COUPEVILLE – At first glance, Toby’s Tavern might not be the first place a newcomer would pop into on a stroll along Coupeville’s charming Front Street along Penn Cove.
It isn’t painted in pastels, doesn’t have a cutesy name, and there are no arts or crafts for sale.
But those who step inside the rustic tavern are in for a real treat where there’s no shortage of things to drink, eat and look at.
Toby’s is the perfect excuse, if one is needed, for a day trip to Whidbey Island.
The variety of memorabilia on the walls – where you can see things such as a box of “Flutie Flakes,” deer antlers and parrots – is as fascinating as the place’s history.
It opened as a beer parlor after Prohibition, but the tavern’s cornerstone arrived in 1943.
The back bar was sailed around the horn in the late 1800s and used in the officers’ clubs at Fort Warden and Fort Casey before settling at the Central Hotel across the street from where Toby’s now stands.
When a fire ravaged the hotel, the bar, which was spared in the blaze, was moved across the street for storage and hasn’t moved since – much to the delight of locals and tourists.
Majority owner John Rodriguey bought the place from “Toby” in 1989 and found no need for big changes, manager and co-owner Gary Sims said.
“He wanted to keep the ambiance the same,” Sims said. “If it ain’t broke… .”
Stepping inside the narrow, wood-paneled spot, there’s a familiar feel where islanders and mainlanders are treated with warm smiles.
Guests can choose to sit at tables, including two cushy corner booths next to windows overlooking the cove – or pull up a stool under the decorative parrots at the bar.
There’s little rhyme or reason to the decor, which includes dozens of baseball caps stacked on antler racks.
“Those have been left by customers,” Sims said, “most of them unintentionally.”
A stuffed bison head above the entrance to the restrooms “was shot by a guy who ended up moving and couldn’t take it with him,” Sims said.
“And we’ve got the canoe up there because we’re the only building in town long enough to store it,” he said of a five-man rowing shell that’s suspended from the ceiling and has been raced all over the world. George Pocock is said to have built it for the University of Washington crew in the early 1950s.
A solid beer selection flows from 11 taps. One is dedicated to Budweiser, another to Guinness, and the rest offer microbrew faves such as Fat Tire, Red Hook, Alaskan Amber and Pyramid.
The standout must-try is Toby’s Parrot Head Ale, which is brewed at the Rockfish Grill in Anacortes especially for the tavern.
There’s a small wine selection, as well, but the beer is the draw that fills the glasses. The mussels and fish and chips are the favorites on plates.
The fare pulls visitors in from far and wide in the summer, but the bar’s true testament is that the locals remain when everyone else has gone home, Sims said.
“They’re the ones that keep the lights on in the winter.”
Reporter Victor Balta: 425-339-3455 or vbalta@heraldnet.com.
Michael V. Martina / The Herald
ABOVE: Toby’s Tavern is a landmark in Coupeville, being enjoyed here by Rebecca Haller, Chuck Swanson, Bill Fisher and Mike Spengler.
LEFT: Kelley Bugg (left) and Jessica Blindauer join in the laughs as they dispense drinks at Toby’s.
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