Family-friendly restaurant with a pup-friendly patio opening soon in Pierce County
Downtown Sumner is growing, and so is its restaurant scene.
Township 20 will be the newest addition: an all-ages, all-day restaurant, bar and pup-ready patio (primed for all seasons) located a stone’s throw from Main Street Dairy Freeze and Sumner High School at 1012 Wood Ave.
The food, to be available at lunch and dinner, offers grilled sandwiches (fancy PB&J with manchego and caramelized onions, “The Sumner” with rhubarb sauce, figs and triple-cheese), burgers, pretzels with beer cheese, big salads, rice bowls and Korean-style barbecue wings, the latter two featuring the former tenant’s “secret sauce.” Chef Tom Pantley, an alum of Toscano’s in Puyallup, consulted on the menu.
The 1910 Craftsman house at one point was a gas station and, most recently and for many years, Teriyaki House, but its curb appeal has completely changed since new owners Joleen and Justin Jones bought it two years ago. (Jay, the Teriyaki House proprietor, was ready for the next adventure, they said.)
“We thought it would be a lighter demo,” Joleen admitted in May, but the first-time restaurant owners (third-time restaurant builders!) took their time in getting the details just right. “We’ve been flirting with the idea for a while.”
Their civil engineering firm JMJ Team also designed and constructed Electric Coffee House, above which is their office, as well as Oxbow Urban Kitchen off Cannery Way.
At Township 20, they wanted to update the turn-of-the-century house while retaining its historic charm.
After tearing out drop ceilings and dated floors, they discovered original wooden ceiling trusses and fir underfoot. From a hidden fireplace and chimney revealed during construction, they carefully salvaged the bricks and hired local craftsmen to lay what is now the bar.
In fact, much of what you’ll see was salvaged from either the building itself or Second Use, down to the powder-coated steel chairs they had refinished and the paper towel dispensers.
In addition to bar and table seating inside, there is an inset booth that promises to be a coveted nook. Refreshed windows let in plenty of natural light, and several open to the new deck — fully covered, heated and outfitted with a television. It basically doubles the size of the restaurant. (The building footprint was just 884 square feet, according to the property record.)
“That was very important,” said Justin of having year-round outdoor seating.
The name honors the couple’s work and its little corner of Sumner. Townships are a geographical term for 6-square-mile areas, as defined by the U.S. Public Land Survey System — not to be confused with the township form of government most prevalent in the Northeast. Downtown Sumner, explained the Joneses, is tucked into Township 20.
“So it also just fit because this is all about creating a place for community,” said Joleen. The business’s mantra, “It takes a township,” also plays a role. “Then we really rolled with it.”
From 20 tap handles, the bar will pour local beer, including from nearby Top Down Brewing Co., regional ciders, wine, seltzer and four draft cocktails. There will also be booze-free options of craft soda, kombucha and nitro coffee.
Joleen and Justin live in Sumner, and as the city has evolved — look to the new apartment complex a few blocks east on Main Street, to the influx of young families, they said — they saw a need for more all-ages gathering places, especially ones that served into the evening.
“The location was really interesting to use, and we believe so much in Sumner,” said Joleen. “You don’t want to be the only restaurant in town. You want that community.”
TOWNSHIP 20
▪ 1012 Wood Ave., Sumner, township20.com
▪ Details: family-friendly restaurant, bar and year-round patio in downtown Sumner; well-behaved pups welcome outside
▪ Target Opening: late May, follow instagram.com/township_20 for updates
