Back in 1979, the world, and Kent, were different places.<\/p>\n
\u201cThink what 30 years ago in Kent must have looked like,\u201d says Dick Lowe, owner of H.D. Hotspurs, which opened its doors back when \u201cThree\u2019s Company\u201d and \u201cThat\u2019s Incredible!\u201d battled for the top TV spot and the Knack\u2019s \u201cMy Sharona\u201d dominated the radio.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s orange-hued glory: H.D. Hotspurs.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was pretty posh down here for Kent,\u201d Lowe says. \u201cThis was it.\u201d<\/p>\n
This month, H.D. Hotspurs is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a look back over the past 30 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen so much change in the valley,\u201d Lowe says, sinking into a booth which is still in its original configuration. \u201cFrom cornfields disappearing to warehouses popping up everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
And like the corn each year, Lowe and his wife Jan have watched their guests (they don\u2019t use the word \u201ccustomer\u201d at Hotspurs) and their families grow with the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cThroughout the years there have been a lot of great stories,\u201d Lowe says. \u201cWe\u2019ve got people people now that met here as employees, met here in the lounge, met here on blind dates; Now we\u2019re starting to see their kids!\u201d<\/p>\n
But throughout the years there\u2019s one thing that hasn\u2019t changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe great barbecue,\u201d Lowe says with a big grin.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s been the same pit for 30 years,\u201d Lowe says, nodding toward the large pit and stack of wood that sit just past the restaurant\u2019s lobby area. \u201cThink about the tons of barbecue that\u2019s produced.\u201d<\/p>\n
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 \u201choney drop\u201d performed tableside by servers whenever an order of cornbread is delivered.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Lowe used to work for Oscar Mayer in the 1970s and sold ribs to the restaurant\u2019s original owner before joining the team as a manager in 1982. In 1998 Lowe and his wife bought the joint.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cageless\u201d look. To do so, they\u2019ve decorated the walls with photos from old movies, meshed with photos of old Kent, which they got from the White River Historical Society.<\/p>\n
Lowe calls it a \u201cmix of old and old,\u201d but guests request tables beneath specific images all the time.<\/p>\n
But decoration for not, Lowe is committed to maintaining the restaurant\u2019s signature barbecue, the smell of which hits you as soon as the door opens.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost people when they walk in will comment on the smell,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s permeated the building.<\/p>\n
\u201cReal barbecue has an aroma; it has smoke,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Back in 1979, the world, and Kent, were different places. \u201cThink what 30 years ago in Kent must have looked like,\u201d says Dick Lowe, owner of H.D. Hotspurs, which opened its doors back when \u201cThree\u2019s Company\u201d and \u201cThat\u2019s Incredible!\u201d battled for the top TV spot and the Knack\u2019s \u201cMy Sharona\u201d dominated the radio. Lowe remembers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":223,"featured_media":5197,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5196"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/223"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5196\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5196"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=5196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}