Venti’s Cafe: Three Decades of ‘Good, Clean Food’

From its modest beginnings as a tiny rice-bowl counter in the Reed Opera House to becoming a cornerstone of downtown Salem’s food scene, Venti’s Cafe has evolved with the city while holding tight to its local-first, community-driven spirit.

At the center of it all is Dino Venti, the restaurant’s backbone and namesake. You’ll often find him on the floor greeting regulars, taking orders, or checking plates as they leave the kitchen. Thirty years in, he’s back where he started: in the trenches.

“This winter will be 30 years since I became a business owner downtown,” Dino said. He and his brother, Mike, bought the Ice Cream Café in the Reed Opera House on January 1, 1996, with a plan already simmering: transform it into a rice-bowl bento stand, inspired by a Portland food trend he couldn’t stop thinking about.

In the early ’90s, Dino was living in Portland, working at a Lexus dealership, and eating bento five or six times a week. Barbecue grills popped up on sidewalks all over the city, turning out teriyaki chicken over rice with sweet chili sauce — healthy, affordable, and perfect for an athlete who cared about what he ate. One day, over lunch at Phil’s Meat Market, he and Mike shared a chicken-and-rice plate and a realization: Salem didn’t have anything like this.

When their plan to flip houses quietly fell apart, they pivoted and went all in on chicken and rice.

While Dino learned the craft, Mike canvassed downtown looking for a space and discovered the Ice Cream Café inside the Reed Opera House. Although it was not for sale, they approached the owner, Rosa, to see if she would ever consider selling. By sheer timing, she had decided to retire just a week earlier. Dino and Mike bought the cafe.

There was a problem, though: installing a grill and venting it through the historic building would cost tens of thousands of dollars. Mike called around until he found Fesco, a company in Vancouver with a new halogen pizza oven that didn’t require a hood. The brothers hauled 100 pounds of chicken north to test it, and it worked.

Dino rode the craft beer wave, leaning on regulars to help choose what to pour. Affordable chicken and rice, paired with rotating craft beers, turned Venti’s into a downtown hangout. The move to the current location, with a basement bar and full liquor license, pushed it further. For a long time, Venti’s was one of the places to be.

But not everything climbed in a straight line. After more than two decades in, Dino stepped back from daily operations while another managed it. Then COVID hit. Relief money came and went. Financials weren’t transparent. By the time he returned to day-to-day operations about three years ago, Venti’s was losing money every month. Service had slipped. Turnover was high. Employees bristled at the return of basic standards.

“I stepped back into a hornet’s nest,” Dino said. Rebuilding meant closing Venti’s Taphouse in South Salem, borrowing money, changing the pay structure, and starting over with a largely new team. A tip pool now brings equity to front and back of house, with wages rising as the restaurant stays busy. Slowly, the loyalty returned.

At the same time, Dino’s food philosophy evolved. He became a vegetarian nearly ten years ago, and post-pandemic price pressures pushed the team toward a plant-first model. By building bowls around plant-based proteins and making meat an upcharge, they were able to keep entry-level prices accessible while still offering full, satisfying meals.

“Food is medicine,” Dino said. “This brings me back to my original mission: offering a healthy, affordable option for the community.”

Now, alcohol sales are down, and food sales are up. Craft beer is still there, along with cider and wine, but the focus is clearly on the plate. Dino talks more about bowls and price points than bar nights.

After the hardest three years of his career, he says he feels something he hasn’t felt in a long time: Venti’s is back.

The next chapter is already forming in his mind: a return to South Salem, maybe a hybrid café and healthy drive-thru, a model that could be replicated and survive beyond him. “This is my baby. This is my child,” he said. His hope is that Venti’s, or what it stands for — a fair-priced, health-focused place woven into its community — will still be standing when he’s not.

In other words, thirty years later, Dino is right back at the starting line, but with a clear purpose and a determination that hasn’t dimmed as he continues to serve the community that has stood by him.

Venti’s Cafe

325 Court St NE
ventiscafe.com

This story originally ran in Press Play Salem issue 26 (Winter 2025/26)

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Author: Carlee Wright

Carlee Wright is a community instigator with a grand love for Salem and notably fashionable shoes (Hello, John Fluevog!) who turns waste into wearable art in her "spare" time.