Vinotique at 7304 Lakewood Drive West in Lakewood, is in the same center as Tacoma Boys. Per the owner, they are in their 25th year of operations! They have a wonderful wine selection and plenty of cheeses, but what I didn’t expect is that they serve deli meals. On Friday nights they serve tapas. Their website is here and their Facebook page is here.
Update: Toward the end of 2014, Vinotique’s owners retired and the store closed.
The Lexington Apartments at 8720 58th Ave SW, Lakewood, WA 98499 has three floorplans (1, 2 and 3 bedrooms). It was pretty dark when I got there and worse when I left, so my only photos were of the pumpkins on the end table and of the doormat. It looked like a nice apartment complex, well maintained. Their website is here.
Best Burgers at 7714 Custer Road in Lakewood is a mom & pop hamburger stand that has been around for a long time. It opened in August 1990 by a couple with the last name of best. They are well know for their friendly service and I enjoyed my cheeseburger and fries a great deal. And my dogs enjoyed the leftovers! Their Facebook Page is here.
The coffee shop at the Lakewood YMCA is a Black Bear, but as recently as last month it had been a Forza. In fact it is still listed as a Forza on the Forza website. I took them up on their suggestion of a pumpkin, space latte (decaf) and it was a treat.
Movies to Go at 9630 Gravelly Lake Dr SW, Lakewood, WA 98499 is closing as of June 30, 2013. The store opened in 1987. The ultra modern building was constructed in 1955 as a Hogan’s Food King Store.
DeLong’s DeLuxe at 8901 Bridgeport Way is Lakewood’s newest burger joint. It opened in February 2013. I stopped in today after a meeting and ordered a fair burger, fries and two milkshakes. The shakes were delicious and I had to throw the fries in the backseat of the car so that dear daughter would actually get some. Service was speedy and pleasant.
Joy Pho at 10706 Bridgeport Way SW Lakewood, WA 98499 is also known as Pho PQ (or maybe that was the previous ownership. Dear daughter and I had taken a quick trip to Barnes and Noble and then stopped here for some take out. The woman who waited on us was friendly and the food was good.
Actually there were two types of sweet corn ice cream bars at the H Mart, which recently opened at 8720 South Tacoma Way in Lakewood. Dear daughter and I visited and found many delightful food items including udon (which she loves), mochi, fresh turmeric, those long vegetable things (I knew I should have written down what they were!), an entire aisle of dried seaweed, all sorts of pickled foods (see the yellow pickled radishes) and fresh seafood. There is a large produce section and all the day to day household items one would need. The employees were super friendly.
The H in H Mart stands for “Han Ah Reum,” a Korean phrase meaning “arm full of groceries.” The chain’s website shows two other locations in Washington State (Federal Way and Lyonwood. There are also locations in 12 other states and Canada, mostly on the east and west coasts. They recently opened a location in London.
The Old Settler’s Cemetery is located at the Northeast corner of Washington Boulevard SW and 83rd Avenue SW in Lakewood. The almost 5 acres site is partially tree covered with paths leading through the graves. A variety of headstones are there including those flush with the ground, old marble, new marble and wooden. It appears that several of the grave sites are no longer marked. Burials began at the site in 1855 for pioneers and their descendents.
The first headstone I came to belong to Hugh McLeod who died on July 3, 1891 at age 60. His stone stated that he was a native of Scotland. The most recent burial that I’m aware of was in 1988.
I noticed a bunch of crocuses in bloom all over the site. The explanation for this can be found here “Another settler of note is James Holt, who came from South Wales and settled in what is now Lake City in 1915. He built many of the houses in Lake City as well as donated the land used for the Lake City Community Church. His daughter Janette is credited for planting the crocus bulbs on his grave that still bloom each year.” Information can also be found here
Mattress Ranch at 8916 Lakewood Drive SW in Lakewood has a barnyard theme (in case you didn’t notice!). I hadn’t realized it was part of a chain with four locations in Alaska and six in Washington State. I have to say that I’m impressed that all of their mattresses are completely American made.