SEQUIM –– From their new home in the historic Bell House at the base of the aptly-named Bell Hill, Tanya and Dave Rose have a view of the Dungeness Valley’s rich agricultural palette.
Now, they plan to tap that bounty of grains, cheeses and produce to serve in their new restaurant, called Nourish, in the former Cedarbrook Garden Cafe, 1345 S. Sequim Ave.
“This place is so rich with great food,” Tanya said.
“It’s a wonderful chance to put healthy food onto people’s plates.”
The couple, originally from Britain, also hope to staff the restaurant with young people who could serve apprenticeships in learning how to prepare and cook healthy foods and how to run a restaurant.
“Our goal is to help young people who are passionate about going into the food industry, but maybe can’t afford culinary school,” Tanya said.
“That cost can be really expensive for some kids.”
The Roses also plan to use the place for live music, said Dave, a drummer.
The Roses moved to Sequim from Portland, Ore., after seeing a lush stand of vegetables at the Port Angeles Farmers Market that Tanya said “looked like it was set up for a picture in a magazine.”
She and Dave then toured the farm at Nash’s Organic Produce and gobbled up vegetables at the farm’s store in Dungeness.
“We just kind of moved here because Nash’s carrots are so damn good,” Dave said.
Dave said it’s the city’s connection to growers that drew his affection.
“It’s a wonderful town when the small farmer is the guy that everyone knows,” he said.
The Roses purchased what was for decades the Cedarbrook Herb and Lavender Farm’s gift shop and cafe and are restoring it for the restaurant and as their home.
Nourish will be in the open, airy facility that last housed the farm’s cafe.
Dave, who has worked in construction for much of his life, is renovating the farm’s house, which was a gift shop for years, but started out in the late-19th century as the home of John Bell, the prairie’s first European settler.
According to the city of Sequim’s website, Bell and his wife, Sara Ann, were good hosts who would provide travelers a “real good meal and bed and hearty welcome.”
“What a cool legacy,” Tanya said, though she noted that reputation comes with a dose of pressure.
“We’re finding out all these historic responsibilities we’ve just assumed,” Tanya said.
The couple also plans to grow herbs for Nourish in the plots around the place, using the already-established infrastructure to spice up what they plan to be a menu of “affordable, every day food.”
Already, the Roses say, their idea has been welcomed in Sequim.
“Every time we meet somebody, they’re so excited about what this place can be,” Tanya said.
Those early contacts have netted donations of equipment and furniture for the restaurant.
“It feels like an old-fashioned barn raising,” Tanya said.
Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Joe Smillie can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or at jsmillie@peninsuladailynews.com.
