Photo by jill russell
NANCY AND CHRIS GUZEK ARE OWNERS OF THE MILTON TAVERN.
For nearly 23 years, Chris and Nancy Guzek have shaped The Milton Tavern into a favorite gathering place among locals and visitors to Milton. The tavern serves up more than just drinks. It is well known for its large variety of pub grub items, which includes breakfast, served Saturday and Sundays from 8:30 a.m. until noon.
One fan favorite is the “Long Dog.” Inspired by the owners’ love of dachshunds, this rectangular shaped pizza comes with a variety of toppings and is presented on a similarly shaped pizza paddle or packed up into the restaurant’s easily recognizable box.
The Guzeks have made it their philosophy to think outside the box when it comes to running their business. Whether it was their decision to become a non-smoking establishment 14 years before smoking indoors became illegal or incorporating their love of dachshunds into a truly one-of-a-kind pizza experience, The Milton Tavern seeks to be a place where people can come together for friendly, low-key food and drinks.
Q: How did you get into the restaurant business?
Chris: I used to work for the Burger King Corporation a long time ago and I wanted to get into the restaurant business, but didn’t have the money. One of my managers who worked for me said ‘why don’t you go buy a tavern?’ I started looking around and they were all in pretty bad disrepair. Back then this was all trees, looked like it was out in the middle of nowhere. I thought it looked kind of neat.
Q: How many employees do you have?
Nancy: 14
Q: How many did you have when you first started?
Chris: It was me and my brother. So, it was just the three of us.
Q: What’s the best part about owning your own business?
Nancy: The customers.
Chris: We’ve met a lot of great people over the years.
Nancy: We’ve made some really great friends.
Chris: Being here 23 years, you see them as kids, grow up and have families.
Q: What are some challenges?
Chris: The alcohol/restaurant business has always been that whenever there’s a downturn, a Boeing strike or something, we’re the first ones who feel it. We usually know something is coming on. We’re usually the last ones out of it, because people have to catch up. Sales wise, it’s quite the roller coaster. It always has been.
Q: Why do customers come back to The Milton Tavern?
Nancy: Our customer base is really wide.
Chris: We draw from everywhere – Tacoma, Federal Way, East Tacoma.
Nancy: They know they are going to get a consistent, high-quality product. People are always taking food home, so they get a really great value. They know to expect it’s going to be the best.
Chris: We figured out a long time ago that if you’re in this business to sell alcohol, you’re probably not going to last very long. You really have to go after the food business. People actually seek us out to say it’s the best food they’ve ever had. It’s pretty neat.
The Milton Tavern (7320 Pacific Highway East in Milton) is open Monday-Wednesday 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m., Thursday-Saturday 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. (Fridays until midnight). The restaurant is available for families, parties, gatherings and catering services. For more information, call (253) 922-3340.
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