HistoryLink Tours

7330 NE Bothell Way

The Schnitzelbank building was constructed in 1926 to house the Chili Bowl Café. The building was often vacant during the mid-1930s Depression years. In the 1940s the building became the Wishbone Inn, specializing in chicken meals. It was followed by Thom-Wal’s Café in the 1950s. In 1961 the property was purchased by Bob and Hildegard McKisson, and Hildegard’s mother, Elizabeth “Oma” Poessinger. They changed it to a Bavarian-style restaurant with appropriate architecture, renaming it The Schnitzelbank, the German word for an old-fashioned wood-carving bench. Hand-carved window boxes adorned the front of the building and overflowed each year with bright flowers. German food and entertainment were featured, and the restaurant became a popular attraction to people from the Seattle area. In the late 1970s, a second story was added to the building. The McKissons retired in 1994. Since 2000, the structure has housed a gift shop, and later a toy shop, with other businesses upstairs.

Return to the intersection of 73rd Avenue NE and NE Bothell Way. Cross NE Bothell Way, and proceed south to NE 175th Street.