The History of Greystone Restaurant
Greystone is situated in the heart of Yakima's Historic Front Street District, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. We occupy the ground floor of the Lund Building, which was erected on this site in 1899. Pictures of the area show the Lund Building on the corner of the busiest street in Yakima circa 1907 when a trolley system was built using the Union pacific Railroad terminal as it's starting point and extending out into the West Valley and Wiley City areas. The terminus of the system was located one block from the Lund building. The trolley was built to help transport workers to the apple orchards from the large apartment and boarding houses in downtown Yakima at that time. In return, the trolley and rail system transported apples back to the warehouses located along the Union Pacific Railroad siding in downtown Yakima. This area was referred to as Fruit Row. In the early part of the 1900's, Front Street was the center of Yakima, and this area was quite busy with the rapidly expanding apple industry.
There has been a restaurant or saloon located in the Lund building as far back as can be verified. The first known name of a saloon in the Lund building was the Alfalfa Saloon, which had been in existence for some time in 1933. The City Hall, Opera House and Theater were located on Front Street just a block away from the Lund building, It is likely that the Alfalfa was in business from that time forward. In the late 1950's, the saloon began to fail and eventually closed in the late 1960's, although the boarding house above the saloon continued to operate.
In the mid 1970's, the saloon area was modernized and the Onion Field Restaurant opened. This ventured faltered in the early 1980's, and in 1983, the Greystone Restaurant was opened by proprietors Nancy Beveridge and Gayla Games, who operated the venture until Greystone Venture LLC purchased the operation in 2002.
Current owners Mark and Lori Strosahl have continued the traditions of simple elegance and great food that the Greystone became famous for under the guidance of Ms Beveridge and Ms.Games. The kitchen areas have been modernized, and the interior of the restaurant has been restored to be in keeping with the Historic District Preservation Project, which has transformed the Front Street Historic District into an area of beauty and historic interest.
We hope you enjoy your visit!