After 40 years, restaurant fixture hanging up her apron

Published 3:30 pm Thursday, March 12, 2026

PORT ANGELES — After 40 years of waitressing, a fixture at a downtown Port Angeles restaurant is retiring.

Dana King was first hired at Haguewood’s in 1986. The restaurant is now known as 48 Degrees Restaurant at the Red Lion Hotel.

“(The restaurant’s) changed a lot over the years,” King said. “It’s had three names and lots of owners.”

To celebrate King’s retirement, the restaurant is hosting Coffee with Dana from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Friday.

“I have only worked with Dana for 10 weeks to date but have enjoyed every minute of it,” Red Lion General Manager Ingrid Goodwin said. “She is amazing with the guests and her coworkers and always brings her cheer to the restaurant.”

King said she stuck with the restaurant for so long because was comfortable with it and enjoyed doing it.

“I’ve always been a waitress pretty much and it was a really good place to work,” King said. “I just like meeting different people and the money’s usually good.”

King grew up in Joyce and went to school there and in Port Angeles. She raised her kids in Port Angeles as a waitress and the career also supported her “horse habit.”

“I like to show horses and that’s pretty expensive,” King said.

Although King moved away from the Olympic Peninsula a couple of times, she said she always came back within a couple of years because her family and friends are here.

King’s last day at 48 Degrees Restaurant is Friday but she said she’s already started enjoying retirement since she doesn’t work on weekends anymore.

“I’ve been taking more time for myself, working in my yard and with my horse,” she said. “I have one horse and I’m just going to stay to one, but I have a boarding facility so I have a lot of horses here.”

King said she’s looking forward to Coffee with Dana.

“I think it’s really nice of them to host this, I didn’t expect anything like that,” she said. “I don’t know how many people will show up, but I guess we’ll see.”

Goodwin said she’ll miss King at the restaurant.

“I am ecstatic for her to begin her journey into retirement, but selfishly wish I had more time to work with her,” Goodwin said. “I hope to see her back as a patron of the restaurant where we can give her the same outstanding service she has proudly provided so many over the years.”

King will miss waitressing, she said, but not all of it.

“I’m not going to miss getting up at 5 o’clock in the morning,” she said. “It’s been a good place for me to work all these years.”

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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.