KALAMA — The owners of a new Kalama tap house say their local craft beers, gourmet hot dogs and family-friendly atmosphere will be an addition, not competition, for other watering holes.
Willie Dick’s First Street Tap House, opening May 25, is the brainchild of Vancouver natives Jared Cox, his wife, Katie Cox, and his brother, Justin Cox.
Katie and Jared, both 34, first moved up to Kalama nearly two years ago. It didn’t take long for Justin, 37, to join them.
“For good or for bad, my brother is my best friend, so I found myself coming up here every weekend to hang out with him,” Justin said. He ended up buying the house across the street from Katie and Jared.
When Jared and Katie started looking for locations to open a tap house, all three just assumed Justin would join the effort too, they said.
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It took the trio a little more than two months to renovate the former antique shop at 135 First Ave., all while working full-time jobs. The brothers plan to keep their jobs as ironworkers, but Katie quit her job at a restaurant to run the First Street Tap House.
“I’ve been in the restaurant industry for almost 20 years. I felt that after waiting tables in other people’s restaurants, it would be nice to have our own,” Katie said.
“We built it for her to run it,” Justin added later.
To keep the historic feel of the nearly 100-year-old building, they restored the original hardwood floors, exposed brick walls behind the bar and kept the working marquee above the front door. Wooden tables paired with metal chairs and stools add a modern take on the speakeasy style.
The inspiration for their business name, Willie Dick’s, came from a family member’s nickname, they said.
“With a last name like Cox, you have to have a sense of humor,” Justin said.
They plan to rotate 24 taps with craft beer from the Pacific Northwest, as well as wine from Oregon and Washington. As a family-friendly space, First Street Tap House will also serve non-alcoholic drinks like root beer and kombucha, they said.
But what they hope really makes them stand out will be their gourmet hot dogs. Choices like the “buffalo” will have blue cheese, red hot sauce and celery toppings, and the “Scooby snack” will be topped with chunky peanut butter, bacon and caramelized onions.
The tap house will also serve classic chili dogs, mac-and-cheese, hummus platters, salads and pulled pork sandwiches, they said.
“Our food is going to rotate with what’s in season, same with our beers,” Jared said. “It’s going to be always evolving and changing.”
An outdoor patio area along the side of the building will be dog-friendly and is expected to be finished in a couple of weeks. Down the line, they hope to add a brunch special and maybe a food truck.
They said they were excited to see McMenamins open a restaurant and lodge in Kalama last month because it will bring more people to this “cute riverside town.”
“There’s no competition around here,” Jared said. “There are too many people in this town not to have options. We shouldn’t have to always leave to Longview or Vancouver if we want to have something. … McMenamins is going to bring people from out of town; we hope to bring people from town.”