These Tumwater restaurant customers asked one question of the owners: Are you going to serve that soup?
When people began to hear that longtime restaurateurs, Jean-Pierre and Kerri Simon, were opening a new restaurant, they asked one question of the couple: Are you going to serve that soup?
The soup is roasted garlic and mushroom, and, yes, it’s on the menu.
Since New Year’s Eve, the Simons have been back in business with a new destination they call Jean-Pierre’s three16, which is near the Schmidt House in Tumwater at 316 Schmidt Place SW. It’s familiar territory for them because they have owned the property at that address for years.
It was once home to a restaurant called Jean-Pierre’s Garden Room until the Simons had to take care of ailing parents. Meanwhile, Jean-Pierre continued to work as an executive chef at area casinos, while Kerri has been the longtime executive chef for the Washington State Senate dining room.
But 18 months ago they began to think about a new business, a business that would focus on locally sourced food and wine, but also on the relationship between restaurant and guest.
“We want customers to come share their lives with us over a great meal and conversation,” Kerri Simon said.
And take note, beginning business owners. Even the Simons, with all their restaurant experience, served food to friends and family for a month, before they officially opened on New Year’s Eve.
It’s an intimate setting. Jean-Pierre’s has 11 tables, so reservations are encouraged, Kerri Simon said. And Sundays through Tuesdays, the restaurant is open only to private groups or groups of eight or more, she said. However, there will be a slightly different schedule this month (see box).
Jean-Pierre’s Garden Room was mostly French; the new business is emphasizing Pacific Northwest cuisine with a French influence.
Some menu items:
▪ Black mission figs, served with Laura Chanel goat cheese and sweet and spicy bacon.
▪ Three16 cap steak: Flame grilled with mushrooms and steak butter. You also have a choice of adding baked lobster tail, crab asparagus hollandaise, bordelaise, Roger River bleu cheese, or sauteed mushrooms to your steak.
▪ Cedar plank salmon with blackberry ginger glaze.
So, how popular is the soup? It’s so popular with one customer that she asked if the restaurant could leave a container for her outside the restaurant. Her idea was to pay for it by slipping cash through the mail slot in the door.
The business also is serving desserts made from recipes that were given to them by a former gourmet bakery owner in Tumwater. At the end of the night, Jean-Pierre said he makes sure to have a glass of wine and a slice of chocolate torte.
Jean-Pierre’s three16
Owners: Jean-Pierre and Kerri Simon.
Location: 316 Schmidt Place SW Tumwater, WA
Hours: 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and open to private groups or groups of eight or more Sundays through Tuesdays. However, in recognition of Black History Month, they plan to have “soul food” Mondays, serving fried catfish, gumbo, red beans and rice, collard greens and more. The business serves only dinners right now.
Online: Find Jean-Pierre’s three16 on Facebook.
Benefit: A portion of the proceeds from the soul food Mondays in February will be donated to the Williams Center for undergraduate student achievement.
This story was originally published February 1, 2019 at 7:00 AM.
