Scooters drive-in still in process

RITZVILLE – Several years ago, Bernie Williams and his daughter were returning to Missoula, Montana, from a gymnastics tournament in Seattle. They happened to stop in Ritzville. After spending a night at a local hotel and enjoying breakfast at Jake's Restaurant, Williams began scanning classified ads in The Journal.

"I was just blown away by property prices here," he said. Eventually Williams and his wife, Dawn, purchased property on Hickory Avenue and later bought the drive-in restaurant-formerly known as "Sharon's"- located at 402 East First Avenue.

At the time, they didn't have a definite plan for the drive-in.

Adams County property records show that permits for the restaurant's concrete slab were issued in 1952, which indicates that the drive-in was built approximately 70 years ago. In 1978 a mobile home was added to the lot behind the restaurant. Sharon Tison, for whom the drive-in was named, passed away in June 2016, and the Tison family sold the property to Williams in June 2017.

Soon after purchasing the parcel, Williams started rehabilitating the restaurant and later repurposed the doublewide mobile home into storage space. Williams said, "My wife has been in retail her whole life-managed bakeries, grocery stores, those type of things-so we bought all the equipment for the restaurant: soft serve ice cream machines, ice machines, pizza ovens, and televisions for digital menus."

Williams originally talked to Gary Cook (Ritzville's prior mayor) about gifting two thirds of the property to the city. He offered to provide $50,000 as seed money so the city could build a water park on the lots above the restaurant.

In his original design, a retaining wall would separate the restaurant from the upper lots. The park would include trees, a walking path, and a playground area with sprinkler park. Stairs would descend from the park to the restaurant.

"It would be a great investment for us because it would bring families to the park, and they would buy ice cream, pizza, and pop," Williams said. "It would be a great idea for the city because there's no decent park in that part of town."

But at that time the mayor couldn't get agreement from the city council to proceed.

Then COVID hit.

So Williams refocused his attention on his job as a public adjustor, settling insurance claims for clients in several states, including Mississippi, Texas, Georgia, Idaho, Florida, and elsewhere. "We have 104 active clients in Washington State alone. So taking the time to invest in the restaurant, to get it up and going, was not feasible," he said.

Nevertheless, he hopes to reopen the restaurant in the next few years. He anticipates a 1950s-music theme. Elvis Presley's hit "You Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog" would play on outside speakers as patrons pull into the parking lot. The restaurant would provide wood-fired pizza and maintain a community feel by prominently displaying the Bronco logo and pictures of local school kids.

"I would like to retire in the next three years," he said, "then my wife and I expect to run the restaurant. We own all the equipment and the property outright. I don't see any reason why we couldn't afford to pay a couple of employees and recreate what Sharon (Tison) had.

"We weren't fortunate enough to know Sharon, but I've talked to dozens of people about her," Williams added. "She performed a great community service. Her restaurant was a place where people could gather, and people obviously miss that. It feels like we need to get something up and running to carry on that legacy.

"We'll see what comes," he said. "Our goal is to get it open, probably sometime in 2024."