became available and it was just meant to be.”
Eddie adds, “This is a place for our veterans. We are rebuilding the community, empowering individuals.”
The OMH features a Veterans wall – bring in a photo to be displayed to honor your service, or email a photo of your family member to be displayed to eddie@oregonmesshall.com.
Have a family member currently serving? Bring in their photo – or email to eddie@oregonmesshall.com, and the Oregon Mess Hall (OMH) will display their photo on the “prayers” wall. The Oregon Mess Hall will donate 50% of its profits to Veteran Programs! 
There’s a collection of military men awaiting your battle set-up.
Activities, celebrations, events and more are planned — video game competitions, dance-offs, dance lessons, discussion groups, meeting areas for local veterans and other groups – the Oregon Mess Hall wants to fulfill all the above and more. “We’ll let the community decide what it wants from the Hall, we’re just providing the space with coffee and other beverages, pastries, candies and snacks for now,” explained Denise. “The food menu is still in development, and we’ll be featuring a variety of catered foods, sack lunches to-go,” she added. “We’re just filling a needed niche to provide a centralized location for our youth, teens, veterans, senior citizens and everyone in between to enjoy a cup of coffee and in a warm inviting atmosphere.”
For the love of coffee and community, the Oregon Mess Hall is brimming with energy and good vibes, add a tasty beverage and snacks, and this iconic corner in Tillamook will likely become the go-to meeting spot. The Oregon Mess Hall is located at the corner of 2nd and Pacific in downtown Tillamook, like their Facebook page, go to www.oregonmesshall.com, or call (503) 501.2440 for more information, open daily Monday through Saturday, 7 am to 9 pm.