Walter Clark, 93, Longtime Leader Of Seattle Restaurant Industry

Walter Clark, one of the giants of Seattle's restaurant industry for 40 years, died Wednesday in a nursing home after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 93.

The Grandhaven, Mich., native, who once presided over an empire that included 22 restaurants in Seattle, Portland, Tacoma and Yakima, received just about every honor the city and the restaurant industry could bestow.

In 1946-47, he served as president of the National Restaurant Association, the industry's highest accolade.

In 1955, he was named ``Man of the Year'' by the Washington State Restaurant Association and nominated to the American Restaurant Magazine's Hall of Fame. The following year, the Institutional Food Manufacturers of America named him ``Restaurant Man of the Year.''

Clark presided over the 1961 Seafair celebration as King Neptune XII.

It was almost impossible to go out to breakfast, lunch or dinner in the Seattle area for four decades and not, at some time, wind up at a Clark's restaurant.

In addition, he had the concessions on the Washington State Ferries for 32 years.

Clark's family moved to Portland when he was a youngster. At age 19, he got his first restaurant job, as a clerk and coffee roaster for Manning's cafeterias in Portland. After serving with the Army in France in World War I, he returned to Manning's and soon was promoted to restaurant manager.

Manning's sent young Clark to Seattle to open a new cafeteria, and his career progressed rapidly as he opened a string of Manning's cafeterias on the West Coast.

After the stock-market crash of '29, Clark went to work for Adolph Schmidt, an Olympia brewer, who was building the Puget Sound Hotel Co. chain that eventually evolved into Westin Hotels. But Clark wanted to work for himself, and in 1930 he bought his first restaurant - Marie's Barbecue, in the University District.

A year later, Clark added the White Spot on 45th Street, in the University District, renaming it the Top Notch. Clark's chain grew rapidly until it included restaurants in various Northwest cities.

Among the best known here: The Salad Bowl, The Red Carpet, Village Chef, Round the Clock, Twin Teepees, Little Chef, The Crabapple, Clark's Northgate, Minute Chef, Clark's Corner, two Windjammers, Dublin House, Big Top and Plaza 5.

Among Clark's favorites were Dublin House, which had an Irish theme, and the Red Carpet.

For Dublin House, he took an architect to Ireland for two weeks, attended a cooking school in Dublin and scoured the town for antiques.

Clark acquired the Purple Pup Restaurant, in the Medical-Dental Building, in 1933. He renamed it the Coffee Tavern, then changed it to Clark's Fifth Avenue in the early '50s. After the installation of its first red carpet in 1955, he gave it its final name: The Red Carpet.

The Red Carpet flourished for years, featuring noted entertainers. It was patronized by those who attended downtown theaters and shopped at nearby Frederick & Nelson.

When Clark sold Seattle's largest restaurant chain to the Campbell Soup Co. in 1970 (for an estimated $4.9 million), The Red Carpet was included in the purchase. But, as Clark said later, ``they sent a bunch of soup men to run the restaurant and they didn't do a very good job.''

Thus, the Clark family bought back its favorite, and Clark's son, Eugene, became the manager. A sales agreement prevented the family from using the name ``Clark'' on the restaurant, so the shield-shaped sign out front bore the name ``Gene's Red Carpet Restaurant.'' When Eugene died, his son, Dave, took over. The restaurant finally was closed in December 1983.

Clark was noted for serving good food at an affordable price. In the 1940s, he stuck with 5-cent coffee long after many competitors raised the price. He put on a $1.50 Thanksgiving dinner in 1942 and had customers standing in line.

``We didn't make much money on each customer, but we sure had a lot of customers,'' Clark once recalled.

Clark and Victor Rosellini often were credited with elevating the level of Seattle's restaurants in the post-World War II years. In order to compete with two master restaurateurs, the rest of the city's restaurant owners had to improve or see all the business go elsewhere.

Rosellini once referred to Clark as ``the father of the restaurant industry in Seattle.''

Another who revered Clark was white-goateed Col. Harlan Sanders (Kentucky fried chicken), who owned two restaurants in resort areas of Kentucky and North Carolina in 1942 when World War II food-rationing put a crimp in his business.

Clark knew Sanders, because both were on the board of the National Restaurant Association. So he offered his friend Sanders a job in Seattle, where business was booming.

Sanders loaded a touring car with waitresses and nephews and came west. Clark put him to work managing the Twin Teepees, out on Aurora near Green Lake. The Colonel stayed for about a year. He had not yet developed his fried-chicken recipe, but did introduce a Brunswick stew that Clark said was very tasty.

At a banquet honoring Clark here some years ago, Sanders showed up to talk about his old friend.

``You can quote me,'' Sanders said. ``Walter Clark not only is the man of the hour but a man of all time.''

Upon learning of Clark's death this week, Jack Gordon, executive vice president of the state Restaurant Association, said, ``He was a great leader in the industry.''

Clark's widow, Jeannie, said that although her husband suffered from Alzheimer's the last eight years, he recognized her up to the last three days.

``He was always cheerful,'' she said, ``seemingly unaware that he was sick, even though he spent almost three years in bed. When nurses said, `Can I get you something?' he'd always reply, `Just a few kind words.' And if anybody said, `Good-bye, Walter,' he'd always reply, `Don't say good-bye, just say so long.' That's the way to remember him.''

Clark was twice president of the Washington State Restaurant Association, a past president of the Washington Association of Class H Licensees, the Washington Athletic Club and the 101 Club, and a former trustee of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, the Central Association of Seattle and Greater Seattle, Inc. He was a longtime member of the Rotary Club of Seattle.

Besides his wife, Clark is survived by three sons, Walter Jr. and Mark, both of Bellevue, and R. Michael of Seattle; two daughters, Mary Clark Crabtree of Bellevue and Laurie Clark Haracz of Seattle, and 11 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

There will be a memorial service at 2 p.m. Friday, in St. Mark's Cathedral.