By James Day
Silverton’s popular restaurant The Noble Fox is expanding, with owners planning to open a second eatery in Ashland, Oregon by the spring of 2024.
Jeramie Mykisen co-owns The Noble Fox on North Water Street with his stepfather, Jeffrey Tinkham. They opened the restaurant in October 2021.
The Ashland Noble Fox will occupy the space which formerly housed the Standing Stone Brewing Co., a long-time Ashland fixture that closed in 2022 amid challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mykisen told The Ashland News that his family always stopped at Standing Stone on road trips to California and that he liked the brewery’s family-friendly atmosphere. The restaurant occupied a historic 1925 building that once was an automobile repair shop located in Ashland’s downtown core and just a short walk from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival theaters.
Mykisen told Our Town that “renovations are underway, with our sights set on a springtime opening. We have a long-term lease in place with hopes of purchasing the building within a few years.
“Our priority is to get the doors open after we put our ‘stamp’ on the place. The restaurant was in fairly good shape. Most of our attention will be on replacing kitchen equipment, furniture and decor, including our signature blue paint.”
Also attractive to Mykisen and his team is that the Standing Stone takeover includes its brewing equipment.
“Now we are on the hunt for a brewmaster that fits our overall vision,” Mykisen said. “We’ve had a surprising amount of interest in the position and believe we will have the right fit, hired and in place by the end of the year. The addition of the brewery allows us to self-distribute and serve our hand-crafted beers in Silverton, which is very exciting.”
Mykisen also said that “our Ashland location will allow us to explore our food offerings a bit more as the kitchen is considerably larger than Silverton.”
Mykisen said that the Ashland Noble Fox “will operate somewhat independently other than ownership [with] oversight from our newly re-hired executive chef, Andrew Banas.
“Chef Banas will oversee all operations in Ashland and assist our Silverton chef, Matt Taylor. Chef Taylor in Silverton has been with us since day one and was recently promoted at the end of summer. Chef Banas and Chef Taylor have an outstanding working relationship and we are excited about what the future holds with both in place.”
Mykisen said that the Ashland operation will have a staff of approximately 40. It is significantly larger than the Silverton spot, seating approximately 175 to just 63 for the northern location. Mykisen also plans to use one of the two retail spaces in the Standing Stone block to add a whiskey bar, plus a wine and retail shop.
Mykisen, who lives in Silverton with his three kids, already has had a suave-looking fox etched onto the front door at the Ashland site.
“The name, The Noble Fox, kinda just grew organically,” Mykisen said. “We knew we wanted a Silverton tie in with the Foxes [Silverton High’s athletic mascot] and noble just struck a chord with us. We aim to be good community members and give back where we can.”
