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An overflow crowd was on hand last Friday to celebrate the relaunch of the Rexville Grocery as “The Rex.”

The Pleasant Ridge institution at the intersection of Best Road and Summers Drive is now owned by Wes and Rona Whiteaker and Chanan Spadaccini. The Whiteakers live just down the road. They are longtime patrons.

The Whiteakers look forward to maintaining favorite traditions while adding new elements to the mix. They will rely on Spadaccini, who has managed the Rexville for the last four years.

The popular Taco Tuesday will continue and the coffee urn will stay. Produce and meat will still be sourced from nearby farms like the Mesman Dairy on Chilberg Road, their supplier of organic beef for hamburgers, a new menu item. “When I’m out of patties, Alan Mesman is here in 15 minutes,” says Wes. “If you make a local product, I’ll try to stock it on the shelf.”

Customers can still admire the work of local artists while enjoying their meal. Shows have been scheduled through November 2020.

As for those new elements, one is cook Josh Pedroza, a nephew of Kim Pedroza, transportation supervisor for the LaConner school district.

On the drawing board are plans to enclose the outdoor pavilion for weddings and live music, perhaps filling the vacuum left by the recent closure of the Conway Muse. Wes says they’ll be teaming up with the Snow Goose and the Rexville Grange “to further both of our businesses.”

And the new name? “We just liked ‘the Rex’ because it sounds strong,” says Wes. “Danny Jensen tells us the Rex means ‘king’ or ‘power’.”

Jensen turned up for the party along with many other La Conner-area residents, including former Town councilmember and Rexville Grocery founder Stuart Welch.

“It was nice to hear that sound level,” Welch said of the party. When he and his wife Joyce purchased the old Edensward Grocery in 1999, “there were abandoned cars and old washing machines covered with blackberries in the woods, and the roof was leaking.”

When they opened that October as the Rexville Grocery – honoring the never-quite-established town of Rexville, platted along the river decades before – they aimed to attract tourists.

“We learned quickly to cater to the locals, which resulted in a community-oriented business that made us successful,” says Welch. Whether they were farmers starting the day around the coffee urn or folks stopping by for a beer after work, customers became friends. “For us, the grocery was a second home. Our daughter grew up there. We treasure those relationships.”

The Welches sold to Brian Dean in 2015. It sold again in October. After the three purchased the property and closed for a few days to clean, organize and paint, word got out. “Twenty five people came to help,” says Wes. “That was a fun night!”

There have been challenges. More than one piece of equipment was on its last legs. Replacements have included the oven, the beer and dessert cooler, and the ice machine. Like any 82-year old building, floorboards are rotting and the roof can leak.

Spadaccini knows the restaurant business, but it’s a new field for the Whiteakers. While they learn, they will keep their day jobs, Wes as an employee of B&R Distributors and Rona as a charge nurse at Island County Hospital. They also have the support of the Welches, who have been generous in sharing their expertise, especially on wine and cheese.

The first wine event is scheduled for December 7, but Wes isn’t sure whether it will be a tasting or a dinner.

“It’s different on the other side of the counter, but we’re gonna knock this out of the park,” he says. “The Rex is going to grow and change with what the people want.”