One of the area’s newest restaurants may be known for their humility — but that doesn’t mean they can’t kick a little ass every now and then.
The Humble Pig Cafe received the well-deserved Molalla Kick Ass Business of the Month Award for October.
It was certainly well-deserved, considering the little restaurant’s amazing service during the wildfire crisis last month, when its small staff worked tirelessly to prepare and serve hundreds of free meals a day for first responders and evacuated residents.
The Molalla Kick Ass Business Award is a, well, rather unique accolade made from not one but two karate trophies. Each recipient is expected to add some sort of embellishment to the award, so it’s also covered in local stickers and business cards.
By tradition, it is passed on each month to a business of the previous recipient’s choosing — in this case, The Humble Pig’s neighbors El Charrito.
“We can not tell you what this means to us,” Humble Pig co-owner Sarah Shanky said on Facebook. “Since day one of us renting our space, they have been nothing but kind and wonderful to us. They have encouraged us when things were taking a long time to get up and going.”
She and fellow co-owner Joe Selinger could not ask for kinder or more generous neighbors and friends, Shanky said.
“They saved us when our oven stopped working on a prime rib night and let us use theirs,” she said of El Charrito. “We share food and hellos and what’s happening around town with each other. When the pandemic hit, we consulted on what to do together. We supported each other through the fires. They have been so very kind.”
The award was created in March by local business owners, including Ken Fetters of The Main Shop, photographer Dave Jackson, Realtor Robert Thompson and Otis Engelhard.
“We were trying to come up with ways to bring the downtown business owners together and build the community,” said Shanky. “And this is what came from all of us brainstorming together. The point was to get all the businesses to start working together and creating a more lively, friendly downtown atmosphere.”
For more information about The Humble Pig Cafe, or to check out their fall-inspired October menu, visit their Facebook page.
