West Salem's Checkpoint 221 food cart pod opens pavilion with heated seating, indoor bar
Checkpoint 221 is now fully open with the completion of the West Salem food cart pod's pavilion.
Checkpoint 221 opened its food cart pod area for customers sans seating in June 2023. A year and six months after construction initially began, the pavilion is open too, complete with an indoor bar, open seating and heated deck.
Owners Roy Long and Scott Martin officially opened the pavilion on New Year's Eve with a post on the food pod's Facebook page.
"The community has given us a huge welcome and we're happy to finally be open," Long said.
Pavilion features indoor seating with a bar and heated patio
The pavilion's opening comes after months of delays and issues with construction including sourcing equipment and staffing.
It includes 90 feet of heated patio on the side facing the food trucks, ADA ramps to the carts and bathrooms. The owners said it was important that as one of the few community spaces in West Salem they be accessible.
Inside the pavilion is a bar, with beers and ciders on tap, plus some wine selections. Long said they will add select cocktails in the future, but not a full bar. The pavilion's capacity is 200 people, but currently it has space for 100 with a mix of four and six person tables.
On the right side of the space is a fireplace. The pavilion also features bare wooden beams and six black metal chandeliers, bathing the space in warm lighting. Several large screen TVs are anchored onto the walls. Long said he looks forward to hosting sports watch parties and board game nights. Free Wi-Fi is also available.
At the bar counter sits a box of board games. They said there's already been board game groups, small groups from churches and more who have come in. There is trivia, musical bingo and more that are planned with more to come. Long said the space is for the community, and they welcome feedback about events community members want to see in the future.
Owners inspired to open Checkpoint 221 to add community space in West Salem
Long and Martin both live in West Salem and have kids. They said they were inspired to create the space due to the lack of places catering to comedy, trivia or music where all ages can hangout. They thought, why not offer it all in one place themselves?
In turn, offering the food truck pod space meant they could also give more than a dozen small businesses a place to set up shop. It was a "win-win" for the two, as they were "creating a business so others can have a business too," Long said.
Groups that would like to have a specific section of the facility reserved for events can contact Checkpoint 221 on its website or over social media. The entire facility cannot be reserved.
The parking lot for Checkpoint 221 is shared with the Riverbend Apartments, but space designations are clearly marked with signage.
Checkpoint 221 features more than a dozen food trucks
The current food trucks parked at Checkpoint 221 are:
Bobablastic
Cherry City Wings
Dreaming of Sushi
Eddy's Phillys Cheesesteaks
Gardenia Thai Kitchen
Gyropoulos
Los Argentinos
Medes Turkish Food
Pastatastic
Quesadilla Wizard
Sweet Seoul
Taqueria Arandas
The Golden Spice of India
The Salty Shack
Tin Roof Bistro
For more on Checkpoint 221, check out the website, checkpoint221.com, Facebook and Instagram page, @chckpt221.
Hours: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Sunday to Thursday; 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Address: 1233 Riverbend Road NW
Em Chan covers food and dining at the Statesman Journal. You can reach her at echan@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @catchuptoemily.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Checkpoint 221 food cart pod in West Salem opens pavilion with new bar
