MANY READERS RECOGNIZED September’s picture from the past as The Hut that stood on Fourth and Lincoln streets in Port Angeles.
It is sad to say it is now vacant.
According to Charles Riddle, the building next door where the barbershop used to be was built in 1913 by Sig Larsen for the Brudder family.
Dave Becker wrote that in the 1940s and 1950s, his mom would take his brother and him to The Hut for a pop while she picked up the rent for his grandma, Lizzie Brudder.
His grandpa was a former port commissioner.
The Brudders owned several buildings downtown. Becker wasn’t sure when they sold The Hut.
Before it became The Hut, it was a small grocery store and eventually Zood’s.
Pat Bolewicki Diven wrote that her folks, Vern and Gladys Tyler, came here from Alaska in 1950 and bought the café from Zood Alexander.
The Tylers had an apartment in the back of the café they lived in.
The café became known for its home cooking, especially sourdough pancakes.
Bolewicki Diven wrote that they even had Chinese food for a time after Mars Restaurant burned in 1965.
Hughie Mars taught Diven how to make some of his Chinese dishes.
Winnie Pettit was one of their most treasured waitresses.
The original restaurant was a couple of doors west of the present location.
In 1962, Gil’s Radio Repair Shop sold its property to the Tylers and the café took over that site.
Riddle wrote that Gladys Tyler was an excellent cook and made the best clam chowder anywhere. He also commented on Winnie Pettit.
R. H. wrote that he remembered Zood having a kids hangout at that site.
When the Tylers purchased the site in 1952, the owner placed a large box for suggested names for the café.
The names were to be voted on by the high school students.
The owner offered a $10 reward for the No. 1 name.
R. H. wrote that when he went to collect his reward, he was met by an angry person who refused to pay for “The Loafers Layout” but chose instead the second choice, “The Hut.”
R. H hoped that the person who suggested that name got the reward.
R. H. wrote, “Thank you for tweaking my receding memory.”
Riddle also wrote that Pat and John Bolewicki owned the restaurant after the Tylers retired.
Sandy Frantz wrote that her husband Merlin, at age 14, worked for Vern Francisco at the courthouse.
He helped wind the clock tower and mopped and swept floors.
He especially remembered helping Vern feed the jail inmates.
They would go across the street to The Hut with a long box and pick up the food order that had been placed for the inmates and carry it back across Lincoln Street where Vern would take it to the basement where the inmates were fed.
Joanne Bolewicki Albertson wrote that she didn’t remember the early location of The Hut but certainly remembered when it moved.
She worked for her grandparents and parents when she was a teen and in her early 20s.
She remembered the special recipes they used, such as bleu cheese dressing, burger sauce they called “goop” and the sourdough pancakes.
The pancakes made it to special family meals in addition to satisfying the regular customers.
She remembered returning customers from the near-by barbershop, the laundry crew when their lunch whistle blew, the courthouse and sheriff’s staff, Dairgold dairy and the gas station across the street.
She said she would always remember Winnie, the sweet little lady who was an iconic waitress.
She taught them customer service and values in the work place.
Albertson also remembered a friend of hers working for Marge in 1980 on Lincoln Street when it was known as Jury’s Inn.
Albertson wrote that “It was a great small town café back in the day.”
In 1979, Pat sold to Marge Terrill, who renamed the café Jury’s Inn.
She had worked at the courthouse, but when she left to run a restaurant on Railroad Avenue a few years later, she took the name Jury’s Inn with her.
Alva Mosley was the next operator and she renamed the café the Black Kettle in 1984 and ran it for a few years.
Dave and Jean Dickenson operated the café in 1990-91.
The Rooney family also had it for a short time.
The Lutz family bought the building and the business in 1993.
They kept the name the Black Kettle and served Mexican and German food.
Mr. Lutz was German and his wife, Maria, was Mexican.
When the Hernandez family took over the lease, also in 1993, they renamed the café Chihuahuas and decorated it as a Mexican restaurant.
The Sergios later bought the lease and kept it for a few years.
They opened another Mexican restaurant on Eighth and Lincoln streets and kept both restaurants open for a short time, but sometime in 2009, the Lutzes took over the Lincoln Street site and renamed the restaurant Maria’s.
After health challenges, the Lutzes closed Maria’s in 2011 and it is now vacant.
Several others wrote in but guessed the wrong restaurant.
People who remember The Hut have some great memories as it was an example of a small town café.
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Alice Alexander is a Clallam County historian, author, and a descendent of an Elwha Valley pioneer family. She is a recipient of a 2014 Clallam County Heritage Awards. She can be reached at bretches1942@gmail.com.
Alice’s Clallam history column appears the first Sunday of every month, alternating with Linnea Patrick’s Jefferson County history column on the third Sunday of the month.
October photo from the past Do you recognize this photo? It was taken in 1947. Do you know what the occasion was? If you have comments write to Alice Alexander, 204 W. Fourth Street, Apt. 14, Port Angeles, WA 98362 or email her at bretches1942@gmail.com and she will include your comments in her Nov. 4 column. Comments need to be in by Oct. 14.
