At the suggestion of their daughter, Joe and Rosemarie Anderson of Edgewood decided to try out Berryland Café in downtown Sumner a year ago. They haven’t looked back.
The Andersons visit the Berryland Café like clockwork on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings for breakfast.
“They have the best waitresses in town,” Joe said. “They have great food, great conversation and wonderful people.”
Joe said the oatmeal is the best he’s ever had.
“It’s a happy place,” Rosemarie said.
The Andersons’ daughter, Holly Barlow of Lake Tapps, said what’s nice about the café is its half-order menu options on favorite breakfast and lunch items.
“And their quick service is great,” Joe added.
Owners Lola and Nolan Burslie pride themselves on quick, attentive service, and their staff members get to know customers by name.
“We’re dedicated people,” Nolan said. “We stick with it. Berryland is about helping customers. Without our customers, we wouldn’t be here. It doesn’t matter if they’re here to get a glass of water, coffee, it’s all about belonging. Here, you’re greeted by name.”
Inside the restaurant, tables are close together. About 53 people are comfortably seated, and turnover is high.
“It’s like a little hub,” Nolan said. “When we get really full, people find seats together. They don’t know each other, but that’s all right.”
The other magnet is the varieties of rhubarb pie. The rhubarb is grown in the Sumner Valley.
“I like the pies to be fresh, so I like to bake them in the evening or the morning,” Lola said.
Last July, Lola said Berryland Café garnered enormous success during Sumner’s inaugural Rhubarb Festival. The restaurant sold more than 200 rhubarb pies.
She and Nolan said they aim to be better prepared this summer.
“It’s good to call in advance for pies,” Lola said.
The Burslies purchased the restaurant on Feb. 15, 1999, and retained the existing name from the previous owner. Previously, the vintage building was occupied by the Anderson Inn, Ma’s Café and Archie’s Café. In 1949, the building changed from the Sumner State Bank to Corbin’s Café.
Throughout its many incarnations, the building has celebrated its folksy charm.
In addition to pies, the café is well-known for its signature hamburgers and fries and its hobo breakfast scramble and SOS, which is hamburger gravy atop flaky biscuits and hash browns.
Also distinguishable on the storefront is an outside mural that helps to promote neighboring businesses and posts up-to-date events in downtown Sumner.
Artistic Solutions designed the mural, which includes pictures of rhubarb and a portrait of Nolan and Lola Burslie.
“It’s not all just about Berryland,” Nolan said. “It’s about helping our neighbors. Without them, we’d be nothing. It’s all hand-in-hand.”
Reach reporter Andrew Fickes at 253-841-2481 Ext. 313 or email at andrew.fickes@puyallupherald.com.
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