Proprietors Tom Uberuaga and Bill Pancake have built CreekTown on the foundation of more than 20 years of restaurant experience.

Tom has worked the industry in San Francisco and Seattle, where he managed Campagne and founded Cassis. Having had his fill of the concrete jungle, he left Seattle in 2000 and moved to Walla Walla to serve as Whitehouse-Crawford’s opening manager.

A Walla Walla native, Bill entered the restaurant scene while attending college in Spokane. His return to Walla Walla, coupled with his family background in cooking, led him to open his first restaurant, Jacobi’s, when he was 23. After taking a break to finish school and work in construction with his father, Bill was ready to return to the kitchen.

With their complementary backgrounds in the restaurant world, opening CreekTown seemed a natural and welcome next step for both Bill and Tom.

Executive Chef Michael Kline began cooking as many aspiring chefs do, in the family. Born and raised in the cornfields of small town Ohio, Michael's introduction to great food was made early by his father's large family. At the age of 14, Michael's career as a potato peeler was beginning to take off, and working in a family owned restaurant doing dishes and prep work only fueled his interest in the hospitality field. After working through high school in fast food and chain restaurants, Michael set out for Colorado with aspirations to do one thing: Snowboard. Settling down in Colorado Springs, Michael was introduced to the grand dame of the Rockies, the Broadmoor Hotel. He spent the next five years in culinary school and apprenticeship training, honing his skills in all wings of the culinary department. He also met his wife of eight years, with whom he has two children.

After working in some of the best resorts and restaurants in the country including TRU in Chicago, the Eiffel Tower Restaurant in Las Vegas, and Terra in Napa Valley, Michael moved his young family to fulfill a dream of working and living in wine country. Arriving in Walla Walla as a cook at 26brix, Michael quickly rose to the rank of Chef d'Cuisine. After one year, he jumped at the opportunity to work the harvest season at Basel Cellars in both wine production and preparing winemaker dinners. Now bringing his skills and experience together under one roof, Michael's aspirations for Creektown Café are to continue the success the restaurant has seen in the local area as well as expand its place in the realm of wine country cuisine. Simple, clean, and delicious.

Walla Walla native Master Sous Chef Ian Williams first learned the joys of cooking by licking the beaters of his mother’s sugar cookie dough and helping bake for the holidays. A 2003 graduate of WA-HI, Ian started at Creek Town Café as a busser in May 2004. While working with the guests, Ian learned much about the kitchen side of food and his interest in the magic grew. After 18 months at Creek Town Café Ian left the glamour of bussing tables and entered into the culinary arts program at Walla Walla Community College. While completing his Associates degree in Culinary Arts, Ian got his feet wet in the kitchen working at Destination Grill as a line cook. Ian returned to Creek Town Cafe in April 2007 and quickly rose to the position of Sous Chef as of July 2007.

Ian’s dedication and perseverance in a rapid-fire environment makes him the perfect fit for the position of Sous Chef. Ian says his favorite things about cooking (besides making Chef Michael happy), are making guests excited about experiencing new foods and the freedom Creek Town Café allows him to create and experiment. Ian’s favorite food groups are Mexican, Italian and all things Pork.