A farewell Lunch Breakers lunch
Published 3:09 pm Friday, December 19, 2025
Goodbye, Mathias, we hardly knew you
By THE ASTORIAN LUNCH BREAKERS
Jeanne Huff, Mathias Lehman-Winters, Aislin Tweedy,
Heather Douglas, Paul Matli, Jay Corella
When I recently asked readers what they wanted us to write about, I got a barrage of answers. Many of which were contradictory to one another. Some wanted to hear more about the history of Astoria; others said they’ve had enough history. Some complained about the TV guide and the advice and puzzles pages — “who reads Dear Abby anyway.” Others applauded and said they were grateful to get their weekly TV menu and daily horoscopes.
Equally divisive, if not more so, were the Lunch Breakers features. There was no gray area here, either, people either loved it — or hated it.
So we took a break from the Lunch Breakers, licked our wounds and pretty much decided to put the idea, much like that ubiquitous Christmas elf, on the shelf.
Until, that is, Mathias announced he had taken a job at the Oregon Legislature. Happy for him, sad for us, but in the end something to celebrate and to thank him for all the good work he’s done at the paper for the past six months.
We made plans for a going-away lunch at Fort George. We all chipped in and got Mathias a water carafe with “Astoria” on it so he wouldn’t forget us or his time here. And somewhere along the way, someone piped up: will it be a Lunch Breakers lunch? I thought about it for a New York minute. Smiled.
“Yes,” I said, “let’s make it a farewell to Mathias Lunch Breakers party.”
And that’s just what we did.
Fort George: A little history you may or may not know
The Fort George building is historic and was built in 1924 (the adjoining Lovell Building is even older, built in 1921). Over the years, the Fort George block of buildings housed a number of different businesses. And when a Chevy dealership moved out of the Lovell Building in the ‘80s, the block became dormant for decades.
Meanwhile, at the age of 18, Chris Nemlowill, who had lived in Astoria all his life, took a trip over the pond to a wedding in Cologne, Germany. “And I fell in love,” Nemlowill said. But not with a person — he fell in love with “the German pub.” He saw what a vital role it played in the community as families and friends gathered at the pub.
“There was nothing like that in Astoria,” Nemlowill said. Going there and experiencing the embrace of community at the neighborhood pub, “it planted the idea.”
And after Nemlowill graduated from Southern Oregon University and signed on as an intern at Intel, he couldn’t stop dreaming about “starting a brewery in Astoria. It would be so cool. … I just thought that would be an exciting life.”
So back to Astoria he went and at first worked as a barista at a now defunct cafe. “And I started home brewing in my parent’s basement,” he said. Nemlowill would bring samples of his home brew to work and offer them to his coffee customers.
“If you like that Americano, why don’t you try this amber wheat ale?” Or: “If you like that espresso, try this stout.”
Nemlowill then “apprenticed” at Bill’s Tavern and Brewhouse Brewery in Cannon Beach, meeting the right people and learning his craft.
In October of 2005, he was introduced to Robert Stricklin, who had just purchased the Fort George block. The buildings were in disarray, windows broken, pigeons roosting in the rafters. “And I immediately fell in love,” said Nemlowill, “and thought: there it was.”
They struck a deal, began cleaning up and patching up windows, and the rest, as they say … .
But first, they had to put the brewery in the brewery building. Nemlowill found and bought the innards of a brewery that was located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, hired a semi-truck driver, and, following behind in a U-haul truck, drove it across the country. In Nebraska, a tornado threatened to blow the brew crew away, but everyone and everything, including the brewery parts and pieces were OK.
Nemlowill named the brewery’s first batch of beer Vortex IPA, “after the tornado,” he said.
Today and tomorrow
“We now have three brewing systems,” Nemlowill said, including two in the Fort George block and one down on the waterfront. In addition, the complex includes three restaurant spaces — the Wood-fired Pizzeria upstairs, the Public House downstairs and the Lovell Taproom across the courtyard. And during summer, the Beer Pier is open at the waterfront location. Fort George beer is distributed in Washington, Oregon, Northern California, Idaho and Colorado. “We are also selling a little beer in Japan,” Nemlowill said.
“It’s pretty awesome,” Nemlowill said. “It was kind of a dream of mine from early on, (to create) a gathering spot, community at its finest.”
What’s next?
“Raising my three teenagers,” Nemlowill says, laughing. He spends more time on the business side of the business but “I do get some of the fun in naming new beers.”
The newest one for this season is named Magnanimus. It’s perfect for several reasons, said Nemlowill. “Magnanimous means overly giving, and it’s the giving time of year,” he said. Plus, it’s a collaborative effort with a local Christmas tree farm.
“We use the spruce and fir tips — we basically have Christmas trees, or parts of Christmas trees in that beer.”
