MUKILTEO — It’s the end of an era.
The Weller’s Orange French Toast era, which came smothered in warm coconut syrup and affection.
Sunday will be the last breakfast at Weller’s Cafe, a mom-and-pop diner on Mukilteo Speedway. Until then, it’s open daily.
For most of the past 16 years, it was a two-person show. Joe Weller worked the grill and his wife, Pam, worked the room.
Fluffy eggs. Crunchy hashbrowns. Hot chocolate with whipped cream swirled as high as a soft-serve ice cream cone — no joke.
Nothing scrimpy here in food or service.
Nothing gourmet, unless fried orange-swirled bread counts.
Nothing fancy, either: Laminate tables with vinyl seats, artificial flowers, ketchup in glass bottles and stacks of jelly packets at the ready.
It’s a place where your coffee gets warmed up without asking and you talk to the person at the next table, not stare at your phone.
Joe, 64, sums up the sudden decision to close the cafe in two words: “It’s time.”
Pam, 60, has been off for nine months with health issues, and it’s too just much for one person.
“I’m worn out,” Joe said Tuesday, flipping a roast beef-cheddar melt on the grill and dumping fries from a basket of sizzling grease. “My legs are sore. My feet are sore. Just running back and forth.”
When possible, he sits down at the table with diners for a quick chat.
Pam will be on hand Sunday to say goodbye to the cafe where she was half the magic.
In her absence, their daughter, Krystal Chambers, stepped in at times and two grandsons stepped up washing dishes.
Joe has been the sole chef since Day One.
“Just little old me,” he said. “I’m here at 4 in the morning and here until 3 in the afternoon.”
Sound good to you? The business is for sale. There are 12 tables, seating 65, under five skylights in the leased space in front of an office building.
The Wellers made breakfast the most important meal of the day for more than 25 years. Before opening the Mukilteo cafe, the couple ran Weller’s Milwaukee Station Cafe in a former train depot in downtown Everett for 10 years.
Joe learned the trade and secret orange recipes from his dad, Joseph D. Weller, 92, who owned Weller’s Chalet in Arlington.
“He was my inspiration,” Joe said.
Pam was his teammate.
Before opening their own cafe, the couple worked for Tim Taylor at Taylor’s Landing, a Mukilteo institution that was sold to Ivar’s in 1991.
Taylor became a regular at the Wellers’ cafes in Everett and Mukilteo.
“It’s more about Joe than the location,” Taylor said. “It’s good basic cooking and plenty of it. It’s not expensive.”
Bob Olsby comes several times a week for fare such as cornbeef hash.
“Joe has been a real asset to the community,” Olsby said.
When the Wellers faced a tragedy, they didn’t face it alone.
Their son, Cody Cecil, 30, a Marine Corps veteran who served two tours in Iraq, died in 2014 from a refrigeration leak aboard a fishing boat docked in Alaska.
“There was a lot of support from customers,” Joe said. “A lot of people showed up at his funeral.”
The cafe’s closing is a loss for both old-timers and relative newcomers.
“We love Weller’s because it’s Joe and Pam,” said Jillian Fugleberg, 22.
A year ago, she started taking her twin brothers, Kevin and Marc, 20, twice a month for Sunday breakfast. Her treat.
“It’s our sibling bonding time,” she said. “My go-to thing is the vegetarian omelet with sourdough toast. Marc gets the same thing every time, a breakfast sandwich. Kevin mixes it up.”
“The food is down-to-earth,” Kevin said. “It’s laid back.”
Brandon Rudd, 46, is a transplant from Seattle.
“To me, it’s the heart of Mukilteo for somebody who’s an out-of-towner,” Rudd said. “My God, you couldn’t find a better place to just hang out, read the paper.”
Rudd said he and “that old guy behind the counter” have an unspoken bond.
“That guy smiles at me, I smile at him. He knows exactly what makes me happy and yet I never knew his name before or shook his hand,” Rudd said.
He summed up the news of the closing for many: “I could barely walk out of there without a tear in the eye.”
Andrea Brown at 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @reporterbrown.
Weller’s Cafe
8490 Mukilteo Speedway, Mukilteo; 425-353-4154.
Hours the final week: 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Friday; 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday; and 6 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday.
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