Death in the family

We’ll try to get through this without crying, but it’ll be tough. You know how, in the movies, when a family learns their loved one has disappeared, how they go through all those horrible, nervous phases of grief and dread? That’s what it’s been like for us at The Inlander since hearing, from several sources, that FERGUSON’S CAFÉ on Garland Avenue had closed. We put in calls, but received no answers.

Now comes the part of the movie where the family learns the loved one’s body was found by cadaver-sniffing dogs in a drainage ditch up near the old mine. There are two signs on the door, one from owners thanking customers for years of loyalty and another from the Washington Department of Revenue, revoking their license for unpaid taxes. Ferguson’s is officially closed.

In case this sounds in any way sarcastic, it’s not. On countless mornings, Ferguson’s was a homey comfort to Inlander staffers nursing hangovers (or not, but usually) and was a frequent reference point in the what-if scenarios we would draw up for the potential grandeur of the neighborhood (i.e., “Garland already has Ferguson’s, it just needs [fill in the blank]).

It will be sorely missed. — LUKE BAUMGARTEN

Ferguson’s Café was located at 804 W. Garland Ave., in case you want to place wreaths.