The History of The Dory Cove Retaurant at Roads End

The historic Dory Cove Restaurant in Lincoln City was destoryed by fire Wednesday night.

Ron Smith, Roy Johnson & Dave Johnson. Photo: DoryCove.com

(LINCOLN CITY) - In 1971, I decided to retire from the Air Force at the end of June the following year.

I had a total of twenty two years in the Military Service and the rank of Master Sergeant . Prior to retiring I supervised the hospital dining hall at Beale Air Force Base in California.

During that time I was approached by Dr. Neal a high ranking officer in the hospital. He asked me where I planned to live when I retired. I told him I had purchased a home and had a job to go to when I retired. He told me he was aware of me being from Oregon and wondered if I might like to operate a restaurant on the Oregon Coast in the Roads End area of Lincoln City.

He owned property in Roads End and had noticed a small grocery store was for sale. He found out they (the grocery store owners) had a restaurant license that they had gotten so that they could sell hamburgers and hot dogs to the new Roads End State Park visitors.

Living on the Oregon Coast was an answer to my dream of living in a place that I loved dearly and was a good family area. Although I had never operated or worked in a restaurant I felt that I had to give it a try! So I told Dr Neal that I was willing to give it my ultimate. There were three other Air Force officers involved with the purchase of the property. They did not stay with it due to being advised that it would not prove to be a lucrative investment. In the fall of 1972 we sold our home in California. By October of 1972 we made our move to the Oregon Coast, staying with the Neal's until we found a home of our own. I immediately went to work lining up contractors, equipment, licenses and accomplished all that was needed to make the change from a grocery store to a Restaurant / Grocery. I spent the next number of months doing all I could to be able to open by summer 1973.

I was told I should put the emphasis on Seafood and make sure there was Clam Chowder. I had never made Clam Chowder but I knew it was popular. Having made other types of Chowder I determined that I should follow the same method. The first pot I made was considered very good by those who tried it. I often said the Good Lord was smiling on me... We opened on a trial basis toward the end of June for 1 day. It was all the Johnson and Neal families (the kids were out of school for the summer) ready to do our best! Two of Dr. Neal's sons were fishermen during the summer and provided us with fresh salmon. The Neal's also had two daughters, a younger son and a friend ready to work in the restaurant. My three sons were also ready to work. On July 1st 1973 we officially opened the Road's End Dory Cove Restaurant. I can only say it was quite a experience. I was the cook, my wife Mary operated the Grocery Store and the rest waited tables, bussed and washed dishes

As time passed we found the Restaurant getting busier but the grocery store was not worth keeping open since the new Safeway had opened nearby so we put all of our energy into the restaurant and closed the grocery.. Bill and Rick Neal were Dr.. Neal's sons who kept us supplied with fresh Salmon. Once they caught a exceptionally large Salmon which I had them bring through the dining room, you should have heard the people that saw it!

When Fall arrived we had hired some local people to help us as most of our staff had to go back to school and we felt we were on our way! People were very complimentary and told us how much they enjoyed dining at the Dory Cove

In 1974 Pat and Ruth Irish as well as their children became part of our staff. The Irish family worked with us for quite some time and we enjoyed their family being aboard! In the beginning of 1978 we completely remodeled the interior of the restaurant, in addition to the remodel we added increased seating to over eighty seats!

In February of 1978 Ronald Smith and his family arrived from the British Isles, His wife Maria is my wife's niece. As Ron had extensive experience in the culinary trade, we were all very glad to have him and his family with us.

The Dory Cove has now been in operation for over thirty three years and is known all over the world for it's Clam Chowder and fresh seafood.

It has also been picked as one of the Northwest's best places to eat for several years in a row and Governor McCall frequented us often because he loved our burgers!

As the years have passed we have learned that one of the most pleasurable things in the Restaurant business is the People.

Not just the customers, but also our employee's , sales representatives, delivery people and the special people that keep us operating when there are breakdowns and repair requirements.

I would like to say that we had wonderful support from the community and have enjoyed having numerous high school students work for us every summer to put themselves through college.

After all this time I am thankful to all the people who have worked for us and with us in making our business a success!

I owe so much to my family and Dr. Neal's family for being there to operate the restaurant from the start.

Without them it would have been impossible to accomplish.

I am thankful that I have Ron and my son Dave to operate the business now as I sit back with fond memories.