In the heart of downtown Anchorage, Dianne and David Tydings are the memory keepers of a unique part of Alaska's history. Over a span of 25 years they've tended to soup cooked in giant steam kettles and loaves of bread in the kitchen of their ground floor eatery, Dianne's Restaurant, housed in the Robert B. Atwood Building, Anchorage office of administration after administration of hungry Alaska governors.
As the Tydings recall, Gov. Tony Knowles was a loyal chowder man. Gov. Frank Murkowski always sent someone to go through the food line for him and used the time saved to visit with people in the restaurant. Veggie trays and salads were Gov. Sarah Palin's go-to meal. Gov. Sean Parnell had a habit of a half turkey sandwich with no mayo.
But on Friday, February 27, the restaurant that has nourished growling bellies from the neediest of Alaskans to the most influential will close its doors.
"It's been a great run," David Tydings said during a recent interview over coffee at a corner table. That day the restaurant was featuring northern chili, farmer's vegetable soup, a shrimp and grits special garnished with fresh chives and plenty of freshly made whole-wheat honey bread.
Through the giant, nearly floor-to-ceiling windows, diners have a view of the F Street block's courtyard and state parking garage across the street, which also houses the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Permanent Fund Dividend office between Seventh and Eighth streets.
In years past, teams competing in the Fur Rendezvous sled dog races would whiz past as the restaurant hosted a big chili feed, with folks like then Anchorage Mayor Rick Mystrom and notable artists working the food line.
Dianne's has also had a long history of service, working with Bean's Café, which serves the homeless, and Covenant House, which serves homeless teens. Over the years they've donated daily leftovers to both agencies.
"If you can't sell it you've got to share it. That's just what you do; you take care of people," Dianne Tydings said.
"They've been a huge asset to the building and they are going to be very, very missed," said Tanci Mintz, State Leasing and Facilities Manager.
Back when Dianne's first opened, before the state owned the building, Alaska's current Governor, Bill Walker, operated a law office in the building with his wife, along with other private tenants -- an art gallery, a bank, other attorneys, a beauty salon.
Now first lady Donna Walker said she "almost always got the soup of the day and homemade rolls," while "Bill loved the hearty sandwiches on homemade bread."
When the state purchased the building in 1997, it agreed to honor existing leases, which Dianne's had. Nearly 20 years later, it is the sole remaining private tenant, and will be the last. Under the private lease terms, the state was required at the five-year lease renewal in December to seek a fair market value for the next five-year term. But with the Tydings turning their last lease option down, the space will now go to a state entity.
"We've always wanted some type of food place here. We definitely need something," Mintz said. It's now up to the Alaska Department of Labor and its Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, which creates opportunities for disabled Alaskans, to figure out what goes in next. The division operates a small snack bar in the basement of the Boney courthouse, and something similar could go into the Atwood building. Research is underway to find out what scale of establishment the division of vocational rehabilitation could manage there, Mintz said.
It might be just the break 31-year-old Lily Johnson, a longtime employee of the Tyding's, needs. She got a job in the restaurant in 2002, when she was 19, and has leant a hand ever since as a busser, stocker, dessert packer and mail and errand runner, among other jobs.
She's matured a lot in her 12 years at the restaurant, and the Tydings are like family, said Johnson, who has a learning disability.
"I've grown a lot. I was really shy at first. Working here helped with my confidence, helped me break out of my shell," she said.
Dianne Tydings remembers when Johnson first started the young woman would barely make eye contact. Now, she knows just about everybody in the building and has done well enough to co-own a house with her sister.
Johnson cried when she learned the restaurant was closing, but has set her sights on the next thing. She'd like to volunteer at the library. Or maybe find a laundry job. She think she'd like that, since it'd be more active. She's working with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation to see what they can come up with for her.
For the Tydings, saying goodbye to the restaurant is bittersweet.
But while Dianne's is shutting down its dine-in, sit-down restaurant, it is in no way disappearing altogether. They may no longer be able to offer a gathering place, but that doesn't mean they won't be dishing up their trademark comfort food for gatherings.
Where before the Tydings ran both the restaurant and a catering operation, now they'll focus on strengthening the catering arm of their business, something David Tydings calls "right sizing" the business.
Two years ago they rebranded and started growing the catering operation, which had already serviced numerous conferences and events in the Atwood building and elsewhere. Now, the Tydings are singularly focused on Dianne's Wild Fork Catering.
They're moving the operation to a kitchen in Spenard, located near the DMV building just off of Benson Boulevard.
March is the month they'll transition between locations, but Dianne is adamant that they're "not going to stop catering even for one day."
"We've built friendships and relationships with people, and that's the sad part. That's hard part. Before we even made it public I started looking at some of the guests that come in and I'd go 'Well there's someone I'm going to miss.' We'll see them in the community I'm sure…but we won't be the gathering place," said Dianne Tydings.
"There's definitely going to be a void. But it's another chapter in the book," added David Tydings.