Cody Cafe, located in the heart of downtown Morton on Main Avenue, has been a longtime mainstay in the rural foothill town.
Cody Cafe opened its dining room to customers on June 3 after Lewis County moved into phase two of the state's four-phase reopening plan.
Walter and Carolyn Trumble have owned and operated Cody Cafe in Morton since 1991. Carolyn worked there for 10 years prior to purchasing it from the previous owner.
Editor’s Note: The Chronicle is working to assist local businesses suffering from the effects of the COVID-19 virus spread and associated government orders to close or limit commerce. There will be a feature on a local business in each edition of The Chronicle and at chronline.com moving forward. To be considered, email reporter Eric Trent at etrent@chronline.com. Additionally, The Chronicle will continue to offer its coverage of the coronavirus and its effects across the community, state and nation free outside of our paywall at chronline.com.
MORTON — Though it’s located in the geographic center of rectangular-shaped Lewis County, Morton, situated between Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainier, is miles and miles from what city folk call civilization.
Thirty-two miles from Interstate 5, the mountain foothill town of 1,200 relies on recreational tourist traffic and dollars to boost its economy. That’s why when the coronavirus pandemic hit the nation in mid March, small businesses felt the full brunt of it.
One of those businesses is Cody Cafe, a longtime local dining spot positioned squarely in the heart of downtown on Main Avenue.
Owners Carolyn and Walter Trumble have owned and operated the little cafe since 1991. The couple moved to Rochester from Illinois more than 40 years ago after marrying to be closer to family.
“Took me a while to get used to all the trees,” Carolyn said. “I was used to cornfields.”
Carolyn, who’s mother owned a restaurant back east, had worked in the restaurant industry since junior high. It was the only work she knew. So she began working at a restaurant in Centralia until it finally closed. The owner also owned Cody Cafe in Morton and talked her into coming out and working there in 1981, just a year after Mount St. Helens erupted.
Carolyn worked there for 10 years and three owners before eventually buying the place in 1991. The couple had fallen in love with Morton and its forest, fishing and hunting opportunities.
“I thought sure,” Carolyn said. “We’re going to go for it.”
The restaurant has changed a lot in 29 years since the Trumbles bought it. Before the menu and decor were Old West-styled, with stampede sandwiches and so forth. Now it’s become a classic American diner that specializes in old-school breakfast, club sandwiches and burgers.
Carolyn started cooking at the cafe when she first began working there in 1981 and still does most of the cooking.
When she took over the restaurant in 1991, the Cowlitz Falls Dam near Randle was being built and brought in tons of workers to Morton. The Trumbles were running three shifts with 17 employees. A lot has changed over the years. Less log trucks are rolling through town these days, according to an older born-and-raised-in-Morton couple eating at the cafe on Tuesday.
But the biggest recent change has been the coronavirus pandemic. That meant, of course, sterilizing every surface in the restaurant even more thoroughly than before and wearing protective masks. Customers who came in for to-go orders were kept 6 feet apart. It also meant the Trumbles had to lay off most of their employees. They are down to just themselves and one other employee for the time being.
They stayed open solely for to-go order when dining-in was shut down until Memorial Day Weekend when Lewis County moved into phase two. They were lucky to get 12 customers a day during the past two months.
The cafe officially reopened for dining-in on June 3 and business has picked up a bit. With only 50 percent capacity or less allowed in restaurants statewide, the cafe is even seeing waiting lines now for people wanting to dine in.
Busy season for the cafe, and Morton businesses in general, is typically from June to August and tourists flock in to visit Mount St. Helens, Riffe Lake, White Pass Ski Area and the Pacific Crest Trail. But with all the coronavirus restrictions across the state, the Trumbles are worried it could affect the amount of incoming tourists.
Most of the town’s events scheduled this summer are already canceled, including the 78th annual Morton Loggers Jubilee, the self-titled granddaddy of all logging shows, which brings in about 10,000 visitors to the small town. It’s one of the largest events in Lewis County. Also canceled are the popular flea markets and the Mossyrock Blueberry Festival.
It all has the Trumbles concerned, but they don’t plan to close their doors anytime soon. At least not because of coronavirus. If anything, it will be because they sell the cafe.
“That hurts businesses,” Carolyn said. “I’m sure it will hurt us some, but we just go with the flow. We are trying to sell it so we can retire one of these days.”
More Information on Cody Cafe
Owners: Carolyn and Walter Trumble
Hours: 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday
Location: 216 Main Ave., Morton
Phone: 360-496-5787
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Reporter Eric Trent can be reached at etrent@chronline.com. Visit chronline.com/business for more coverage of local businesses.
