February's Program: Favorite Joints, Hangouts and Road Houses
by Nancy Covert
Past and present come together to serve up local dining history, fresh 'n hot, as South Sound Restaurant Group owner Tim Tweten and Jeanne McGinnis Emmons, original owner of the Lakewood Coffee Shop (now Burs Restaurant) speak at Lakewood Historical Society meeting.
Burs on Steilacoom Boulevard in Lakewood is one of half a dozen long-time area restaurants that Tweten owns, and it's one that is especially popular with his patrons.
Jeanne McGinnis Emmons, the original owner of the Lakewood Coffee Shop that morphed into Burs in the 70s, explained how she and her late husband, Al, wanted to provide a place for the “working man” to have a place of their own.
Although many Lakewood residents patronized The Terrace at Lakewood Colonial Center, the Coffee Shop was the spot that appealed to many patrons who wanted something not quite as upscale as the Terrace.
Tim and his brothers began their restaurant career with The Harvester in the Stadium District (his brother Keith operates The Harvester II in Gig Harbor), and the South Sound Group grew to include the Poodle Dog at Fife, Knapp’s in the Proctor District, the Hob Nob near Wright Park and the Powerhouse in Puyallup, the most recent addition to the collection. All great eateries—with a local flavor.
Tweten’s own “favorite” things to eat? He says that he “eats out” so much, that at day’s end he likes to go home and fix a “peanut butter and jam sandwich.”
