The Oyster Bar

About the Business

Specialties

Since 1987, The Oyster Bar has been owned and operated by Guy and Linda Colbert, formerly of Newport Beach, California. Both have owned and/or managed many restaurants such as the Fish Hooker, the Warehouse, and most recently Steinbecks Creative Cuisine on Balboa Island. The Oyster Bar has become a premier dining destination spot. The spectacular views of the San Juan Islands are the perfect backdrop for the stunning dishes served at candlelit tables. The wine cellar consistently wins the Best of Award of Excellence from the Wine Spectator and provides a wonderful array of choices for wine lovers from around the world. The restaurant was renovated in 2000 and now has a wonderful lodge flavor that fits perfectly with the surrounding water, fir trees and wildlife. We hope that you'll visit us soon and become part of The Oyster Bar story.

History

Established in 1946.

The Oyster Bar on Chuckanut Drive had it's earliest beginnings in the 1920's when E. N. Steele and J.C. Barnes formed the Rockpoint Oyster Company on Samish Bay. During the Great Depression when the market for shelled oysters was down they built a shack on Chuckanut Drive for their plant manager, Zenzabaro Maekawa, to sell oysters to travellers on Washington State's first scenic highway, Chuckanut Drive. The little stand prospered and soon was enclosed, a lunch counter was added and the Rockpoint Oyster Restaurant was born. The Maekawa family was interned during World War II and the restaurant sat empty from 1942-1946. In 1946 Otto Amos bought the restaurant and his wife renamed it The Oyster Bar. The menu at that time included only deep-fried oysters and a ham dish. In 1954 Blanche and William Reinstra bought the restaurant. They made major renovations and expanded the menu to include prawns, scallops, fish & chips, and clam chowder.