When Mill Creek Pub opened in the heart of Battle Ground in 2011, owner Russell Brent saw a need in the community for a restaurant that connected not only with Clark County residents, but with the roots of the Pacific Northwest as a whole.
With a working water wheel inside the restaurant framed with timbers and beams from barns all over the area, with some of the timbers being 140 years old, restaurant guests are welcomed into a rustic atmosphere that celebrates the beauty of the area we live in, as well as the decadent food that is found here.
Since Mill Creek Pub opened seven years ago, business has doubled, and it now regularly employs 54 people. Brent explains that while he worked in the corporate world, he got used to traveling along the West Coast, but Clark County was always home. When he left his corporate career, he decided to take the initiative to become an active part of Clark County’s tremendous growth. To do that, he realized that his restaurant needed to not just serve great food, but that it should also be immersed in the community.
“At Mill Creek Pub, we connect the community with food made from the heart,” Brent said. “We were one the forerunners of great pub food. We continue to innovate our offering of crave-able food and beverage. Our recent focus is on sustainable local and healthy foods. We have partnered with the Clark County Health Department and their healthy restaurant program. We’ve modified our offerings to ensure that we offer healthy sides for kids, reduced sodium offerings, while introducing more entrées that are vegetable-centered with proteins as a side.”
The restaurant offers catering service, as well as a private dining space that holds 45 guests and an outdoor patio that can seat 125 people. The menu is diverse, featuring a variety of locally sourced food and beverage options that come from partnerships with local farms. Brent explains that some of their most popular dishes are the fish and chips, pot roast and the macaroni and cheese. Mill Creek Pub has also been recognized with several awards, including the 2016 Best of Clark County Award and the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence.
Mill Creek Pub regularly gives back to the community and believes that the future is bright, especially as the economy continues to grow.
“We are super impressed that the food scene in Clark County has improved greatly over the past five years,” Brent said. “We will continue to focus on the research and development of healthy food. We are very excited to see the locally sourced food and beverage options improve. North County continues to grow faster than South County, so we think we’re in a perfect position to capture more business.”
