The Bair at The Bair Drug & Hardware — Restaurant in Steilacoom

I was incredibly disappointed this morning with my experience here. Although ive been in a couple times in the past and received slow service, I'd wrote it off as just something to expect when eating out during busy brunch hours. I now know that isn't the case with this particular place. They just flat out are terrible to customers. This morning I came in and waited at the counter area to be sat by a server. There was one two top table that had a couple finishing up their meal, and a guy in his late 20's sitting at the counter top. There was an older woman that clearly worked there, chatting up the guy at the counter for a good 5+ minutes before even bothering to shout at me "do you need something? " Me-- "Uh ya, a table. Are you guys not open? " Her-- (visibly irritated ive interrupted her meaningful conversation with the young man at the counter top) "Oh. Ok. (insert bussers name) go get (insert servers name). And turns back to the guy and continues to cackle and flirt, rather than do her job. Busser meanders back in, looking lost, and informs waste of space Nancy, that the server is in the bathroom. She looks at me and says its going to be a while, and once again returns to making eyes at counter top boy. Mind you, she's shouting at me from literally across the entire restaurant. Didnt even make an effort to close some distance by moving her legs in my direction to speak to me like a potentially paying customer. In total, I spent about 15 minutes being ignored, and wasting my time standing there watch an employee that should have been equally acknowledging customers, resting her front butt over the counter to mack on a guy. It was outrageous. I may sound like a harsh critic, but this was the reality folks, and you would have been just as baffled as I was. Needless to say, I left after I realized receiving decent service here wasn't going to be within the realm of possibilities. Save yourself the disappointment, try Topside, Steilacoom Pub, Espresso at The Bay (where I ended up) or something else.

Also, if you notice the dates on the "good" ratings on this place, they are not recent whatsoever. And the top complaint by other customers is bad/ slow service... Just food...

We sat down outside around 1140 this morning to enjoy lunch. After flagging down a waitress we finally got menus and she took our order. It was clear the waitress was not familiar with the drink list or the menu items since she had to keep looking at the menu to ask us what we were ordering.

45 minutes later, we still have no food, and we overhear the waitress asking the table next to us what bread they want with their grilled cheese. They had ordered before us....So I got her attention and said, you probably need to know what bread we want to right? Yes, ok, fine. I figured our meal would come shortly.

Another 20 minutes later a guy came or and asked me how I wanted my burger cooked.....So over an hour after we had ordered, they hadn't even started to cook our three person meal. We told him to cancel the order since it was taking so long and they hadn't even started. It was now 1245 and our two year old was melting down and starving. His response was "Ok, great!" As if we were bothering him even wanting to eat there. Looking online it appears the man we were talking to was one of the owners, WOW!! I worked in the restaurant industry at a family owned bistro in Tacoma for 6 yrs and I'm shocked that an owner would treat customers and a situation like this. It speaks volumes about how little they value their customers and the service they are providing when they let customers leave with such a bad taste in their mouth, no apology, no attempt at rectifying, nothing.

Needless to say we will...

Warren L Bair (1852-1930) was born in Ohio. He spent 12 years homesteading, 3 years working as a cowboy and 3 years running a hardware store in Kansas (1872-1890) before coming to the town of Steilacoom in 1890. By 1891, he built his first drug store on Commercial Street. In 1895, Bair moved his drug store to the terminus of the new Steilacoom-Tacoma Streetcar on Lafayette Street, its current location.

During this building's history, it has served as a pharmacy (1895), a post office (postmaster from 1893 to 1897), a hardware store and a soda fountain (1906).

WL Bair installed Steilacoom's first water system in his store, extending it out into the community. He also established the first phone system in Steilacoom until he sold the business to the Bell Telephone Company.

His daughter Eudocia Bair Leach and her husband William Leach (Steilacoom postmaster) ran the post office here for years.

In 1973, the store was donated to the Steilacoom Historical Museum Association (SHMA) by Godfrey Bair and Eudocia Bair Leach, the Bair’s two children.

Restored in 1976, SHMA's "living museum" contains many original contents on display. Also, the building contains a leased restaurant, The...