Bonna Hanna and I have known one another for at least 35 years and yet, for whatever reason, we’ve never been especially close. One could say we’re casual acquaintances; that is, we always greet one another with a smile while passing through the colorful neon and multi-hued mirrors of one bar or another.

We first met during the coke-fueled days of disco when the Ad-lib, on the east hill of Kent, was the hottest place in the area. The disco scene was never popular in Enumclaw, but there were a few ladies, like Bonna, who carried the era’s fashion and attitude into the local clubs and, as best they could, introduced New Wave to a bunch of stale hippies in the Rainier and conservative businessmen in the Lee. There was a time when she and a girlfriend, whose name escapes me if, indeed, I ever knew it, climbed on top of the bar in the Mint and demonstrated a few modern dance steps to a Donna Summer tune on the jukebox. (Surely, you remember the late Donna Summer, don’t you?)   Given the 3-inch, wooden soles of her shoes, which were all the rage of the day, it’s a wonder Bonna didn’t twist an ankle or, far worse, fall head first onto the floor.

Following this little escapade, she bartended for a number of years in various local clubs. The customers liked her, she knew everyone and she mixed a damn good drink. Be that as it may, she decided to move on to other things and places.

Bonna disappeared for several years. (At least I didn’t see her.) Then, three years ago, she showed up in another local lounge and started bartending there.

And one night I happened to stumble into one of my favorite haunts and discovered her daughter, Heather, was bartending – which served as a blunt reminder that I wasn’t getting any younger. Heather has inherited many of her mother’s admirable traits, including her ability to blend all those off-the-wall concoctions, from a Cosmopolitan to Sex On the Beach, often without a moment’s hesitation.

So now, guess what? Mother and daughter have decided to open their own club. They’ve taken over the old 410 Café in Buckley.

With considerable help from friends like Steve Douglas, Jim Hall, Jim Crews, Vince Flores and others, they’ve remodeled the kitchen, updated the plumbing and gas lines, done a lot of painting and generally slapped the place into shape. They were wise enough to leave the physical decor of the lounge intact. (As you may recall, it’s a pleasant little place just the way it is.) Bonna has installed an Internet jukebox because, of course, the digital age has rendered the CD machines terribly obsolete, which seems to be the inevitable result of anything the digital age touches. There’ll also be a dart board, perhaps a video game or two, and a large-screen TV.

But let’s remember, this is a family restaurant, not a family gin mill. As such, it has a breakfast, lunch and dinner menu filled with many interesting selections. It will offer a different culinary special every day of the week.

Given the experience of both mother and daughter and given their large following of loyal customers, I suspect their business will be quite successful. By the time you read this, the place should be open or, if not, it surely will be in a few days. In one or two weeks, there’ll be an official, grand opening. See you there.