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The Hungry Woodsman has new owners They'll relocate popular restaurant when new highway goes through site By CLEVE TWITCHELL The Hungry Woodsman, a popular Medford restaurant for nearly a quarter of a century, has new owners. Joe and Chris Stella of Medford have bought the business at 2001 N. Pacific Highway and plan to relocate it when the Oregon Department of Transportation builds a highway through the site. The relocation is not expected until 2000 at the earliest. ODOT has proposed to connect highways 62 and 238 with a new route that would take out several businesses, among them the Hungry Woodsman building. The Stellas have bought the business, inventory and signs -- but not the structure itself -- from Bob LaFontaine and family. "We have a five-year lease, with a five-year option just in case," says Joe Stella, figuring that highway projects often are delayed. LaFontaine tore down the old 21 Club nightclub and erected the Hungry Woodsman in its place, opening the restaurant in 1974. His daughter, Sue Wilson, who's been with the restaurant for 22 years, will stay on as manager. The Hungry Woodsman has long been viewed by locals as a kind of mini-museum of logging memorabilia. Saws and other implements decorate the walls along with early-day logging photos. The building itself is noted for its thick, sturdy walls. "The state may have trouble knocking it down," says Chris Stella. One change made by the new owners is that reservations are accepted, something not done in the past. The Stellas plan to continue much of the restaurant's menu, which has featured steaks, prime rib, seafood, and, in recent years, chicken and pasta dishes. They plan to add more seafood and entrees with special sauces. They also plan to introduce tableside preparation of flambe dishes, such as steak Diane, and specialty desserts. The restaurant will observe a "grand reopening" next week, when some menu additions will be introduced. It will continue to be open for dinner nightly and for lunch Monday through Friday. Plans call for adding a Sunday brunch buffet on Nov. 15. The Stellas moved to Medford 4 years ago from the Willamette Valley. Joe Stella formerly managed the Buzz Saw, an Albany restaurant with a theme similar to that of the Hungry Woodsman. For the past decade he's been in food sales and consulting with Food Services of America, calling on hundreds of restaurants. One of his clients was the Hungry Woodsman. "Bob (LaFontaine) and I have been talking about this for three or four years," he says. LaFontaine is in his late 70s. The Stellas haven't picked out a future site, figuring that what looks like a good location today might not be in two years or more. Some people apparently believe the restaurant's demise is imminent or that it already has been razed, say the Stellas, who hope to counteract that image. "It's not happening tomorrow," Chris Stella said, referring to the highway project. "We will be here for a while." Today's Business Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA