Little Red Hen Owner Judy Olsby Was Mother Figure To Army Of Regulars

Since she was 10, not a year went by that Judy Olsby didn't peel an onion, cook a hamburger or throw a party for a regular at The Little Red Hen.

For 45 years, Mrs. Olsby and the Green Lake watering hole have been inseparable to the point that it's difficult to imagine one without the other, friends and relatives say.

"She spent so much time here she always thought her pillow was a box of Budweiser," said Dean Olsby, 29, her son and now a co-owner of The Little Red Hen with his sister Cindy, 32.

"It was more than a business; it was her life," said Franny Diaz, best friends with Mrs. Olsby since the two met in seventh grade at the old James Monroe Junior High.

Mrs. Olsby died Wednesday in Seattle. She was 55.

After 27 years as the owner, creative force and frequent bartender of one of Green Lake's most established bars, Mrs. Olsby had become sort of a mother figure to an army of regulars, relatives say.

"She would feel bad on Christmas because we would be closed and some of the customers wouldn't have anywhere to go, so she'd invite them all over to our house for dinner," recalled Dean Olsby. "I grew up wondering `why do we always have so many people in our house?'

"She liked to help people, and she used the restaurant for that purpose, even if it meant losing some money occasionally."

First opened on Phinney Ridge by Judy Olsby's mother and father, The Little Red Hen has been located since 1968 at 7115 Woodlawn Ave. N.E. in the Green Lake business district.

Over the years, the business has become known as a neighborhood "homestyle" diner by day and a music venue by night. Mrs. Olsby developed a Sunday-night "Big Band Jam," and for the past nine years ran the bar as a country-and-western nightclub, according to Dean Olsby.

The business is known for an airplane fuselage and wing that adorns one wall. The 10-foot-long fuselage, from a plane called "The Alice Blue Gown," was featured in the music video "Plush" by grunge band Stone Temple Pilots, Dean Olsby said.

Olsby also used The Little Red Hen to raise money for various causes. She hosted the U.G.L.Y. (Understanding Grateful Loving You) Bartender contest, a series of events designed to raise money for fighting multiple sclerosis, and was involved with the Forgotten Children's Fund.

Sometimes, Mrs. Olsby would decorate The Little Red Hen and have a '50s-era party there with high-school friends and whoever else wanted to stop by, Diaz said.

"She liked to keep things stirred up so the customers wouldn't get bored," Diaz said.

After services on Tuesday, mourners will be invited to celebrate Mrs. Olsby's life with stories, food and drink at the only appropriate place, The Little Red Hen, said her son.

"She wouldn't want it to take place anywhere else," he said.

Survivors include a brother, Dick Hering of Kirkland; a daughter, Cindy, of Seattle; son and daughter-in-law Dean and Cindy of Seattle; five grandchildren; and her caretaker during her final months, Sherman Hoshi.

Services will be held 1 p.m. Tuesday at Calvary Lutheran Church, 7002 23rd N.W.

Donations may be made to Hospice Northwest.