Open Your Heart & Home: Host a Vegetarian Exchange Student

We’re excited to share an opportunity that aligns perfectly with our values—a chance to make a real difference in the life of a young person who shares your love for animals and plant-based living.

Our friends at CIEE, a nonprofit dedicated to high school exchange programs, are looking for volunteer host families in Oregon for two amazing vegetarian students from Germany. Both girls chose a meat-free lifestyle because of their deep care for animals—just like many in our community.

If you’ve ever considered opening your home and heart to a cultural exchange experience, now’s the time.

🌿 Meet the Students

🐶 Leonie, 16

  • Vegetarian because of her love for animals

  • Enjoys spending time outdoors and caring for her pets

  • Kind, empathetic, and responsible

  • Dreams of living with a family who shares her compassion for animals

🎹 Tabea, 15

  • Vegetarian and passionate about cooking, baking, tennis, and piano

  • Outgoing, social, and full of laughter

  • Says: “I would really, really, really love to live with a host family with pets.”

🏠 Hosting Basics
Hosting with CIEE is simple, rewarding, and fully supported:

  • Volunteer-based (no stipend), but families receive a $500 federal tax credit

  • Families provide 3 meals a day and treat the student as part of the family

  • Students bring their own spending money and health insurance

  • CIEE offers full support, training, and a dedicated local coordinator

Why This Matters
These students aren’t just visiting—they’re here to share, learn, and grow with you. They bring fresh perspectives, open hearts, and a deep appreciation for kindness toward animals. Hosting one of them means offering a young person the chance to thrive in a home that aligns with their values.

Ready to Learn More?
If your family—or someone you know—is interested in hosting Leonie or Tabea, please reach out to Diana at CIEE:
📧 dbrowne@ciee.org

Even if you can't host, sharing this post could help us find the right home. Let’s show these students what compassionate community truly looks like.

Thank you for helping us live out our values—not just on the plate, but in the world. 🌍💚

Trad Night

Grab a pint and join us for traditional 🇮🇪 Irish and Scottish 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 music Saturday, Sept. 6 at 7:30pm.

Free. All ages.

What is a trad session? Find out more at www.salemtradsessions.org

We’ll hopefully be offering Trad Sessions monthly! And we’re so looking forward to it.

Check the new album by one of the performers at https://open.spotify.com/album/17ncW4p9NoSEouH2gpDkE9?si=XG8CTlV2SYmF28JsCICKTg

Celebrate our 29 year anniversary!

January 1, 2025 marks 29 years for Venti’s Cafe doing business in downtown Salem on Court St.

So much has happened in the 29 years since Dino Venti and his brother Mike opened up Venti’s Bento in an old ice cream cafe in the Reed Opera House. Back then, Dino was serving skewered chicken over rice with a vision of clean and healthy food at an affordable price.

Nearly three decades later, this remains the mission. We still offer the meats that made us famous but over time we have added a variety of tasty plant-based protein, and in the past year, have successfully launched our vegan-forward menu.

And talk about affordable, we offer as a daily lunch special our most famous dish: teriyaki chicken over rice with pickled ginger and cabbage slaw at just $11.50. Choose a plant-based protein instead of chicken for $10!

Venti’s has also made an impactful mark with its tap selection, providing an unparalleled lineup for some of the most sought-after craft beers available to the public. We have never wavered from aspiring to be the best in this area, creating our new “Beer Vault” in the Venti underground, located just below our restaurant, offering rare, aged, cellared, and one-off vintage selections of artisan bottled beers.

But that’s not all :) we have pushed the envelope with our tapped offerings as well to now include crafted kombucha, root beers, hard seltzers, ciders and CBD drinks. Tapped quality, Venti’s hospitality.

So come and celebrate our 29th anniversary with us and add our signature truffle-salt ribboned potato chips to any happy hour beverage for just .29¢ through the month of January!

Room in the Inn / Church@thePark

We’re participating in a donation drive for our beloved friends at Church@thePark. The needs for recipients in our community are greater than ever. Anything you can give is appreciated (prayers are at the top of the list.) The bin is inside the front door right as you walk in.


Purchase & drop off NEW, unwrapped items
(1)  Pillows  
(2)  Hooded Sweatshirts  
(3) Socks & Underwear  
(4) Hats & Gloves & deliver item(s)

Check out their website for more ways to help and watch this amazing video.

Downtown Vibes

Calling all foodies and beer lovers — Venti's is the place to be for Downtown Vibes and unbeatable flavors! Since we've closed the South location we've seen a surge of vitality Downtown. (Mondays and Wednesdays are a good time to come to avoid crowds.) With our shareable sizes (now including half sizes!), you can try a little bit of everything with your squad. Owner Dino Venti has stepped back into operations and is manning the floor weekdays during lunch. Come say "Hi!" and don't forget free and convenient parking on-street and in the Chemeketa Parkade. 
Did you know… At Venti’s we tip pool, and every tip counts. Join the movement for fair wages. Tip pooling isn’t just good practice, it’s a pathway to livable wages for all of our staff, and you have the power to support fair pay!
#DowntownVibes #VentisCafe #GoodCleanFood 🍻🍔 

Taphouse Permanently Closed / Visit Us Downtown

Dear valued customers and cherished community members,

It is with a mix of heartfelt gratitude and a touch of sadness that we announce the closing of our South Salem (The Taphouse) location after 13 wonderful years. The shifting economy and our commitment to meeting everyone’s needs have led us to make this difficult decision.

We cannot express enough how much we have appreciated your visits, your smiles, your laughter, and even your tears over the years. Each moment shared with you has been a treasured part of our journey. Please share those wings photos with us too. We love seeing each and every one of them.

As we close this chapter, we are excited to continue our story at our downtown location. Returning to our roots, we are thrilled to remain a part of Salem’s vibrant downtown community. Our downtown location is near abundant, free parking, both on-street and in the Chemeketa Parkade, just footsteps from our front door. We are currently open 5 days a week and are hoping to expand that very soon. We also have an exciting new menu format that we know you will love as much as we do!

Thank you for being a part of our family and for your unwavering support. We look forward to welcoming you at our downtown restaurant and creating many more wonderful memories together.

With deepest appreciation,

The Venti’s