Kathy Manke, who over a nearly 50-year period shepherded two of Tacoma’s oldest bars, The Cloverleaf and The Spar Tavern, died earlier this month after a reported battle with cancer. She was 85.
“It is with great sadness that we share the passing of Kathy Manke — Mom, Sister, GG, Grandma, Friend and Mentor,” The Spar Tavern posted to Facebook and Instagram on Valentine’s Day. “After a long battle with cancer, she peacefully passed on February 13 with family by her side. There is not a person who has met her that didn’t love her. She had a positive impact on so many lives and will be greatly missed.”
A staff member who answered the phone Monday afternoon agreed that “everbody knew Kathy.” She still frequented the restaurant, especially for jazz and blues nights with local musicians.
Among the many comments and condolences on social media, locals and former Tacomans alike shared memories of meeting Manke at the Old Town bar, which operated as the Old Tacoma Saloon in the early 20th century before becoming a restaurant in the 1920s called The Spar.
“She was dedicated to making The Spar work,” wrote one, adding that he visited often in the 1990s. Another noted that Manke was among the first bar owners to institute a no-smoking rule — years before the state banned indoor smoking in 2005.
According to a 1993 review in The Seattle Times, in which the writer praised the charming space and the $5.95 fish and chips, Manke didn’t relegate the non-smokers to a corner. She moved the kitchen from the back to the front, which opened up the spacious back room for dining, so guests could catch views of Commencement Bay below. In fact, the big windows had been boarded up before she took over; she also had plaster removed from the walls to reveal the big wooden beams and the red turn-of-the-century brick that feel intrinsic to The Spar’s soul.
Manke purchased the somewhat run-down bar in 1988 with a friend, Suzanne Simchuk, who later departed the business. Taverns, she said, were “not just a place to get drunk.” They were gathering places, and under her stewardship, The Spar grew in size and stature, becoming a locals’ haunt (or Spar-flies, to those in the know) and a family-friendly hangout that remains in the family. In 2018, she sold it to her son Kris Manke and granddaughters Rena Manke and Adrielle Flinders, who continue to own and operate it today.
Manke, second from right, discusses an upcoming sea-to-ski, 50-mile relay race with her teammates, including Simchuk, second from right, at The Spar in 1994.
(Geff Hinds/The News Tribune Archives)
The Spar was not Manke’s first restaurant rodeo. She had previously owned and operated another Tacoma icon, The Cloverleaf, with her then-husband Lennard Manke. That experience, which lasted about a decade, taught her “the ins and outs of the business and the importance of being a good boss,” according to an obituary posted on the website of Gaffney Funeral Home. In a 1994 News Tribune article, her ex-husband told the reporter that The Cloverleaf was humming in no small part because of Manke.
She went on to manage Engine House No. 9 and saved enough money to buy The Spar with Simchuk.
Kathleen Griswold Manke was born Nov. 15, 1940 in Tacoma, the oldest of four children. Her mother suffered from tuberculosis and lived in a sanatorium for some of her early childhood, which “helped lay the foundation of Kathy’s keen ability to wade through difficult times with grace and dignity,” her obituary reads.
On top of the stress and rigor required to run a successful bar and restaurant, she was active in a local Rotary Club chapter, sponsoring several exchange students, and volunteered with the Job Carr Cabin Museum in Old Town.
The museum shared on Instagram last week that Manke had served on its first executive committee.
“We are so saddened to hear of the passing of Kathy Manke, long-time friend and volunteer of the cabin … Her passing will be greatly felt in the Old Town Tacoma community,” the post read.
An avid reader, sailor and traveler, Manke was known to gift books for almost every occasion and took to the waters around the world, including in Alaska, Chesapeake Bay and across the pond in Ireland. Her family took annual trips from their home in Fox Island to Roche Harbor on San Juan Island, according to her obituary, and often vacationed in Hawaii.
The Spar is considered to be among the oldest taverns in Tacoma. Manke revitalized it in the 1980s and ‘90s, restoring the brick building and opening up the back room to soak in the view. The family also operated a cafe in the adjoining space, now occupied by the sister-owned and operated Curran Coffee.
(Dean J. Koepfler/The News Tribune Archives)
Manke is survived by her two brothers, James and Michael Griswold; her children, Colleen Davis (Karl), Kris Manke (Colleen) and Tim Manke (Julie); six grandchildren, including Rena Manke and Flinders and 12 great-grandchildren.
St. Leo Catholic Church at 710 S. 13th St. in Tacoma will hold a funeral service at noon on Feb. 24. The Spar will open at 4 p.m. on Tuesday to accommodate the attendance of staff, friends and family.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations to the Rachel Lynn Henley Foundation, which supports pediatric cancer research and families dealing with sarcoma, a type of tissue cancer that comprises around 20% of all childhood cancer diagnoses, according to the Sarcoma Foundation of America.
