Corner Caboose carries on family legacy

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, April 28, 2020

PORT ANGELES — What’s in a name? Lots, if the name comes from a local culinary landmark.

The Corner Caboose roadside eatery, located at Laird’s Corner on U.S. Highway 101 near the junction of state Highway 112 west of Port Angeles, has direct lineage to the iconic and now-demolished Cornerhouse Restaurant in downtown Port Angeles.

Shannon Reynolds, who owns the Corner Caboose with her husband, Howard Reynolds, is the daughter of Joanne Albertson, who owned the Cornerhouse from 1986 until it was purchased by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe in 2019 to make way for a luxury hotel at Front and Laurel streets.

Reynolds spent much of her life at the Cornerhouse. She stated when she was a youngster, busing tables, working as a hostess and helping to clean dishes.

She eventually worked her way around the restaurant, ending up as manager, a position she held for 18 years.

When the Cornerhouse and adjoining properties were purchased by the tribe, Reynolds and her husband were contemplating purchasing the eatery from her mother, who was planning to retire.

After the sale, initial indications were that the restaurant would remain open, but eviction notices were soon sent out, and the building, which also housed the Downtown Hotel, was razed.

Reynolds began to weigh her options on how to keep going as a restaurateur.

“We had pretty loyal customers after being in business for 32 years,” she said. “You have a fan base, you have a family that the community becomes a part of.”

The Reynoldses were convinced there was enough support for another dining adventure.

“We decided that (the customers) had spoken, ‘We want another Cornerhouse,’ ” she said.

After mulling other properties, the opportunity arose to purchase the former Lynn’s Caboose, which had its own loyal following. The Reynoldses decided it was the perfect opportunity.

“It kind of just fit,” she said. “It wasn’t a big restaurant. It was something he and I could do. It just felt like a match.”

The Reynoldses brought in a couple of former Lynn’s employees to help with making the leap from a 250-seat, sit-down restaurant and lounge to a single grill and fryer with a couple of picnic tables next to the parking lot.

Included was Janine Romero, a longtime cook at Lynn’s.

“I thought it was nice of them to keep me on,” Romero said. “This is close to home.”

While familiar with the limited number items on the current roadside menu, Romero said she was looking forward to future expansion of the culinary offerings envisioned by the Reynoldses as they plan to bring more Cornerhouse dishes to the trailer.

During the time of COVID-19, which resulted in a directive from the governor to temporarily ban sit-down dining at indoor settings, Corner Caboose was unknowingly ahead of the curve of offering carry-out food.

Since the caboose opened on April 7, business has been booming with a built-in audience who already expect their meals to-go. The Corner Caboose is currently open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“For us, we are already setup in what we can do,” Reynolds said. “Whether that changes for other restaurants or not, I don’t think our plans will change. And we’re thankful for that.”

Reynolds said the now-empty Cornerhouse is a bittersweet memory of the family business, but it’s also a chance for a new beginning.

“To be done with the Cornerhouse was sad because it had been a part of me,” she said. “It was like watching the family home that had been there for generations being torn down.

“But it was like, ‘You know? ‘It’s OK.’ It’s new things to move on to. Another door opened.”