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friday May 25/12
What Surprise? | Carolyn Ossorio muses on life on the lake in a smallish home [7]
SIFF DIRECTOR | Matthew Lilllard spent an afternoon surrounded by Lindbergh students Reporter Newsline 425.255.3484 curious about acting craft [3]
A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
Still going? | Read about the spring athletes still competing in postseason action [17]
Construction begins on Rainier upgrades
Entrances to businesses along Rainier Avenue will be clearly marked during a twoyear, road-improvement project. dean a. radford, Renton Reporter
Construction is under way on Rainier Avenue between South Grady Way and South Second Street in Renton as part of the two-year, $42 million Rainier Avenue improvement project. Crews will remove trees and the median along Rainier Avenue to prepare for construction. Tree removal will occur nightly between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. weekdays for the next three to four weeks and some lane closures may be necessary. During normal business hours, driveway access to busi[ more Rainier page 11 ]
Renton’s Taco Time marks 50th Fourth generation of Tonkin family with deep roots in city now running iconic chain of Mexican restaurants.
Max Whitney of Renton was all smiles for his first overnight camp stay at Camp Eyabsut in North Bend. Submitted
Fundraiser to make sure Camp Eyabsut continues to help burn victims like Max
By DEAN A. RADFORD
By TRACEY COMPTON
dradford@rentonreporter.com
tcompton@rentonreporter.com
Everything on the Taco Time menu has the Tonkin family seal of approval. It’s been that way for 50 years, starting when the taco was pronounced “tayco” in Renton. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the family owned Taco Time Northwest, which has grown into an iconic chain of 73 Mexican restaurants that in the last 10 years has sold enough of its signature Mexi-Fries to circle the globe. “What a beautiful thought,” said Robby Tonkin, great-grandson of founder Frank Tonkin Sr., who opened his first Taco Time in 1962 in White Center. Today, Robby Tonkin and his cousin Chris Tonkin run Taco Time Northwest, the fourth generation of the Tonkin family to do so. Robby, 33, has a law degree from the University of Washington and Chris, 26, a business degree from the UW. Taco Time isn’t big on corporate titles, but when the big boss stops by a Taco Time for an inspection or a taco, it’s Robby or Chris or
Nine-year-old Max Whitney’s first overnight camp experience is still vivid in his mind, although it happened a year ago. The Renton boy’s favorite activities were swimming, archery and, of course, The Reptile Man, who brought his scaly friends. “I knew that the whole camp had something in common and I just felt like I could be myself and play around and goof off,” Max said. That commonality among the campers at Camp Eyabsut in North Bend was disfiguring scars each had as the result of burns they suffered. All of the 60 to 70 kids who have attended the camp every year for the past 24 years are burn survivors. But this year’s camp was unexpectedly canceled when its host and sponsor, the Northwest Burn Foundation, announced it was going to restructure the program this year. [ more CAMP page 11 ]
Cousins Chris Tonkin, left, and Robby Tonkin are the latest members of the Tonkin family to run Taco Time Northwest. Behind them at Taco Time’s headquarters on the Maple Valley Highway is a portrait of their great-grandfather, company founder Frank Tonkin Sr.. Dean a. radford, Renton Reporter both. They meet regularly with their grandfather, Frank Tonkin Jr., 79, who goes by Jim. He started out as a bus boy at Tonkin’s Cafe owned by his father on Third Avenue South at age 6, when he could barely carry a tray full of dirty dishes. “I came by it naturally, the restaurant
business,” he said. The Tonkin family has been in Renton for nearly 130 years, operating a general store downtown through the early decades of the 1900s, branching out to restaurants, a men’s clothing store and eventually, Taco Time. [ more Taco Time page 13 ]
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