This was our favorite Resturant in Lincoln City, Oregon. We hopw that they will rebuild so we can still call this our favorite place to go.
Here is a copy of what printed in the local newspaper.
By News Guard staff
A Wednesday night blaze gutted the landmark Dory Cove Restaurant by Roads End State Recreation Site just north of Lincoln City. The 9-1-1 call came in at 9:47 p.m. from Veta Shelby of Roads End.
Fire crews arrived on the scene about 9:54 p.m. Nov. 29 to find flames coming through the roof. They had the fire contained by 10:40 p.m. The restaurant had been closed since Nov. 27 for an annual winter break. No one was in hurt in the blaze. Although the fire is believed to have started quietly, neighbors report that an explosion rocked the area between 9:45 and 10 p.m. "I live a block away," said Lu Neal, one of the original owners of the 33-year-old restaurant. "I didn't hear a thing. A couple of neighbors said they heard the explosion but not the fire sirens." Neal says she didn't actually learn of the fire until early Thursday morning, when a friend called with the news from Vancouver, Wash. The friend had been called by another friend in Roads End.
As firefighters fought the blaze Wednesday night, Logan Road was closed in both directions. Firefighters had the fire out at 1:47 a.m. and left at 2:15 a.m., but the fire rekindled at 3:30 a.m. A truck and crew returned to the site and had the flare-up out within 10 minutes. At that point, the truck and crew were posted at the site for the rest of the night, and so when the fire erupted again — where the kitchen used to be — about 8 Thursday morning, they were quickly back on the ground to douse the smoldering debris.The last people in the restaurant were six members of a cleaning crew, who left work at 4 p.m. Wednesday.Closed for winter cleaning, the restaurant would normally have reopened Dec. 27. "It has always been a tradition to close between Thanksgiving and Christmas to give everybody a vacation and time to redo what needed to be done at the restaurant," explained Neal. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Neal and her late husband, Bill Neal, opened the restaurant with Roy and Mary Johnson June 23, 1973. From the beginning, says Neal, Roy Johnson was the heart and operator of the business, tinkering with the menu of chowder and fresh fish, hosting a morning coffee klatch for locals and in the early years offering the place to Road Enders for holiday parties during the restaurant's winter hiatus. "Roy made the business," said Neal. "We were just investors. He is the guy who had the energy and the sweat and the tears, and it has really hit him hard." Five years ago, after her husband died, Neal says she eased pretty much out of the business, and the Johnsons' son, Dave Johnson, and nephew-in-law Ron Smith joined the ownership team. It was Dave Johnson who hiked in last night and stood vigil as the restaurant burned, according to Neal.He waited until this morning to break the news to his father, so his dad could get one more good night's sleep before having to deal with all that was to come.
A Wednesday night blaze gutted the landmark Dory Cove Restaurant by Roads End State Recreation Site just north of Lincoln City. The 9-1-1 call came in at 9:47 p.m. from Veta Shelby of Roads End.
Fire crews arrived on the scene about 9:54 p.m. Nov. 29 to find flames coming through the roof. They had the fire contained by 10:40 p.m. The restaurant had been closed since Nov. 27 for an annual winter break. No one was in hurt in the blaze. Although the fire is believed to have started quietly, neighbors report that an explosion rocked the area between 9:45 and 10 p.m. "I live a block away," said Lu Neal, one of the original owners of the 33-year-old restaurant. "I didn't hear a thing. A couple of neighbors said they heard the explosion but not the fire sirens." Neal says she didn't actually learn of the fire until early Thursday morning, when a friend called with the news from Vancouver, Wash. The friend had been called by another friend in Roads End.
As firefighters fought the blaze Wednesday night, Logan Road was closed in both directions. Firefighters had the fire out at 1:47 a.m. and left at 2:15 a.m., but the fire rekindled at 3:30 a.m. A truck and crew returned to the site and had the flare-up out within 10 minutes. At that point, the truck and crew were posted at the site for the rest of the night, and so when the fire erupted again — where the kitchen used to be — about 8 Thursday morning, they were quickly back on the ground to douse the smoldering debris.The last people in the restaurant were six members of a cleaning crew, who left work at 4 p.m. Wednesday.Closed for winter cleaning, the restaurant would normally have reopened Dec. 27. "It has always been a tradition to close between Thanksgiving and Christmas to give everybody a vacation and time to redo what needed to be done at the restaurant," explained Neal. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Neal and her late husband, Bill Neal, opened the restaurant with Roy and Mary Johnson June 23, 1973. From the beginning, says Neal, Roy Johnson was the heart and operator of the business, tinkering with the menu of chowder and fresh fish, hosting a morning coffee klatch for locals and in the early years offering the place to Road Enders for holiday parties during the restaurant's winter hiatus. "Roy made the business," said Neal. "We were just investors. He is the guy who had the energy and the sweat and the tears, and it has really hit him hard." Five years ago, after her husband died, Neal says she eased pretty much out of the business, and the Johnsons' son, Dave Johnson, and nephew-in-law Ron Smith joined the ownership team. It was Dave Johnson who hiked in last night and stood vigil as the restaurant burned, according to Neal.He waited until this morning to break the news to his father, so his dad could get one more good night's sleep before having to deal with all that was to come.
