About Us

Brothers Jim and Steve Morrison were born and raised right here in Woodland. After both brothers graduated from the San Francisco City College Hotel and Restaurant Program in 1978, they opened their first restaurant inside the Elk's Lodge, just down the street from Morrison's Upstairs current location.

In 1983, they opened a restaurant on Main Street. They were then approached by the an Investment Group to open a restaurant on the third floor of the soon-to-be renovated, historic Jackson Building.

After two years of major retro-fitting, construction and design, Morrison's Upstairs opened in July of 1986, with Chef Steve running the kitchen, while his brother Jim ran the front-of-the-house. The Downstairs Bar opened in March of 1989, and the Deli and Catering began in 1998. Somewhere in the midst of all this, both Steve and Jim got married. Steve married his sous chef and native Woodlander Liz. They still work side-by-side on the line every day. Jim married another native Woodlander, Sally, who eventually came to work with him and helped to start the Deli & Catering.

About the Building

The Historic Jackson Building was constructed in 1891 as Woodland's first luxury apartment complex. The second floor, surrounded on three sides by a balcony, housed four lovely apartments, each with its own marble fireplace. The First floor housed a blacksmith's shop, where patrons could drive their horse and buggies right through the large arched doorways. The third floor attic space, the current location of Morrison's Upstairs Restaurant, was never formally used for anything, although there are stories of dances during WWII and boxing matches in the 1950's.

The architectural style is a combination of Romanesque, Frontier and Queen Anne. The building was about to be condemned in the early 1980's, before being purchased, completely renovated and registered a State Historical Landmark.