A new seafood restaurant owned by the Cowlitz Indian Tribe opens Thursday at ilani, the tribe's casino resort in Ridgefield, Washington, about 25 miles outside Portland. The restaurant, called sámn, takes its name from the Cowlitz term for fish and replaces Line & Lure, the Pacific Northwest seafood spot that closed earlier in September after operating since the casino's early days.
According to The Oregonian/OregonLive, sámn focuses on a seafood-centric take on coastal dining, drawing from Pacific Northwest ingredients and foodways while grounding its offerings in Cowlitz tribal culinary traditions. The menu includes deep-water favorites, gumbos, stews, pastas and an oyster bar, alongside steak, chicken and other Pacific Northwest-inspired dishes, plus influences from Cajun, French and South American cuisines. The beverage list features wine, craft cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks.
A cdcgaming.com report described the restaurant as drawing on local ingredients and the region’s tribal food traditions. Line & Lure, which sámn replaces, was among ilani’s first restaurants and opened in April 2017, the outlet reported.
Showcasing the Tribe's First Foods
The Columbian reported that sámn will feature some of the Cowlitz Tribe’s “first foods,” described as culturally significant foods that have sustained the people for centuries. Line & Lure closed Sept. 19. The Columbian has referred to the new restaurant as both “sámn” and “sámn Pacific Coast Kitchen.”
Cowlitz foodways and regional context
The Cowlitz Indian Tribe’s Natural Resources Department describes hunting, fishing and gathering foods as central to the Tribe’s identity and traditional lifeways. That provides cultural context for the reference to “first foods,” but does not identify particular foods as ingredients in sámn’s recipes or establish how the restaurant sources them.
The Columbian reported that a June report on the economic impact of Washington’s Indigenous tribes attributed nearly 2,000 local jobs and millions of dollars in Southwest Washington economic activity to the Cowlitz Tribe and ilani together. Those figures concern the Tribe and resort, not sámn alone.
According to The Oregonian/OregonLive, Bill Iyall described the restaurant’s ingredients and preparations as a way to center Cowlitz heritage, and connected the project to the Tribe’s efforts toward autonomy and self-sufficiency. Karissa Lowe said sámn is part of initiatives intended to support economic stability and prosperity for the Tribe and surrounding communities, the outlet reported.
The opening will feature remarks from Iyall, Tanna Engdahl, Alan Trantina and John Lipkowitz, followed by music from a Cowlitz tribal drum group and an inaugural dinner service. A 1 p.m. ribbon cutting is scheduled for Thursday, with the celebration continuing into the restaurant's first night of dinner service.
Hours and a Sunday Brunch Buffet
Sámn is set to be open Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., with a brunch buffet on Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
This is the second Cowlitz-owned restaurant to debut at ilani this year. Sovereign, which replaced the former Michael Jordan's Steakhouse, launched in June and held its official grand opening with a ribbon-cutting event on June 25, according to The Reflector. Ilani describes Sovereign as a Cowlitz-owned and operated fine-dining steakhouse, a separate concept from sámn, and says it opened in June 2026. Sovereign emphasizes Pacific Northwest ingredients and regional flavors and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
TDN characterized the restaurant opening as another change to the resort’s fine-dining offerings, with a stronger tribal influence. The Columbian has also reported on the broader economic role of the Tribe and ilani in Southwest Washington.
