Elizabeth Fuentes smiles and opens the serving window at The Dairy Bar Sunday evening in Chehalis.
Drinks are handed to a customer at The Dairy Bar Sunday evening in Chehalis.
Ruby Fuentes maneuvers around her coworker to hold the window open at The Dairy Bar as employees work in close quarters Sunday evening in Chehalis.
The Dairy Bar is located at 651 W. Main Street in Chehalis.
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As many restaurants statewide, including in Lewis County, have either temporarily closed or seen a sharp downturn in business, at least one little mom and pop burger and shake joint is seeing an uptick in customers.
With its large overhanging roof, white painted outer walls and aqua window trim, the Dairy Bar, a small, nondescript standalone restaurant looks like a throwback from simpler times — before the digital age, just as fast-food restaurants began to boom and long before the worldwide coronavirus outbreak. It even has one of those old-school white signs atop the roof with a Pepsi logo and “Dairy Bar” emblazoned across. In the windows are smaller white signs that read ‘Hamburgers,’ ‘Hot Dogs,’ and ‘Sundaes.’
Located at 651 W. Main St. in Chehalis, the Dairy Bar is a burger and ice cream staple that’s been serving the community for 64 years — and now they’re plating even more than before.
With statewide restrictions leveled at places of entertainment, bars and restaurants by Gov. Jay Inslee on March 16, many restaurants in Lewis County have had to temporarily close. It had Dairy Bar owner Dollie Wilson worried as she saw businesses in town close their doors, hoping for the restrictions to be lifted on March 31.
“When (Gov. Inslee) first announced they were closing the restaurants down, the very first day we were down like half of what we usually do,” Wilson said. “So we were kind of worried. But after that it picked up and it’s pretty steady. We’re doing alright.”
The Dairy Bar originally opened on May 10, 1956 by Louise and Willard Foulke, just as fast-food restaurants were gaining popularity across the nation. The fad hadn’t yet reached Lewis County, so the restaurant flourished, and soon became a local favorite that stuck. Wilson’s husband’s grandmother, June Wilson, bought the restaurant from the Foulke’s in April 1978. Then in July 2019, Wilson and her husband bought the business from the family and have been running it ever since.
And business has been better than usual for springtime. In fact, it’s feeling more like summertime down at the Dairy Bar. Primarily a drive-through establishment, the only changes the Dairy Bar had to enact with the recent restrictions is to close the outdoor patio seating area. Other than that, the hours, the food and everything else is the same. Most of that is due to being a drive-through-first business. With so many other restaurants in Centralia and Chehalis lacking a drive through, the Dairy Bar is flourishing.
“A little busier,” Wilson said. “I think we’re getting a little bit more business because of the other restaurants being closed down. Not necessarily better, but busier. From what I hear, Bill and Bea’s is the same way. They’re similar to us. So I think your drive-throughs are doing better.”
It’s been so busy that Dollie has had to hire a third person each shift to keep up with the influx of new customers.
“I have a third person on all day,” Wilson said. “I usually only run with two. I usually have one come in through breakfast run, lunch run and dinner run. So, yeah, we’ve picked up some.”
The Dairy Bar is known for its soft-serve ice cream, on a cone or in a sundae, its 30 flavors of milkshakes and variety of affordable hamburgers that start in the $3 range. Everything is made-to-order and the hamburgers are 100-percent beef. Part of the allure is that the food is served exactly how it’s always been, how the Foulke’s made it popular back in the 1950s.
It’s the perfect remedy to transplant one back to the olden days, before self-isolation and a virus outbreak. Back when cheap and affordable mom and pop burger joints dotted the landscape. Places like the Dairy Bar.
More Information on Dairy Bar
Hours: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday.
Location: 651 W. Main St., Chehalis
Phone: 360-748-3793
Website: https://www.facebook.com/Dairy-Bar-102205403156593
Top selling items at Dairy Bar
Ice cream cones: $2.50/3.25
Ice cream shakes: $4.25/6.25
Hamburger: $5.50
Cheeseburger: $6
