In the early 1980s and young bartender named Deb would go to her favorite restaurant in Seattle on her way to work. At Mr. Ed's Coffee (which has sadly closed after 40 years of business), Deb would go in and have a salad on her way to Beverly Park Tavern. There she would order her daily salad and she met a young cook named Ken. Over the next few years their combined love and particularness of good down home style food, blossomed into a marriage. That marriage will soon celebrate 29 years.
Over the early parts of their courtship and marriage, Ken and Deb liked visiting her family here in the LC Valley, to which these early trips were Ken's first experiences outside of the Seattle area. During one their visits they discovered that Tom's Smiths Family Diner was for sale. They spent all of their savings on the purchase and fixing up of the building. They wanted to serve the food that they enjoyed eating; good, down home and from scratch. They named the new restaurant Jawbone Flats Cafe, after one of the early names of Clarkston.
Jawbone Flats Cafe officially opened up April 18th, 2001. At the beginning, some of the days were good, some of the days were bad. The one thing that happened whether it was a good day or bad, was they were slowing building a local and loyal clientele. Gaining their new regulars with good food and friendly service.
Over the years the business itself has grown to show the loyalty, which they have gained, back to their customers with pictures and memento's from friends of Jawbone Flats who have passed on, but their memory is still on the walls. Everyone of the trinkets that adorn the walls of Jawbone Flats has a heartwarming story with it, which can be told by either Ken or Deb. And each time you hear one of these stories, you can always count on a smile or a laugh. A smile of the good times and lasting memories that can be gained from sitting down and having a good home cooked meal with Ken and Deb, which is exactly why they started Jawbone Flats Cafe.
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