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Olde Line Lanes couple build their future brick by brick

By Gretchen Ammerman

Oregon Coast TODAY

Lincoln City locals know at least two things about Ethan Granberg and Danelle Lochrie: they make amazing food, and they really like to stay busy.

Since opening their first business in Oregon, Rockfish Bakery, they evolved to open a full-service restaurant called Hearth & Table. Fresh on the heels of the success of that, the couple restored a treasured historical bowling alley, beefed up the kitchen and dining area and christened it Olde Line Lanes & Kitchen.

Now, rolling with the punches that COVID-19 is doling out to local businesses, they are asking for a little help from the community they love and which loves them back for their next venture; a traveling pizza oven they can use to cook and serve their artisanal pizzas on the move.

“One of the reasons we’re looking to do this is so we can do more outside,” Danelle said. “Nobody knows when things are getting better and people seem to be more comfortable outdoors eating and just being. With the opening timeline of bowling in Lincoln County being so up in the air, we really need to think of the immediate future.”

To create a wood fired pizza oven that can withstand what might be regular traveling, the couple is working with another small business, Fire Within, which make the ovens to order.

“They hand-build their ovens and we’ve heard great things about the toughness of them,” Danelle said. “That is very important because if they aren’t built properly they can crack. We want something we can take to breweries, wineries, for private catering events and lots of other outdoor opportunities.”

When opening up the GoFundMe page where people can help make the cart a reality, the couple were unsure how the response would be. They needn’t have worried.

“We’re already at about the halfway point so we’re really excited,” Danelle said. “We set the amount we did because we also need a vehicle to pull it with, the license and a few other things to make it legal and road ready, but we are also putting money into it.”

Ethan is already learning the skills to use the new oven by cooking at one of the farms that supplies Olde Line Lanes with fresh organic produce.

“Ethan has been working on the Minto Island Growers property this summer,” Danelle said. “They’ve been there a long time and they have a great outdoor dining area. He’s been cooking in a wood fired oven in order to get some practice and he’s loving it — the pizzas are different when cooked that way, they get real bubbly and the taste of the ingredients is really intense. It’s a great way to showcase ingredients fresh from the farm.”

For a slice of the kind of creations he’s cooking, consider this recent offering: fresh figs, farm herbs, charred onions, Oregon lamb, farmers cheese from Nestucca Bay Creamery and Serrano honey.

And, though Olde Line Lanes is currently closed, you can still satisfy your craving for some of their classic dishes.

“We have a preorder menu: order by 8 pm on Wednesdays for pickup on Fridays from 4 to 7 pm,” Danelle said. “BBQ, pastas, salads, vegetables and par baked pizzas are all in the list.”

The baker in the couple, known for her delicious fresh breads and decadent desserts, Danelle says the new system has added a different skill she wasn’t expecting to develop.

“I’ve learned how to be a techie,” she said. “That’s how it goes, life throws you curve balls and you learn to adapt.”

The timing of the pandemic was pretty harsh though for the couple and the growing number of fans of the bowling alley.

“This would have been our third summer and things were going great,” Danelle said. “The bowling machines were running really well. We had updated the parts and they just kept running more smoothly because those machines work better when they are being used. We were looking forward to our busiest summer.”

But, like so many other business owners, the pandemic sent them looking for ways to change their business model to survive until they can open their doors to the public again.

“We really love being part of this community,” Danelle said. “We hope that with this cart we can keep our business going but more importantly, involve more of the community.”

For more information about Olde Line Lanes and for links to the mobile oven campaign, go to oldelinelanes.com.