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| Julie Clevinger serves Patty Williams, one of her favorite customers. Clevinger has created many friends at her workplace, the Refectory Restaurant. |
| MEMO PHOTO: TIM CURRAN |
In 1994, Parkrose girl lands job at high-profile Mid-County party venue, has been there ever since
DARLENE VINSON
THE MID COUNTY MEMO
If we’re lucky, we have a place we can go to relax, enjoy conversation, have lunch or dinner and catch-up with friends. Julie Clevinger, the weekday bartender at the Refectory Restaurant, has created just such an atmosphere for her clientele. Regulars go so far as to say she has taken it a step further. They will tell you the place feels like home and the people there are like family.
That apparently goes both ways, because Clevinger says she expects to see certain people. If they fail to show, she checks on them and says she would be lost without them. They get together for activities like bowling and barbeques and will book a casino bus now and then.
In addition to her customers, Clevinger says owners CC and Mitch Stanley are like a second set of parents to her. She is comfortable going to them for advice.
And like any other family, there have been tiffs. But they always seem to work it out.
Patty Williams, who has been a Refectory patron for 25 years, says Clevinger is one of the best bartenders she has ever seen and liked her from the beginning.
“Julie connected quickly,” Williams says. “She is attentive to her customers, and has a spark and attitude that draws people.”
Maybe all this down home feeling comes from the fact that Clevenger’s roots are here in Mid-Multnomah County. A Russell Elementary School, Parkrose Middle School and Parkrose High School graduate, Clevinger lives on the north side of Glendoveer golf course; her mom lives on the opposite side. Son Blaine, following in Mom’s footsteps, is enrolled at Parkrose High School.
Because she is a life long Mid-County resident, Clevinger has seen some major changes in the area. Some of them sadden her. Growth in the area has been noticeable and she laments the loss of familiar things, like when Kienow’s supermarket was the anchor tenant at Menlo Park Plaza.
She has concerns too about the schools. As she remembers it, the rivals she and her classmates were concerned about were the students and athletes of other local high schools. Now she thinks too much of that sense of competition is internal. Groups square off against one another, which she finds frightening. She believes the kids could learn to work together and hopes the schools can get a handle on the tension.
Because of her high energy and positive attitude, folks might miss the fact that Clevinger is a hard worker. As a single mom, she prides herself on her ability to care for her son and says public assistance is simply nothing she would ever consider.
“I have worked hard for what I have,” she says. “I don’t like to ask for help. I can do it myself.” She says she acquired that attitude from her father, who died recently. He was a feisty guy who taught her to be a strong person and to stand up for her beliefs.
Clevinger too likes to play hard and lists traveling and four-wheeling as favorite activities. She enjoys time with Blaine, often watching him compete in water polo or soccer, or taking in a movie or other shared activity.
If you are in the need of a second home, drop in on Clevinger and the gang. You will find the Refectory Restaurant in what was once the San Rafael Shopping Center, at 1618 N.E. 122nd Ave. By your second or third visit, your favorite beverage will be in front of you before you’ve had time to remove your coat.
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