Sad news from Tacoma’s Sixth Avenue as beloved breakfast spot will close permanently

Old Milwaukee Cafe, a small neighborhood diner located on Tacoma’s Sixth Avenue since 1997, has closed permanently, the owners announced in a Facebook post Tuesday morning.

“These past two-plus years you have shown us so much love, patience, and understanding,” wrote owners Pat and Chad Kerth, who will retire — selling the property and the business, they said.

“We have watched people come and go. Children grow into adults. People celebrate special events. People get married. People having children. People becoming a part of our ‘family’. So many memories. So many people who have made this more than a business. We love you and wish we could tell you all in person.”

They pointed not so much to the pandemic but to “continued medical issues,” writing that Chad has been hospitalized twice in recent weeks.

An outpouring of support followed on social media, with fans recalling fond memories of comforting food but perhaps more so the owners’ warm demeanor and gracious hospitality.

The Kerths were always there — Chad in the kitchen and Pat up front.

The restaurant had been quiet since March 19, 2020, when the Kerths, both in their late 60s, deemed it safest to isolate from the growing pandemic.

“See you when we get back to ‘normal,’” they wrote that day, as restaurants statewide turned to takeout.

The timing could not have been worse.

Old Milwaukee Cafe had only just reopened a week prior from a nine-month hiatus after Chad Kerth, the one and only cook, was injured in May 2019. By late winter 2020, he had recuperated and felt ready to return to the kitchen, while Pat got back to serving.

She told The News Tribune at the time that hours would be limited as they eased back into working on their feet for long hours.

They posted occasionally to Facebook, saying in August 2020 that they would not reopen the restaurant until Phase 4 — otherwise known as the end-game of the state’s pandemic plan, which has since changed.

“We do not wish to take any chances,” they said. “These are crazy times and we both appreciate, more than you know, your kind patience and understanding.”

Earlier this year, when Tacoma icon Kristopher Brannon — locally famous as “The Sonics Guy” — passed away, they shared a photo of him enjoying an Old Milwaukee experience.

The Kerths have worked in the restaurant industry since 1977. They opened their first food business together in 1992: a sandwich shop at Freighthouse Square. The following year, they expanded to another stall with Old Milwaukee Baking Co. The name lived on, as they opened the full-service Old Milwaukee Cafe on South Tacoma Way in 1995, moving to 3102 6th Ave. in 1997.

On the Cedar Street corner, the cafe and the modest purple house behind it are now towered by Sixth & Alder, a six-story mixed-use building anchored by Trapper’s Sushi on the ground floor.

The Kerths did not immediately return a request for additional comment on the closure.

This story was originally published August 3, 2021 at 11:00 AM.