Another Kitsap Sun staffer called and said Pat’s was closed.
After making different phone calls to try to verify this, I eventually drove to the site and saw the evidence. We still don’t have official verification, but the sign in the window says enough.
Pat’s Restaurant & Bakery, located in the same shopping center as Grocery Outlet and the former Stupid Prices, appears to be the latest victim of the sour economy.
I tried to call the restaurant but the line was disconnected. I tried to call the woman who is listed as the owner, but left a message at a place I’m not sure was hers.
The Washington Secretary of State’s office shows Pat’s was incorporated in 1992, but that would have been its current incarnation. A Kitsap Sun story names the start date of Pat’s as 1981. Originally it was Pat’s Cookie Jar.
Last year, in anticipation of a story on the county’s assumption of a $40.5 million loan from the Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority, Josh Brown and I sat down and discussed the matter over breakfast at Pat’s. True to his thrifty image he ordered a $5 breakfast special. I ordered a regular breakfast and was wowed by it.
Months later I took my 2-year-old back with me for another morning meeting of sorts. He loved it, but he won’t miss it. I will.
Less than a year ago Sun reporter Rachel Pritchett wrote about increasing food prices and the effect it was having on consumers and food sellers. The story included a bit from Pat’s.
At Pat’s Restaurant and Bakery in East Bremerton, owner Mildred Whiteside is trying to hold back prices by sending employees home early and donning an apron herself.
“I don’t know how long we can,” she said.
A hunk of cheese that cost her $15 several months ago now costs $30, she said. Grill oil that recently cost $20 now costs $39, she said.
Higher fuel prices have resulted in fewer people visiting her restaurant, and her suppliers have added a $7-per-visit fuel surcharge.
“Oh, we’ve felt it really bad,” Whiteside said.
That’s quite a contrast from the story JoAnne Marez wrote in 1996. The piece was titled, “Rolling in Dough.” You can read it after the jump.
