One month and one day after the former west Olympia restaurant was destroyed by flood waters, the barbecue business got a fresh start Friday by reopening in the Governor Hotel in downtown Olympia.
To mark the occasion, Gov. Chris Gregoire participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside Ranch House owners Amy Anderson and Melanie Tapia, hotel general manager Sandra Miller and Olympia Mayor Doug Mah.
An emotional Tapia thanked everyone including the governor and Miller.
The hotel has offered the restaurant space free for six months, Miller said.
"If it was not for this woman (Miller) and her gift, we would not be here today," Tapia told the audience.
The four-year-old business was destroyed by flood waters on Dec. 3 after a rainstorm swept through the region, knocking out power and causing floods in Thurston, Lewis and Grays Harbor counties.
After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the governor was introduced to other diners who quickly filled the restaurant to capacity. She then sat down with first gentleman Mike Gregoire to try the restaurant's barbecue sampler plate.
The governor, who visited the restaurant's former site after it was destroyed, praised the owners' courage in returning to business so quickly.
"It's exactly the kind of spirit and determination that we need in southwest Washington," she said in reference to the flood-damaged communities in the region.
Business owner Anderson said she still couldn't believe how quickly the business had resumed operations.
She thanked friends, family, volunteers and the community for helping to clean up the former business site and prepare its current space.
"It's not the original, but we're calling it home," said Anderson, who added "steak house" is part of the new business name. "Olympia needs a good steak house and I'm going to give it to them," she said.
Longtime customers showed up to dine on their favorite barbecue.
Larry Raedel of Olympia, the Ranch House's first customer at its previous site, planned to order a brisket sandwich. He was joined by Olympia friends Glenn Waugh, Mike Petrie and Petrie's sons Chris and John.
Tumwater business owners Fred and Debbie Gustafson, who offered financial and emotional support to the Ranch House owners after the flood, came to dine on a barbecue sampler plate, plus pulled pork and coleslaw.
"They know how to cook," Fred Gustafson said.
Afterward, Raedel and his friends said the food was satisfying. As evidence, they held up a container of barbecue sauce that had been completely drained for their meals.
"It's been a long, long drought," Petrie said.
Rolf Boone covers business for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5403 or rboone@theolympian.com.
