‘Geyser in the middle of the restaurant' shuts down Ivar's
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MUKILTEO, Wash. -- Stormy seas sent a geyser of seawater shooting up through the floor of the Ivar's Restaurant.
The damage has forced the restaurant to close for now, just like it did after a bad storm nine years ago.
Ivar's has installed a hatch in a corner of the dining room for access to the underside of the restaurant. The entire building sits on pylons over the water.
Early Thursday morning, a combination of high tide, wind and waves churned the seas violently until the hatch just couldn't take it anymore. The waves were powerful enough to blow open the 600-pound lid, and let the turbulent ocean into the dining room.
"And they went all the way to the ceiling, which is a good 12 feet to the ceiling. We had a geyser in the middle of the restaurant," said Bob Donegan.
The incident took place at 5 a.m. when the only person in the building was the overnight maintenance man. Fortunately, he took notice of the waves, and mustered the courage to close the lid as the water pulsed through.
"Jim timed the waves, and after a while, he was able to get the hatch down and bolt it shut. So the waves stopped invading the restaurant," Donegan said.
The hatch stayed open long enough to flood a significant part of the dining room and the lobby with an inch of seawater. One big-picture window is blown out, and the force of the waves lifted the floor of the bar room eight inches.
But Thursday's incident pales in comparison to the beating Ivar's took in October 2003.
Back then, a fierce storm during dinner rush blew out nearly all the windows and ripped apart the deck, causing more than $3.5 million damage, and forcing the restaurant to shut down for 471 days.
This time, the staff is taking the storm and its aftermath in stride, thinking it may be a greeting from the man it's named after.
"Maybe it's Ivar talking to us. It's a part of our culture being part of big storms," said Donegan.
The damage has forced the restaurant to close for now, just like it did after a bad storm nine years ago.
Ivar's has installed a hatch in a corner of the dining room for access to the underside of the restaurant. The entire building sits on pylons over the water.
Early Thursday morning, a combination of high tide, wind and waves churned the seas violently until the hatch just couldn't take it anymore. The waves were powerful enough to blow open the 600-pound lid, and let the turbulent ocean into the dining room.
"And they went all the way to the ceiling, which is a good 12 feet to the ceiling. We had a geyser in the middle of the restaurant," said Bob Donegan.
The incident took place at 5 a.m. when the only person in the building was the overnight maintenance man. Fortunately, he took notice of the waves, and mustered the courage to close the lid as the water pulsed through.
"Jim timed the waves, and after a while, he was able to get the hatch down and bolt it shut. So the waves stopped invading the restaurant," Donegan said.
The hatch stayed open long enough to flood a significant part of the dining room and the lobby with an inch of seawater. One big-picture window is blown out, and the force of the waves lifted the floor of the bar room eight inches.
But Thursday's incident pales in comparison to the beating Ivar's took in October 2003.
Back then, a fierce storm during dinner rush blew out nearly all the windows and ripped apart the deck, causing more than $3.5 million damage, and forcing the restaurant to shut down for 471 days.
This time, the staff is taking the storm and its aftermath in stride, thinking it may be a greeting from the man it's named after.
"Maybe it's Ivar talking to us. It's a part of our culture being part of big storms," said Donegan.
