Smith Bros. to serve its last cup of joe

Smith Bros. Coffee House will serve its last cup of joe on Monday, Sept. 6.

The announcement was made Wednesday by Duluth Trading Co., which will repurpose the coffeehouse space into an expanded retail experience that will open next year, company officials said.

“We are still finalizing plans for the space,” Dave O’Brien, senior director of retail store operations, said, adding the decision to close was difficult.

“We want to honor and do right by our loyal customers as well as our current Smith Bros. employees,” he said.

The company will have continued employment options for the coffeehouse workers and will honor gift cards either at Duluth Trading Co.  or with refunds, O’Brien said.

The coffeehouse, which has been a staple of life in Port Washington for more than 15 years, is one of the last vestiges of the Smith family in downtown.

But O’Brien said the Smith Bros. name and legacy will continue to be part of the Duluth Trading Co.’s Port Washington store.

“We’ve been proud to carry the Smith Bros. banner as part of our Franklin Street store and will continue to honor their legacy — keeping the iconic neon sign brightly lit,” the company said in an advertisement in this week’s Ozaukee Press.

That sign has been a part of downtown Port for decades, as has Smith Bros.

Smith Bros. restaurant began in 1924 in an old harness shop after days of sustained rain washed away the fish shanties lining the west slip.

Evelyn Smith installed a fryer in the building and began cooking fish to sell — including the fried fish sandwich suggested by a customer who wanted something easy to eat during a skat tournament.

The restaurant grew through the years, both in space and in popularity, becoming a destination for both residents and tourists, who came to the city by the busload to enjoy a meal there.

After the restaurant was destroyed by fire in 1953, the Smith family rebuilt it, expanding the structure again in 1982.

The Smith family sold the restaurant to Joe DeRosa in 1988, and he sold it to the Goldammer family in 1997. They renovated the building after a fire in 2001 and sold it to Lighthouse Development in 2005.

The company renovated the building and in 2011 Franklin Energy moved to the second floor. A year later, Duluth Trading Co. opened its doors, and the company ultimately purchased the building.