From left Miranda Zimmerman, Chris Zimmerman, Jen Degrofft and Ryan Degrofft sit Thursday at the bar of the Prodigal Son Brewery & Pub in Pendleton. The four partnered together to buy the downtown establishment to preserve local ownership.

PENDLETON — Prodigal Son Brewery & Pub in Pendleton has new owners.

Chris and Miranda Zimmerman said they partnered with Ryan and Jen DeGrofft to purchase the brewery and restaurant on a mission to keep the Prodigal Son true to its local roots.

“The previous owners built this place from the ground up, and after 13-14 years they were ready to move on with their lives,” Chris Zimmerman said.

The quartet bought Prodigal Son from Tim and Jennifer Guenther, who planned and worked for about two years before opening Pendleton’s lone brew pub in early 2010. Money from the city’s facade restoration program helped finance at least $85,000 in exterior repairs on the now 108-year-old building.

Zimmerman said he and his wife grew to know Jean-Luke Alexander, Prodigal’s brew master, and Ryan DeGrofft got a hold of him about the opportunity to buy the business.

“And it all came together,” Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman is the owner of the Rainbow Cafe in Pendleton. He said his experience running the Rainbow has helped make the transition seamless, while Ryan and Jen DeGrofft are entering the service industry for the first time.

“I’ve always been a fan of the product, and when I learned they were quietly selling I approached them and thought it would be a fun venture,” Ryan DeGrofft said.

Thankfully, Chris DeGrofft said, he was familiar with the experience of entering the industry, as he’d never owned or operated a restaurant or bar before he bought the Rainbow, and said Ryan DeGrofft surely would catch on just as quickly as he did, especially as he’s known to home brew his own beers.

For now, the focus of the new ownership group is to keep the Prodigal Son a local establishment, Zimmerman said, and although changes may come, it won’t be for a while.

“In the short term, the Prodigal Son will stay the same,” he said. “We’re learning the ropes, every business is a little bit different. We’ll take some time and learn and see where it goes. Everyone has ideas and dreams, but it’ll take some time. As a Pendleton-grown business, we want to keep it local, we have families and are really invested in the community, so that’s the main goal.”

The new owners were not willing to discuss how much the Prodigal Son sold for but emphasized their commitment was to keep the restaurant as true to its roots as possible going forward.

“We’re just excited about the opportunity,” Miranda said. “Hopefully we can contribute to making Pendleton a livelier place.”