Ciao, bella! 

Something new, what do we all think? Maybe I’ll go through all the languages of the world… Anyway! It is the end of the year and it means it is also a time to look back on all the happenings of the year. Was your year a wonderful one, where you did all the things you’d hoped to do and accomplished? Or was your year more like mine where it felt like things just kept getting worse… and worse… If I’m to take any positives, it’s that the team here at What’s Happening Salem and you readers continue to support me and the rest of our work here - I am so grateful! 

This week I’ll be doing a retrospective on the biggest positives and negatives that happened in Salem. I’d love to hear from you about if you agree with my list, or what I might’ve missed. A lot happened so I’m focusing on just the biggest! Or share with me your own by emailing me at [email protected]. 

Popping my holiday cards into the mail, 

Em Chan

Woop woop! It’s absolutely wild that the year is finally coming to an end. I love looking back on the year, even if it has seemed like not much has happened. Really, a lot has happened! Here’s some of the highs and lows, plus some special mentions. 

One of the biggest (although not surprising) announcements to kick off 2025 was the layoff of all the employees at the downtown Macy’s location, and closed for good by the end of March. The closure announcement was listed alongside 65 other locations around the country of the retail chain. It bites the dust in Salem alongside its former mall neighbors JCPenney’s (closed 2020) and Nordstrom (closed 2018). 

The new mall owners have plans for the area, but not much has progressed. The last updates I remember were surveys asking what folks wanted to go in the buildings, with popular responses including a grocery store, more family-friendly entertainment and shops. 

The rumors and gossip surrounding the livelihood of Rudy’s Steakhouse finally erupted in April, when the restaurant suddenly closed. Owner Robbie Kunke was nowhere to be found, owing over $100,000 in overdue rent, employee salaries, taxes, and loans. The city had terminated the lease on the business and employees were online sharing how they had been misled in the months leading up to the end. 

Employees even went as far as to try to make ends meet by starting their own website and offering folks to purchase crab cakes, steaks and cobbler. There was also a GoFundMe set up by the general manager. Since May, there hasn’t been any major updates about the restaurant, its employees and the owner’s fate. But investigations and penalties usually take a while, so perhaps we’ll learn more next year… 

Avelo Airlines had come into Salem-Willamette Valley Airport in fall 2023, hopeful to bring back commercial flights to destinations like Sonoma, Las Vegas, and more. But in less than two years, they announced their final flight in early August. Jacob broke down the various aspects of why commercial airlines haven’t been successful in Salem when it was announced - it’s a very thorough breakdown of the situation. 

Prior to Avelo coming to Salem, there had been no commercial service for 15 years. Previously, there was Delta Connection (which left in 2008) and United (which left in 1980). In all three scenarios, a lack of customers was not to blame. Avelo announced that they would be leaving the West Coast after also closing down their base in Burbank. But with no plans for future commercial airfare, what do you think the future holds for our local airport? 

Keizer was slated to sell some land by Keizer Station for a new Raising Cane’s, which would’ve brought the city over $6 million. Initially, the fast food chain was going to be built by the transit center – which it could’ve moved forward on. However, the developers wanted the larger land parcel by the Station, but the city was not able to change the land-use rules, leading to the deal falling through. 

Keizer Station had been collecting plenty of popular and chain restaurants, but it was quite disappointing that it wouldn’t be coming into town. Perhaps it’s not the worst thing that happened in Keizer for this category… but we keep it on the lighter side here.

The Salem Livability Levy passed during the special election on May 20. The City Council proposed in the levy that a property tax would fund services and programs, including Salem Public Library services, Center 50+ operation, park management and maintenance, plus recreational programming. The proposed property tax would generate an estimated $14 million for services in 2026, according to the levy information page. It cost 98 cents per $1,000 assessed property value for property owners. 

Baseball is alive again in Salem! This year was the inaugural season for the Marion Berries, the 17th team in the West Coast League, a collegiate summer baseball league. The team made it into the playoffs, which is huge for a new team. They were eliminated in Round 1 against the Portland Pickles. The team is composed of players from across the Mid-Valley, and they’ve built quite the community already. 

The team and players also got lots of accolades, including:

Did you go to any of the games, and if you did, what did you think of the team?

The Forge partially opened with its first slate of businesses including Clink!, Dreamies Creamery, Ivory Bull & Co., Luxe Lash Studio, The Ivory Hair Co. and more. More is slated to open in 2026, including a dim sum restaurant (soo excited!), bar/event venue called Cellar 54 and more. 

Have you been inside and tried what’s opened? I love Dreamies and love that I don’t have to drive all the way to Dallas for their ice cream anymore. 

Our local high school student athletes had some outstanding seasons this year! Here’s some highlights: 

Salem’s free three-hour downtown parking spots were switched to an on-street paid parking system in July. Instead of fighting for free spots, you can pay for your spot at a rate of $1.50 an hour. There is also an app, Beep Beep Salem, which will also tack on a 35 cent fee to each transaction. There’s still free parking in the parking garages, so not all must be paid for. 

There have been some issues with these changes, including downtown businesses still paying for the business parking tax when the city made over half a million dollars in the first three months. Also, the app has bugs and will not always process transactions, plus general misunderstandings of people who paid for parking getting fined for seemingly not paying. Since it’s been six months of this new system, do you think the city made the right call?  

Salem’s mayoral race is already shaping up as Julie Hoy filed for re-election and city councilor Vanessa Nordyke as her challenger in September. They are the first two candidates to file, and it will be interesting to see who else will come forward in 2026. The primary election will be May 19, 2026. 

Nodyke has represented Ward 7 since 2021, and in 2023 became executive director of CASA of Marion County, a nonprofit advocating for children in foster care. She previously worked at the Oregon Department of Justice as an Assistant Attorney General. 

How did you like what Hoy has done in her first term as mayor? What do you think of the candidates? 

Who would we be without our beloved special mentions? This list is already quite long, but we wanted to shout out the businesses and restaurants that opened this year. In this tumultuous economy, we are so proud to see people still trying to make Salem a bigger and better place to enjoy themselves around town. 

Also, we want to thank you all for your continued support! Without your regular readership and interactions on our Instagram page, podcast, and in-person events, we would not have been able to grow to have more newsletters and happenings (including hiring me, Em Chan!) 

Our awards show in the summertime was a mega highlight - it was awesome to bring our community together and celebrate the changemakers in the community, plus provide another opportunity for our local entertainers to perform. We cannot thank you enough for saying hi to us if you spot us around town, liking our posts and being just as excited as we are about our humble home of Salem. 

We hope to see you at our White Elephant on Thursday, Dec. 11 at 6 pm, at The Reed Underground - hosted by yours truly! Please bring a gift valued at $25, and it will be $5 to participate. 

Did I miss anything else on this retrospective? Let me know at [email protected]. 

Hugs, hugs, hugs,

Em Chan