Don's Restaurant, Notaras Lodge sold in Soap Lake

SOAP LAKE — She sat in the flitting light of the Soap Lake Businessmen’s Club with almost 50 years of memories stacked all around. That same smile that’s greeted locals and tourists alike is almost as iconic as Don’s Restaurant itself.

She’s cooked for Steven Spielberg, the Ink Spots, actor Richard Moll and celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck. Now it’s time somebody cooked for her.

Marina Romary sold Don’s Restaurant, the legendary steakhouse, and the Notaras Lodge in June to Kevin and Sherry Xiao of Seattle. After 42 years of running one the most popular eateries in central Washington, it’s time, she said with just a hint of sadness in her eye.

“I haven’t had a Thanksgiving or a Saturday night off in a long time,” Romary said. “I’m a Soap Laker and have a sense of pride in what we did here at Don’s. But I think a good fishing trip or two and maybe a trip around the United States would be nice.”

The tradition of Don’s has ties to the community every bit as deep as the healing waters of Soap Lake. They hand-cut their steaks, smoked turkeys, Romary talks of truckloads of seafood.

“When you look at the menu, there were still some of the items that were there when (original owner) Red (Rushton) ran the place,” she said. “People drove from as far as Pasco and Wenatchee on a regular basis. They came from Moses Lake twice a night, instead of once a night, that’s how hot (popular) it was here.”

The menu offered something for everyone, but Don’s club steak was to die for.

“It was a top sirloin steak, cut 12 to 14 ounces. It’s the same in 2016 as it was in 1950. The regulars ordered Don’s club steak,” Romary recalled. “Of course. The old menu had it listed at $1.25 and not the $20 it costs today, but other than that (it’s the same steak). People would line up around the block to get Don’s steaks.”

Don’s is a family-run business. Romary’s sisters April Leask, Freida Sebok, and Joyce Conklin have all been involved at one point or another. Her mother Joyce Notaras was the matriarch of the operation. Her daughter Carmen and her son-in-law Ken Eckhart have put their time into the place. Anne Rant was almost family by the end, working for Romary for 40 years.

“If you wanted to know what was going on in town all you had to do was come in the back door at Don’s and have coffee every morning,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. “It was a family organization and I thank them all for being a part of it.”

Romary began running the Soap Lake Business Club, the last private club in the state of Washington, in 1969. Three years later she asked original owner Red Rushton if she might learn a thing or two about his kitchen. In June of 1974, she ended up buying Don’s.

In many ways, it marks the end of an era. The Notaras Lodge is a rustic log design within walking distance of the healing waters of the lake. Don’s and the Businessmen’s Club are all a part of the Soap Lake landscape for decades. Romary will hang on to the Businessmen’s Club, but Don’s and Notaras were sold as a package.

“You have people that had their first date here. There’s people that got married here. There’s been funerals. People’s grandchildren have grown up here,” she explained. “Soap Lake was bigger than both Moses Lake and Ephrata. Moses Lake didn’t exist and Ephrata was a train stop back in the ’40s.”

Romary was born and raised in Soap Lake. She’ll stay here until they cover her up with dirt, she said. It just seemed like the right time to get out of the day-to-day responsibilities of running the central Washington icon called Don’s Restaurant.

“I’m a Soap Laker. I’m not going anywhere,” she said. “I might be going a few places, but I don’t need to move.”