The Astorian Lunch Breaker team embraced Nemlowill’s dream come true — and created our own community space for a lunch break we’ll savor and treasure.
Reporter Mathias Lehman-Winters: A King-ly meal
I walked to our Fort George lunch with our illustrious editor, Jeanne Huff, and our newest reporter, Jay Corella. The weather offered a brief respite from the rain and wind that had been hounding the region for the previous days, and instead we were treated to only a light drizzle. Our booth, where we met Heather Douglas, Aislin Tweedy and Paul Matli was large and made of solid wood. The lighting had a green hue to it, thanks in part to the indoor plants surrounding our spot.
As I plopped down into the far end of the booth, facing the entryway and adjacent to a window, I realized it would be my last Lunch Breakers with The Astorian. Friday, Dec. 19 is my last day at the paper — I’ve taken another job and will be moving back to the Willamette Valley.
I checked with Jeanne first. “What we order isn’t on you, right?” I ordered a bacon-laden hamburger. I like bacon, but whenever I cook it, it turns out with a chemical taste, which in hindsight is likely the teflon coming off my pan. I also ordered a Shirley Temple, by far my favorite drink. Admittedly, I was a little disappointed when I got it without a cherry like I remember having as a kid, but it was good, nonetheless.
In a group photo we took before I had received my Shirley Temple, we toasted to my departure and so as not to be the only one without a drink to toast, I grabbed a bottle of Malt Vinegar from the table. I assure you that is not my beverage of choice nor did I consume it.
The conversation meandered between half a dozen topics, each one seemingly more out of left field than the last: Stephen King; movies; ‘70s drug culture; and the Latin root word of the word mortality — mortis meaning “death,” if Wikipedia is to be believed.
Jeanne shared a story from her time in Colorado when she and her dog, Dundï, almost met Stephen King during the filming of his “Shining” mini-series. He, for those who don’t know, is her idol. But unfortunately, by the time she’d worked up the nerve to approach the film set near her house, the crew and King had left.
I, for my own part, listened and as usual scarfed down my lunch, the bacon hamburger with fries and a pickle. After finishing my lunch and seeing everyone else not yet half way done with their own, I jealously began eyeing Jay’s fries across from me. He had hardly touched them, and barely finished his hamburger. I asked if I could “borrow” some of his, and when he agreed I began helping myself, greedily finishing them all off before leaving a couple left on his tray out of courtesy.
Sports reporter Paul Matli: A day of reminiscing
After enjoying our staff’s first Lunch Breaker at Moe’s, I thought it would be just a one time thing.
Despite hearing positive feedback from everyone I know, our editor, Jeanne, shared a not-so-cheerful reader’s comment. Based on that feedback, I was discouraged and thought about all the free food I would be missing out on. But, then Mathias reported back that Astoria Mayor Sean Fitzpatrick enjoyed our Lunch Breakers segment, so we decided as a staff to continue visiting local restaurants.
In addition, as Mathias is leaving us, we thought it would be a great send off for him.
For me, this Lunch Breakers was much more straightforward. This time there was no miscommunication about it. This time I knew that we were meeting at Fort George at 11:30 a.m. (The last time I arrived a half hour early due to the wrong time sent to me by Jeanne in an email.)
Once I walked in and saw Mathias, Jeanne, Jay and Heather in one booth I decided to squeeze into a spot in the middle of Heather and Mathias. I decided to get the Big Truck double-paddie Burger.
After we all sat down we had numerous conversations. Our editor Jeanne shared a story about her time almost meeting Stephen King — and many other conversations that I can’t remember. Aislin walked in a little late and we teased her about it.
As for the meal, I enjoyed it. The mix of double-beef paddies, onions, sauce, pickles and fries made for a full meal. Despite the burgers tasting good, it did come apart rather quickly, but this could be a me problem as most of the burgers I eat, they fall apart.
In the end, this was a great way for us to send off one of our coworkers. Despite Mathias being here for only a short time, I enjoyed working with him — and I know he will continue running into Representative Cyrus Javadi.
Reporter Aislin Tweedy: Missed the memo
The Astorian gathered for a final lunch break on Dec. 9, a small celebration before the holiday season swept us into an annual whirlwind. Fort George was already humming when I arrived, the long wooden tables crowded with familiar faces. Laughter rolled across the room, with a spirited conversation of Stephen King — sparked by editor Jeanne Huff’s close encounter with the horror legend— and the usual chatter about college happenings, weekend plans and newsroom curiosities.
I quickly realized I’d missed an unspoken memo: nearly everyone had settled into classic comfort food — burger, tuna melts and an assortment of sandwiches. I, on the other hand, went straight for my standby, the chorizo con queso. It’s one of my favorites on the Fort George menu, even if I always find myself wishing it packed more heat. Maybe that’s just my personal tolerance for spike talking.
