Preservation Kitchen

It used to be that if you wanted a truly good dining experience, you headed downtown. Over the years, neighborhood restaurants started popping up. Now some of the finest restaurants are in the ‘hoods and offer a wide variety of experiences. Susan and Gary Southwick (photo at right) provide a case in point.

Their Preservation Kitchen in Bothell caters to the local crowd and supports the local community. Their menu is varied enough to keep locals coming back to try different items and the products they use are purchased through local companies. "We try to purchase locally as much as possible," explains Gary. "Even if the product isn't local, the business is. For example, our meat company is in Brier, but their meat comes from Oregon. We buy Bruce Gore long-line caught salmon out of Alaska from Triad Fisheries. Mark Tupper, the owner of Triad, lives on the hill behind the restaurant and delivers our salmon." Much of Preservation's produce comes from Oxbow Farm in Carnation. "There are a number of great local farms in the area," says Susan. "We're using Oxbow now because what they grow meshes well with our menu."

The Southwick's also own Main Street AleHouse & Eatery in Bothell*. They purchased the old Keystone Tavern, kept it open as the Keystone while Gary remodeled it at night after closing (1995-1996) then renamed it Main Street AleHouse & Eatery. It's become Bothell's neighborhood place to hang. With The AleHouse going strong, they felt it was time to not only stretch their own restaurant wings to the next level but offer the neighborhood another experience. "There was a need in the area for a place where people could come for quality food and a nicer experience while still being comfortably casual," explains Susan. "While our prices are moderate, it's probably not an everyday place. But we want people to be able to have dinner and a bottle of wine at least a couple of times a month." Gary agrees. "Our strategy is to give people good value and a good experience. We want them to say ‘I would have expected to pay more for that meal' and feel good about the money they spent."

Michael Lopata is Preservation Kitchen's chef. "Michael is a young, imaginative chef who understands what we want to do," says Susan. "We want our menu to be simple, seasonal and down to earth. We want the food to be good and the presentation nice." Menu items are familiar—risotto, pasta, steak, seafood, chicken—with lots of fresh Northwest touches like sweet corn, red chard and green lentils. Their bar menu leans more toward upscale pub food at very reasonable prices.

Like The AleHouse, Preservation Kitchen is located in an historic building. "The AleHouse building burned to the ground in 1907 and was rebuilt," says Gary. "It has a lot of history and is a half mile away from what is now Preservation Kitchen. This building was originally the Bothell mayor's home. His great aunt had it built in 1916 and when she passed away, her son, Charles Kaysner, and his family moved in. Bricks used inside the house were from Highway 522, saved when they were replaced with asphalt. In addition to that history, it has restaurant history as well. This is where Gerard Parrat had Gerard's de Lyon for years. It was a very high-end French restaurant." Gerard took the old carriage house and connected it to the main house for a dining room and created his dream French kitchen.

Gary once again took on the job of designing the restaurant they wanted and did most of the remodeling work. They removed the skylight over what was basically an enclosed patio and created a wine bar. Susan and their daughter, Stephanie Smith, created the soothing interior. "We liked this building because, like The AleHouse, it has history. It's the style we wanted—old and classy. In so many small towns, buildings are being torn down. We want to preserve history and that's how the name ‘Preservation Kitchen' came about," explains Susan. "We're also preserving the signatures of two French chefs in the kitchen. They visited Gerard's and signed the wall!"

Preservation Kitchen tucked into the hill

Currently they offer Tuesday wine tastings, Wednesday martini tastings and Sunday Supper, a $29 meal that includes salad, entrée and dessert. They're planning on working even more closely with local wineries and hope to hold weekend tastings in the wine bar featuring Seattle and Eastern Washington wineries that have no Western Washington tasting room. "We feel strongly about promoting Washington wines in general and local wineries specifically. Our wine list is 95% Washington and over 80% Woodinville wineries," says Susan.

The location is also a good fit for offsite corporate meetings and private parties. With larger rooms downstairs and smaller rooms upstairs, it's perfect for multiple parties or business meetings that involve large groups that break off into smaller project groups.

Susan and Gary have hit the mark with Preservation Kitchen. They offer that in-between Northwest experience—quality food in a casual atmosphere. It's inviting and unpretentious. "We'd love for this place to be a destination restaurant, but our main goal is to become the local go-to place for a good meal," says Susan. As Gary says, "Everyone has a list. If you want Chinese food, you have to go here, or if you want pub food, you go there. We want to be the place on the list for a great meal and experience." Bothell-ite or not, it's worth seeking out Preservation Kitchen.

*Main Street AleHouse has moved into Preservation Kitchen; they exist together.

Connie Adams/November 2009