Mason’s on Main offers Ashland cuisine relics and funky takes on classics

By Emma Coke, Ashland.news

Mason’s on Main, recently opened at 345 E. Main St., offers an eclectic mix of dishes at budget-friendly prices in hopes of providing Ashlanders a gathering place in touristy downtown. 

Owner Mason Goche said patronage is steadily increasing since their opening in March. With more than 60 reviews on Google and a rating of 4.9 stars, he’s feeling good about the feedback the restaurant has received and is hoping to expand the menu to include more sides. 

Prices range from $4 for a kid’s burrito to $17.50 for a Dungeness crab killa bowl. Most meals are $10 to $13. 

Goche is no stranger to the restaurant industry. For 20 years, he’s had various food carts and food booths for events and farmers’ markets around the Rogue Valley. Goche took inspiration for his Mason’s on Main menu from his past Killa Dilla business, selling killa bowls (burrito bowl) and killa dillas (tuna quesadilla). 

“(We) kind of leaned into that, expanded it a little bit, brought in some of those flavors that were really tried and true,” Goche said. 

He also offers wontons and the eggplant burger from old Ashland favorite Gepetto’s, which was a previous tenant of what’s now Mason’s on Main space. 

“It was like, ‘Wow, this is history,’ you know, and everybody who lived in Ashland, had been to Gepetto’s,” Goche said. “Those were really famous, loved dishes.”

Bringing in more dishes from long-gone Ashland restaurants is something he hopes to continue doing as he expands the menu. 

A few weeks ago, Goche had tried expanding the menu. They began serving breakfast burritos and breakfast bowls, but only one bowl served in two days. Breakfast is off the table, at least for now.

“We might try it again, but we’re not in a place to be able to put money into labor when you’re not gonna get quick returns,” Goche said.

He currently manages a team of eight, and is open six days a week from 11 a.m. to midnight. 

While Goche is no stranger to restaurants, for many years he worked in the solar industry as a consultant. After undergoing chemotherapy and stem cell therapy, he left. Last year, while he was recovering, he tried to re-enter the solar industry.

“I found that there were a bunch of people who I didn’t agree with their ethics and wasn’t really interested in working with them, and when I tried to get back (it) wasn’t a good fit anymore,” Goche said. 

Goche found himself floating, looking for work, when the space went up for rent. 

“I was like, ‘OK, all right, this is what I’m supposed to be doing. Let’s just open this restaurant,’” Goche said.

It was no easy path to get the space up and running for business. After changing hands so many times over the years, Goche found it needed a lot of renovations — broken equipment, dark spaces and in need of a good clean. 

“Little did I know that this 9,066-square-foot building would be, you know, so challenging and also so loved,” Goche said. 

It took four months to open up. 

Goche said the space just needed a lot of love, and he’s still working on that bit by bit as more improvements are made. Currently, he’s working on opening up the back room to add more dining space for customers. 

His ultimate goal for Mason’s on Main is to create a place for locals and tourists alike to gather.

“It’s a place for people to gather without having to be spending a ton of money, something that’s reasonably priced, something that’s comfortable,” Goche said. “A place that is a good place to chat.”

Email Ashland.news reporter intern Emma Coke at [email protected].