Published May 2004

Fire damages longtime Snohomish restaurant

By Diana Hefley
Herald Writer

Sondra McCutchan has been serving up comfort at The Cabbage Patch in Snohomish for nearly three decades.

Day after day the regulars stop in for a hearty breakfast, complete with buttery scones and scoops of fresh jam. Old friends catch up over thick, creamy slices of chocolate peanut butter pie. Steaming bowls of Cabbage Patch soup and hearty helpings of beef stroganoff draw people from all over.

“It’s almost like turning back the clock and seeing how people dined in Snohomish 100 years ago,” McCutchan said. “It’s so hard to believe it’s gone.”

A fire destroyed much of the historic restaurant April 8, leaving a hole in a town that finds comfort in its traditions and good home cooking.

“It’s definitely a landmark here,” Snohomish teacher Bobbi Ann George said outside the eatery. When George became engaged to her husband, the couple’s parents met for the first time over dinner at the restaurant.

The Cabbage Patch, with its Victorian charm and cozy fireplace, has been the setting for hundreds of birthdays, wedding anniversaries and late-evening dates between sweethearts.

“If you’ve been to Snohomish, you’ve probably been to The Cabbage Patch,” said John Hinchcliffe, Snohomish Fire and Rescue battalion chief.

Since 1978, McCutchan has honed family recipes for mouthwatering desserts and “comfort food” to create a place that isn’t easily forgotten. Thankfully, those recipes survived the two-alarm fire, McCutchan said.

A passerby spotted smoke rolling out of the 1905 building just after 11:30 p.m. The blaze had started in the lounge upstairs and likely was caused by an electrical problem, Deputy Fire Marshal Bruce Pulver said.

The old building didn’t have sprinklers and challenged firefighters because of the space between the first-floor ceiling and second-story floor, Hinchcliffe said. About 30 firefighters were able to keep the blaze from spreading to a business about a dozen feet away and had the blaze under control in less than a half-hour.

When it was all over, the upstairs had been gutted and part of the floor had collapsed into the main dining room below. The first floor was severely damaged by water and smoke, and the loss was estimated at $400,000, Pulver said.

McCutchan had insurance. She said The Cabbage Patch and all its comforts eventually will be back.

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