Dogwood Cocktail Cabin Will Keep Your Senses Spinning

Doug and Phoebe Pedersen are a creative duo also known as the owners of the funky and shabby-chic Dogwood Cocktail Cabin, which is also my current favorite underground jazz and DJ venue with delicious and worldly late night food. Food past 10pm in Bend! Can you believe it?! And the chillest tunes. The brick cabin, (which also semi-serves as a cave) in the wall on 147 NW Minnesota Ave., has both local and regional underground DJs. Well, maybe I should say above-ground as the balcony-leveled booth you get as a DJ with a weekend residency is propped right above the giant high-ceiling bar. Filled with antique globes, boar heads and records, it is an experience for the eyes. The DJs for the night also get their own framed poster hung on the wall in the booth, installed by Owner Doug Pedersen, who does all the booking.

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Local DJ “Ells” spinning at Dogwood on a Friday night.

"It makes them feel special," he said.

The Dogwood Cocktail Cabin started in Crested Butte, Colorado, where Pedersen was head chef. Then, the business transferred to its current location, in what was previously the Astro Lounge. The Pedersens bought the space only a year after moving to Bend in 2013. While hospitality and the food and beverage industry was steering both of their artistic talents, Pedersen's [Doug's] roots lie in the '90s underground Portland DJ scene, which feels fully incorporated to the scene at Dogwood now. The Portland-'90s hip-hop DJ at heart held his own residencies at downtown Portland hotspots like Saucebox (which no longer remains) on SW Broadway, and 1201, in addition to racking up plenty of experience doing music booking for other eclectic venues (such as the late Tonic Lounge). The Pedersens' love for creating a luxury yet vintage, musical experience — mixed with tastefulness for all senses — creates some of the best ambiance I've experienced out in Bend. Whether it's a night out on the town or going cave-mode for happy hour, it's a nice change of pace.

Pedersen brings in eight rotating DJs who cycle through the year, and he treats his DJs right. As a booked Dogwood artist, DJs get $200 a night plus a hotel room at The Campfire Hotel — where Dogwood's sister bar lives, The Canteen. Pedersen calls it, "a weekend getaway." Pedersen also books the DJs at The Canteen, right next to the Campfire's heated mineral pool.

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The Dogwood Cocktail Cabin’s DJ Booth also includes a full live audio and visual stream to The Canteen bar at The Campfire Hotel and to Twitch.TV

"It has more Ibiza energy. A little Palm Springs vibe," Pedersen noted. "You don't need to be dressed up here, but people tend to look a little nicer on a date," he told me as we sat at Dogwood. You could say The Canteen is a little more casual; "campier," if I dare.

The Pedersens opened The Canteen two years ago and obviously saw it as another opportunity to bring in more live music. Every Sunday of the month patrons can catch a DJ by the pool. And for those hanging out at The Canteen when there's not a live DJ spinning, they can catch a full audio and visual live-stream at the bar from what's spinning over at Dogwood's DJ set —which Pedersen also streams live on Twitch.TV. He likes to book his DJs three months in advance and if there's a fifth weekend in a month he'll bring in a guest. His genres are curated. Think jazzy hip-hop, electronic, soul and a whole lot of funk. Pedersen is looking forward to upcoming DJs such as "Sknny Mrcles" — who spins jazz vinyl and happens to be playing this weekend, "DJ Wicked" (DMC vibes), and Vacay (who just moved here from Portland. Patrons can also catch '80s-themed weekends at The Canteen's pool club with DJ Mark Brody and occasional live jazz at the Dogwood, but all in all, Pedersen just wants to share DJ music and culture with people.