Biding time until Ferguson’s reopens

I noted the owner of Ferguson’s, Dave Jones, commented in Friday’s Spokesman-Review article that rebuilding the historic restaurant would give him a chance to move the grill closer to the customers so he could better interact with them. And I think right there is the reason so many people just crumpled when they heard last fall that Ferguson’s, along with the Milk Bottle, was burning down.

True enough, Ferguson’s was a historic building. When I told the grandkids that Johnny Depp was once filmed making biscuits dance at that very counter, the kids asked, “Johnny who?”

“You know, Captain Jack Sparrow.” The lights went on and the eyes went wide.

History’s only part of the reason, as Bonnie Quinn is quoted as saying, “the hysteria was almost worse than the actual fire.” My son-in-law still raves about Dave’s country fried steak, smothered in gravy and onions. So there was the simple but always excellent food. But even more than the food, the waitresses and waiters, polite to a fault, made a point of learning the names of all the regulars.

It was clear the staff liked each other from the way they chattered back and forth – and if the patrons wanted, they were free to join in. And if Dave or whoever was at the grill needed some particulars as to how you wanted your food, he’d just holler the question to you himself. How cool is that?

A restaurant is made memorable by its food and its character. Ferguson’s history was a bonus, but it was Dave and his people that made the place so special. We’ve been waiting and worrying all winter. The reopening can’t get here soon enough.

Wally Lee Parker

Spokane