TACOMA, Wash. — Hungry breakfast-goers gathered outside the renovated McMenamins Elks Temple in Tacoma Wednesday morning. There was a line down the sidewalk to get inside when they let people in at 7 a.m.
The 100-year-old building features hotel rooms, four restaurants, six bars, a brewery and a ballroom for live music. The company took extra care to restore the building and maintain some of its original charm.
Co-owner Brian McMenamin said they were excited about giving new life to the Tacoma landmark.
“You can come into an old building and start talking about what it means to the community and the history that it involved,” he explained. “We've uncovered all kinds of great stuff. We just found out this morning that Louis Armstrong played here,” McMenamin said.
Part of the renovation includes a large outdoor dining area along the historic Spanish Steps. It will be the largest outdoor dining area in Tacoma and city leaders said they hope more businesses will expand outdoors.
Tacoma council member Robert Thoms said he worked hard to try and ease restrictions on outdoor cafes in the city.
“It activates our city in a way you can't do without businesses helping us on it,” he said.
Thoms said they realized a few years ago that many businesses were having a hard time getting the proper permits and so he worked to streamline the process because he believes it benefits the city in several ways.
“It makes sure the streets are flowing, it keeps [away] some of the activities people don't want to see in the downtown cores that don't happen when there's a lot of activity,” he explained.
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