Adams Pine Creek to reopen Wednesday, 14 years after its debut
Happy anniversary, Adams Pine Creek.
Fourteen years to the day it welcomed its first customer, Adams Pine Creek Buffet & Catering will begin again. The business will reopen at 3 p.m. Wednesday at its new location, 875 W. Chestnut St., Washington, site of a longtime Eat’n Park.
It should be as joyous an event for the operators – spouses Charlene and Chuck Adams and Chuck’s brother, Wayne – as the day they started their culinary endeavor: May 8, 1999, at the former Lone Pine Elementary School.
“It must be an omen,” said Charlene, the owner.
The family had hoped to reopen last week, but late delivery of some cooking equipment forced a delay. A temporary sign will go up Tuesday, and a permanent sign next week, Charlene said.
Wednesday, coincidentally, is near another anniversary – a dismal one. A little more than a year ago – April 28, 2012 – a fire destroyed the red barn in Amwell Township that had been home to Adams Pine Creek since July 2001.
The Adamses decided to rebuild in a different area and eventually purchased the property on West Chestnut, including a large parking lot, from Eat’n Park for $425,000. They considered two other Washington sites, the former USA Steakhouse and Club 40.
The new building is a little larger than the barn, with about 5,000 square feet of space, but cannot be a replica of its previous facility because of the layout and design. The interior has been renovated to adapt to more of a country motif.
A vital cooking conversion also had to be made. The Adamses use gas; Eat’n Park used electricity.
This is a much different venue than the rural one in Amwell, 8.5 miles to the south. It is in a city with all public utilities, and near a larger population and three major arteries: Route 19 and Interstates 79 and 70.
Adams Pine Creek’s hours will be 3 to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. The restaurant will be closed Monday and Tuesday.