Flashback: Future chowder king got taste of success at Bothell
Athlete: Duke Moscrip, Bothell High School, Class of 1962
Sports: Basketball, golf
High-school rewind: Moscrip transferred from Hayward, Calif., and attended Bothell for only his senior year. He was a standout guard on the Cougars team that won a KingCo Conference championship before losing the state-title game to Garfield, 36-34. His favorite high-school sports memory is a 16-0 fourth-quarter Bothell run in an upset of fourth-ranked Ballard in the state quarterfinals. Years later, Moscrip became friends with several Ballard players and says the loss still eats at them. "They still haven't gotten over it," he said with delight.
After high school: Moscrip played freshman basketball at the University of Washington and a year of varsity basketball at Hawaii. He completed his history degree at Washington, went to the University of Oregon School of Law, then became a stockbroker. "I invested in a restaurant [Ray's Boathouse] and the next thing you know, I'm in the restaurant business," he said. He opened the first Duke's in 1977 in Lower Queen Anne. There are now five Duke's Chowder Houses (Lake Union, Alki Beach, Green Lake, Kent Station and a recently opened one in Tacoma). There also is a Duke's Chowder Bar in downtown Seattle.
Personal: Moscrip has been divorced for many years and lives in Seattle. His son, John, is operations manager of the restaurant chain. John played golf and basketball at Bellevue High School and was on the UW golf team. Moscrip's daughter, Amy, is an author living with her husband in Sicily. She rowed two years at the UW. Moscrip's hobby is golf and he has a 6.9 handicap index. His home course is The Members Club at Aldarra.
Fast forward: Moscrip said he still enjoys the restaurant business, especially with his son working with him. The Moscrips want to add as many as 15 new restaurants to the chain. He said Duke's has an e-mail club with 65,000 members and claims it is the largest restaurant e-mail club in the nation.
Craig Smith
