Roake's

It all began with a dream. In 1937, Roy Dowell wanted to build a number of little trailers and put them throughout Oregon and Washington, but his dream of a chain of little diners had one problem. Roy had no money! However, Roy was able to work out a “deal” with Carlton Lumber Company in which Carlton would furnish Dowell the materials and Dowell would build the trailers. As they were sold, Dowell would pay back Carlton for the cost of the materials. Carlton Lumber was located in NE Portland where the Memorial Coliseum sits today. Roy actually built the trailers in the back of that lumber yard. Eventually, 13 trailers were built and moved to locations such as Barlow, Hubbard, Dee Lake and Tenino, Washington. The price for a fully furnished unit was somewhere between $1500-$2000, which included not only the dog cooker and toaster, but a galvanized sink that quickly rusted out and was the source of many complaints from the buyers of these unique trailers Charles Dowd was the original purchaser of the McLouglin Blvd trailer. The exact date of his purchase is unknown, but was sometime between 1937 to 1939. Transporting the trailer from NE Portland down Super 99 (McLoughlin Blvd.) required a permit from the State Highway Division. The State Highway Division dragged its feet in issuing the permit, so Dowell took a friend’s advice and moved the trailer down the highway at night. The trailer was functioning and included an axle and wheels. Once in place, the restaurant was named Jiffy Way Lunch. At that time, it was the first restaurant to be located on that stretch of the “New” Super 99 Highway between Portland and Oregon City. Though customers claim to have been eating at the restaurant since 1932, Charles Dowd actually opened for business in 1938. He operated the business for only a few short months before he sold the small drive-in to Ed Berdine and his wife, Hazel. Ed Berdine was 5’5” tall and a workaholic that loved his customers as much as they loved him. As long as there were customers, the place would be open! Ed, his wife and their two daughters, Lorraine and Audrey, lived in the small trailer that sat next to the drive-in. When World War II broke out, food supplies became erratic and scarce. Running a restaurant at that time proved to be difficult. So in 1942, Ed shut down the restaurant, moved to California and went to work for Douglas Aircraft. However, him and his family returned to Oregon in 1943 to reopen the drive-in.