The Reef is back (as much as possible) and so is the fried chicken
There’s good news this week for fans of fun, funk and fried chicken: King Solomon’s Reef, Olympia’s iconic downtown diner, is open again, serving a to-go dinner menu.
“It’s a limited menu,” said Audrey Henley, executive director of the Olympia Film Society and one of the Reef’s many loyal fans. “Thank God it has their fried chicken on it.”
She’s far from the only fan of the pressure-fried delicacy: Monday, the restaurant began taking orders at 4 p.m. and the chicken was sold out by 5:30.
In fact, by far the biggest section of the new “Stay-at-Home Menu” is titled “All Things Fried Chicken” — but there are other options including burgers, breakfast specialties, pies and milkshakes. Beer and cider are available, too.
Before you get too excited, though, know this: This whole diner-you-can’t-dine-in thing is an experiment — and a valiant attempt at keeping the business open — for Reef owners Lindy and Justin McIntyre, and you can’t count on dinner being served on any given day.
“We’re going to give it a shot,” Lindy McIntyre told The Olympian. “We’re just trying to keep the business alive until things open back up again and hopefully start operating as normal at some point — or the new normal, whatever that will look like.”
Monday was the first day the restaurant had been open since March 17, and the McIntyres were handling the crowds alone, since the restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the new coronavirus forced them to lay off their staff of 49.
“We got our butts kicked,” Lindy McIntyre said. “My husband had never done line cooking. He did his first shift last night, and he did great. He’s really good at being under pressure. I couldn’t have done it.
“From the second it turned 4 o’clock, the phone was ringing off the hook,” she said about Monday. “It was pretty amazing.”
In fact, it was so busy that not every order got through. “We missed so many orders because I couldn’t pick up,” she said. “We don’t have multiple phone lines, and we’re doing payments over the phone.”
The McIntyres, who’ve owned the restaurant since 2010, are grateful their relaunch was such a success, but they don’t expect to be able to do it every day.
First, it’s a lot of work for two people, and second, the food they need — including, yes, the chicken — isn’t always available from their regular suppliers.
“Products are limited and supplies are limited,” Lindy McIntyre said. “We’ll have to close some days to catch up.”
So if you want to catch the chicken and biscuits — or if you’re awaiting the vegetarian and vegan options the couple hopes to add to the short list — you’ll have to look on the restaurant’s social media pages.
“We’ll be announcing when we’re able to open — probably the day of,” she said.
King Solomon’s Reef
- Where: 212 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia
- Current hours: 4-7 p.m. on select days; check social media for the latest.
- Want some? Order and pay by phone for pickup in the restaurant or at curbside.
- More information: 360-742-3199, http://instagram.com/thereefolympia/ or http://facebook.com/thereefoly/