Confluence Opens in Lyle

Confluence Cafe

Confluence opens in lyle

By Kathy Watson

Leave Hood River, White Salmon or Bingen, head east on SR 14, and you enter a coffee desert that ends in, oh … Pendleton.

With the opening of the new Confluence Cafe in Lyle, you can tame your caffeine beast in style long before you leave the Gorge.

The cafe in the remodeled building that overlooks the mouth of the Klickitat River is made light, bright and chic by owners Mary Kleihege and John Streur, the folks who own Little 77 Ranch just up old Highway 8. The space boasts live edge wood tables, wood paneling and trim from local fir milled in the ranch’s own sawmill.

Confluence occupies the east end of the building. The west end will be a new tasting room for Domaine Poullion. Yes, you’ll be able to hang out on the deck above the river with a cappucino in one hand and a Katydid in the other.

Confluence Cafe

Confluence Cafe owners Ali Hammerstadt and Matt Bynum feature coffee from Portland roaster Coava, pastries from White Salmon Baking Co. and Edeske Patisserie in Hood River. On their first day, November 17, locals poured in. Ali pulls a mean espresso from the deep, mellow Coava beans.

Now when you take a hike on the Klickitat River Trail, bird watch at the river mouth, or hoist a kite off the sandbar, there’s a good coffee and pastry waiting for you. Hours are Wednesday – Sunday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
– Kathy Watson

Confluence Cafe