This is the last of four columns detailing the storied history of the Naches Tavern in Greenwater, WA. The original structure was built in the early 1920s by Captain Dick Craine, but that two-story log cabin burned down in Feb. 1940. The building which occupies the same site as the original was erected over the next few months with a grand opening announced by Stanley Narozny Jr. in July. This photo of the 3, 200-square foot café and tavern was taken in the early 1950s.
In the fall of 1973, Don and Lynn (Allison) Porter purchased the tavern business. Don was a 1960 graduate from Enumclaw who earned a degree in Recreation from Central Washington. He worked at Crystal Mountain for a number of years before acquiring the Naches Tavern. During the Porters’ ownership the tavern sponsored a number of adult basketball and baseball teams featuring the athletic, Don Porter as player. Don and Lynn Porter operated the tavern for more than 30 years but didn’t own the property.
The underlying building and surrounding six acres were owned by Joseph and John Wigton who sold it to Pat and Patti Garrett in June 2005 for $600,000. A few years after acquisition, the Garretts obtained a liquor license and changed the name of the establishment to Naches Bar & Grill. Pat Garrett was a 1980 Tahoma graduate who met his future wife, Patti (Flynn) in the Naches Tavern in 1991. The couple married two years later. The Garrett’s original idea was to build condos on the six-acre site, but the 2008 housing crash put an end to that plan. The Garretts are also contractors operating under Garrett Construction, Inc.
Nearly 100 years after first being established as a way station between Enumclaw and Yakima, the Naches Bar & Grill still serves food and beverages to hungry and thirsty travelers. This photo #3361 by J. Boyd Ellis comes courtesy of JoAnne Matsumura, an Issaquah historian and photo collector. Matsumura and the Garretts, who now live in Oroville provided research into the ownership and operation of the Naches Tavern.
