Back in 1979, the world, and Kent, were different places.
“Think what 30 years ago in Kent must have looked like,” says Dick Lowe, owner of H.D. Hotspurs, which opened its doors back when “Three’s Company” and “That’s Incredible!” battled for the top TV spot and the Knack’s “My Sharona” dominated the radio.
Lowe remembers Kent being a much more agricultural community and the population was much smaller than it is today. But there was at least one place where locals could disco the night away in all of the decade’s orange-hued glory: H.D. Hotspurs.
With a sunken dance floor, big chandelier and a menu specializing in wood-fired barbecue, the Kent landmark drew people from all around the area.
“It was pretty posh down here for Kent,” Lowe says. “This was it.”
This month, H.D. Hotspurs is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a look back over the past 30 years.
“We’ve seen so much change in the valley,” Lowe says, sinking into a booth which is still in its original configuration. “From cornfields disappearing to warehouses popping up everywhere.”
And like the corn each year, Lowe and his wife Jan have watched their guests (they don’t use the word “customer” at Hotspurs) and their families grow with the city.
“Throughout the years there have been a lot of great stories,” Lowe says. “We’ve got people people now that met here as employees, met here in the lounge, met here on blind dates; Now we’re starting to see their kids!”
But throughout the years there’s one thing that hasn’t changed.
“The great barbecue,” Lowe says with a big grin.
The secret, he says, is in the real wood they use – alder, a northwest hardwood – as well as the pit they use to cook all of the chicken, ribs and other delicacies that gets barbecued each day.
“That’s been the same pit for 30 years,” Lowe says, nodding toward the large pit and stack of wood that sit just past the restaurant’s lobby area. “Think about the tons of barbecue that’s produced.”
While the restaurant specializes in barbecue, the menu has grown since the 70s and now includes steaks, salads and other fare. But some things are still done the way they were 30 years ago, such as the “honey drop” performed tableside by servers whenever an order of cornbread is delivered.
To serve a small bowl of honey with the cornbread, servers climb a ladder and literally let honey drip from a honey dipper to a bowl on the table, a Hotspurs tradition.
Lowe used to work for Oscar Mayer in the 1970s and sold ribs to the restaurant’s original owner before joining the team as a manager in 1982. In 1998 Lowe and his wife bought the joint.
Over the years there have been three remodels to the restaurant, but Lowe says they have worked to keep it a fun, family place with a “ageless” look. To do so, they’ve decorated the walls with photos from old movies, meshed with photos of old Kent, which they got from the White River Historical Society.
Lowe calls it a “mix of old and old,” but guests request tables beneath specific images all the time.
But decoration for not, Lowe is committed to maintaining the restaurant’s signature barbecue, the smell of which hits you as soon as the door opens.
“Most people when they walk in will comment on the smell,” he says. “It’s permeated the building.
“Real barbecue has an aroma; it has smoke,” he says.
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