Lively Station brings a second location to Willamette Heritage Center

A south Salem restaurant is expanding to the Willamette Heritage Center to bring healthy food options to workers, students and residents in the city center. 

Lively at the Mill marks the first brick-and-mortar expansion for Lively Station, a casual fine dining restaurant opened in December 2020 at 3635 River Rd. S. The new location will open this spring inside the Willamette Heritage Center, taking over a space previously occupied by Taproot Old Mill Cafe.

The museum operation will bring some Lively Station favorites near downtown, including its famous smash burger, reuben and bacon lettuce tomato sandwiches, along with a coffee bar and a selection of healthy lunch options.

Jessica Cobb opened Lively Station alongside her husband, Anton, during the height of the Covid pandemic. Furloughed from their Portland corporate jobs, the couple wanted to create jobs through the venture.

The restaurant began as a coffee shop and market offering to-go food. It later expanded to a full restaurant and bar in response to community feedback.

“We’ve been pivoting since 2020 – that should be our tagline,” Cobb said. 

It is named after the Livesly Train Depot, a stop along the Oregon Electric Railway named after Thomas A. Livesly, the “Hop King” of Oregon and a former Salem mayor. More recently, the property was home to Robert’s Crossing, and before that, it was a general store.

Cobb credits hard work, community involvement and above-and-beyond hospitality to Lively’s success through the pandemic. 

The restaurant continued to grow as Covid restrictions were lifted. 

It began catering for weddings, baby showers, company gatherings and other events around 2022. Little Lively, a food truck, was up and running by 2023. 

Cobb learned about the museum space last fall through a museum board member. Taproot gave notice of their departure around that time and moved out Dec. 31.

Taproot Lounge & Cafe opened in 2015 in downtown Salem at 356 State St., followed by its Old Mill Cafe in 2019. Owner Chrisopher Holland said the second location was appealing for its size and catering potential. 

Holland said the decision to leave the heritage center was made so he could focus on other locations, including Taproot, Angel’s Share Barrel House and For Tomorrow We Die Brewing Company. No layoffs resulted from the decision, he said. 

“It is a very beautiful space, underutilized, and I still think it has a lot of potential for someone to be able to go in there and capitalize on the parking, ambiance and just the magic that historic spot provides,” he said.

For Cobb, the space is a solution to a longtime challenge.

Built in the early 1900s, Lively Station has a small kitchen that limits the scope of their catering operations. The museum kitchen will become Lively’s main catering kitchen, Cobb said, allowing them to take on larger events and more of them. 

Renovations are underway at the museum ahead of the restaurant’s opening, including new kitchen equipment, protective coverings for the historic walls and possible repairs to the original wood flooring. 

A mural is in the works for the restaurant that will reflect the history of the space, which was originally a sorting and weighing room. It will include sheep and other imagery related to the museum. 

The center at 1313 Mill St. S.E. has 14 historic buildings on its five-acre grounds, including the 1889 Thomas Kay Woolen Mill. It has rotating and permanent museum exhibits, along with retail stores, art galleries and the cafe. 

Michelle Cordova, Willamette Heritage Center executive director, said the cafe is “very” popular.

“We’re missing not having a cafe … We have a lot of people who just come to the restaurant,” she said.

Nathan Harding, Lively’s executive chef, will soon run Lively at the Mill. He has overseen Lively’s kitchen, food truck and catering operations for three years.

“It’s super exciting,” Harding said of the expansion to the museum. “It’s gone by so fast … it doesn’t feel like three years.”

Cobb envisions Lively at the Mill as a place where Salem Hospital employees, Willamette University students and other downtown workers can get a healthy bite to eat. 

“I don’t know where you can go downtown and grab a quick salad,” Cobb said. “The majority of the menu is going to be curated to be a little bit more healthy.”

The restaurant will serve lunch Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. It will offer dine-in and grab-and-go options like premade salads, bowls and sandwiches. It may expand into Sunday brunch in the future

The menu will also include some brunch and bakery items, with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options available. The Mill Street location is set to partner with Sewell Sweets for baked goods and Prismastic Coffee for the coffee bar. 

Cobb said the menu will be “financially approachable,” with many options below $20. Discounts will be offered for hospital employees, students and teachers. Parking at Willamette Heritage Center is free.

The new location is expected to add about five more employees. Their current staff is about 30.

Cobb is aiming for a soft opening at the end of March.

Have a news tip? Contact reporter Hailey Cook: [email protected] .

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