But beneath the easy banter, the lunch carried a bittersweet undertone. Astoria reporter Mathias Lehman-Winters is heading to Salem where he’ll join the Oregon Legislature for the upcoming session. For a long stretch, our little reporting unit was just Mathias, Paul Matli and me — before Jay Corella arrived a little over a month ago and rounded out the team.
Working with Mathias has been one of the bright spots of my time here. We shared a similar curiosity about stories and often found ourselves tracking the same leads, sometimes accidentally diving into the very same piece — sorry again, Jeanne. His sharp instincts and steady presence make him a natural fit in any newsroom he has/will work in.
Reporter Jay Corella: My time has come
As many young men do in the course of their time balancing work and the pursuit of higher education, I spent time working in a restaurant which has since closed. That job taught me many things, mainly that hot things are way hotter than you think and what makes a good burger. It stands to reason that if you work constantly side-by-side of great hamburger craftsmanship, you develop a taste for them. Fort George seems to do burgers right, at least they did in my instance with the aptly named Fort Burger. The fries were good, the bread was buttery and the patty itself was just moist enough to balance out the rest of the burger.
During the meal, so many things took me back to that very interesting period in my life in which I desperately wanted to be in the field working as a “real journalist” — even the trays were familiar and felt lifted straight from my former workplace. Now that I am in that position, I can look back and realize just how much of being a line cook informed the way I am, both personally and professionally.
As with all good meals, a drink and lively conversation pair perfectly. For me, this was an apple cider and hearing my soon-to-be former coworker, Mathias,’ retrospective on his time at The Astorian. His boots will be hard to fill. After hearing more about his experiences and the stories that he wrote during his time in Astoria, I’m imbued with a certain level of confidence that I’ll fit the boots … in a timely manner.
Coast Weekend editor Heather Douglas: A happy sad time
This installment of Lunch Breakers was simultaneously celebratory and sad. It was Mathias’s goodbye lunch at the Fort George Brewery. In attendance: Astorian editor Jeanne and reporters Mathias, Jay, Aislin and Paul. Here are my favorite moments in no particular order.
- I thanked the server for calling me “miss” instead of “ma’am.” A special thanks to him for taking a photo of us on the Astoria Column stairs. (For anyone new to town, we didn’t drag the poor guy up to the top of Coxcomb Hill to take our photo – Fort George has a set of vintage Column stairs inside the brewery.)
- I ate a delicious rock fish sandwich and seafood chowder filled with a good variety of seafood.
- A fan of the Astorian approached our table asking “is this going to be a story?” Everything is a story when it involves reporters. And thank you for reading!
- Jeanne announced as the food approached the table, “don’t forget to take photos of your food, everyone!” Our server was likely not familiar with Lunch Breakers – a controversial recurring column in which Astorian reporters take photos and write about their food. He rolled his eyes and said quietly “yeah, because if you don’t take a photo it’s not real.” I think I was the only one who heard the aside and I was a fan of his humor. Did he wonder if we were an odd family that photographs their food and takes notes on everything we do? I guess I’ll never know. Or maybe I can just ask him next time I’m at the Fort George.
- The conversation drifts back to books, movies or music which is inevitable when a group of writers congregates anywhere.
- Jeanne told a great story full of circus imagery and mystery about an encounter with Stephen King, her favorite author. The story belonged in “Full Dark, No Stars,” or at least around the campfire. Quickdraw Mathias already had his notebook out while I was still fumbling for mine. Consider it scooped. I didn’t protest; happy going away present, Mathias.
- We got to spend some time with Mathias who is a great reporter and stellar dog dad to his black lab, Ollie. He will be missed as he and Ollie head down the dusty trail to their next adventure.
Jeanne Huff, editor: I’ll be brief
I know the last thing some of you want is to hear about what I had for lunch, so I won’t go into great detail. I ordered the Tuna Melt sandwich and fries. Suffice to say, I’d never had a tuna melt like this one. A thick, balsamic-marinated and grilled albacore tuna triangle was nestled on a butter-grilled pub bun, and topped with lettuce, balsamic caper mayo and Swiss cheese. Wow.
It was like taking a dancehall number to Broadway.
Also, since everyone else has spilled the beans on our table talk, let me just say the ‘70s drug culture talk was fueled by a discussion I began centered on a famous Oregonian, Ken Kesey of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and Merry Pranksters fame. Sadly, Heather was the only one besides me at the table who had ever seen the movie or read Kesey’s book. Hopefully, the others will now be curious enough to check out both of those classics.
And so, we bid adieu to Lunch Breakers (at least until next year) and a fond farewell to our colleague.
We will miss you, Mathias.
