Pelican Brewing is steering its coastal beer fleet toward Yachats. The Pacific City–born brewery announced this week that it plans to open a new pub in the tiny oceanfront town, adding another beachside outpost along the stretch of coast between Newport and Cannon Beach. The move follows a recent ownership change at the small diner Pelican is set to convert into its latest brewpub.
According to KGW, Pelican plans to turn the property into a pub that would become its sixth Oregon coast location. The site most recently operated as the Whale’s Tail Diner, and the sale of that restaurant, along with the earlier closure of longtime fixture LeRoy’s Blue Whale, were chronicled by the Lincoln Chronicle. Pelican’s initial announcement did not include a firm opening date.
Pelican, founded in 1996 and based in Pacific City, now runs a string of coastal brewpubs in Pacific City, Cannon Beach, Siletz Bay (Lincoln City), Tillamook and Rockaway Beach, per the company’s location pages on Pelican Brewing. The operation leans hard into its coastal identity, pairing its beers with seafood-forward menus and expansive outdoor patios. Pelican lists its Pacific City brewpub as the flagship and promotes event spaces and on-site brewing at several of its locations.
What This Could Mean for Yachats
In other towns along the coast, Pelican’s brewpubs have doubled down on seafood and large outdoor seating areas, even adding a seafood market inside the Lincoln City location, coverage noted by Willamette Week. For a town as small as Yachats, a similar setup could stretch the shoulder season, bringing more tourist foot traffic beyond peak summer.
At the same time, some residents worry that a growing regional brand could crowd out the smaller, independent spots that give Yachats its particular flavor. The long run of LeRoy’s Blue Whale showed how central a single diner can be to the town’s identity, a history documented by the Lincoln Chronicle. Pelican’s arrival will test how a bigger name fits into that tight-knit ecosystem.
Timeline and Next Steps
Pelican has described the Yachats project as a conversion of the existing diner space rather than a ground-up build and has not given an exact opening date in the company announcement, according to KGW. The timing will likely depend on local permitting, seasonal hiring and supply logistics.
In previous coastal openings, Pelican has highlighted hiring locally and tailoring menus to fit each community, patterns that could repeat in Yachats. Whether the new pub becomes a much-needed economic boost or feels like a squeeze on long-standing independents will depend on how the company and the town balance tourism with local character.
More details on hours, hiring and an opening date are expected as Pelican moves through the conversion process. This story will be updated as the company releases additional information.
