(Photos courtesy of Barney Prines)
Owner of Barney Prines Steakhouse & Saloon, Joe Litzinger explained that they took a closed down old laundry mat and “built a building around a building.”
As the general contractor Litzinger said he used all local workers, all local supplies and was recognized for community involvement and another award for beatification from the Prineville Chamber.
“We will have outside dinning, we serve lunch and dinner, our specialty is slow smoked prime rib or our boneless Rib-Eye steak (choice 16 oz Rib-Eye marinated in Jim Beam’s whiskey, charbroiled to your specification, finished with a grilled onion bordelaise sauce),” added Litzinger.
Barney Prines Steakhouse gets its name from one of its earliest settlers.
Established in 1868, Prineville is the oldest community in Central Oregon. The first settlers in what was to become Crook County settled in the “Oh-cho-coe,” a Paiute word meaning willows. The post office for the community had been established with the name of Prine, after Barney Prine in April 13, 1871, but changed to Prineville on December 23, 1872.
When Barney Prine settled on the banks of the Crooked River he built a blacksmith shop and a store-saloon. Prineville was the primary place of trade until 1911, when the Union Pacific and Oregon Trunk railways extended south from the Columbia River to Bend. In 1917, Prineville took action and voted 355 to 1, to build their own railroad to join the Oregon Trunk Railways and Union Pacific north of Redmond. In the 1930s and ’40s the decision to build the railroad paid back the investment by shipping vast amounts of lumber over the rails. The City of Prineville still owns and operates the railroad today.
389 NW Fourth St., Prineville, OR 97754
541-447-3333
catering@barneyprines.com
