Sumner diner reopens 6 months after fire with new floors, walls and a tiki bar
The Buttered Biscuit avoided the flames and heavy clouds of smoke that destroyed a historic building in downtown Sumner last November and closed several businesses, some temporarily. But “a river” of water from fire crews’ hoses drenched the popular diner, requiring extensive renovations.
Owner Tamara Haskins and her husband unveiled their freshly remodeled restaurant May 13, just in time for Mother’s Day brunch. All told, the 16-year-old business was closed for more than six months.
“It looks totally different,” Haskins told The News Tribune and The Puyallup Herald in a phone call last week. “This time —” she paused, letting out an ironic chuckle — “this time, we built in benches all the way around the room.”
The original booths, she explained, were not salvageable. Little was. Not even the quirky floral and flamingo wallpaper they had only installed weeks before the fire and the kitchen upgrades they had undertaken during quiet pandemic days.
The three-alarm fire was reported around 3 a.m. on October 28, concentrated in the back of The Attic, an events venue on the second floor of 1003-1005 Main Street. On the ground floor, Whispering Hills Market and Stuck Junction Saloon were also destroyed, as were the offices of a local coffee company and a state representative. No one was injured in the blaze, but the building — constructed in 1911 as a livery stable — was declared a total loss and its remains were razed earlier this year, leaving a gaping hole between a new wine bar, Valley Social, and Heritage Quest Research Library, which have yet to reopen. (Both continue to participate in off-site and virtual events.)
Within two weeks of the fire, a 23-year-old woman was charged with first-degree arson.
“It was devastating. It was hard not to be very angry and very bitter about it,” admitted Haskins, but she added that there was a silver lining.
“Being able to reopen with all new floors — I had wanted new floors for years,” she said. “It’s not even the price; it’s the closing down for a week to do the floors that you just could never do. All that stuff you think about that you can never get to, or can’t afford to.”
When she spoke to The News Tribune in November, she hoped to reopen just after the new year.
One of the most challenging parts of the prolonged closure, she added, was the prospect of losing hardworking staff and of having to turn customers away. She was able to retain some core employees, including in the kitchen, and has been happy to have welcomed some great new servers.
On the upside, The Buttered Biscuit team also took the time to refresh the menu. In addition to brunch must-haves — omelets, biscuits and gravy, fried chicken, French toast and waffles — the new version includes “some fun things.” Haskins pointed to a chicken bacon waffle wrap, the waffle being the vehicle and the inside laced with hot honey.
She is also excited about the new tiki-style bar that centers the dining room. They are awaiting final approval from the liquor board, so you can’t sit there just yet, but soon it will be open for service at dinnertime, too.
THE BUTTERED BISCUIT
▪ 1014 N. St., Sumner, 253-826-6099, facebook.com/butteredbiscuitsumner
▪ Daily 6 a.m.-3 p.m.
▪ Details: comfort food with newly installed bar and decor in downtown Sumner
