History of Bob's Java Jive
By Curt Cunningham

In 1927, Otis G. Button purchased some property along the Pacific Highway in Tacoma. He wanted to start a roadside diner and following the advice of his neighbor Bert Symser, he built a quirky structure that resembled a large coffee pot. The coffee pot restaurant is 26 feet high and 30 feet in diameter. Button called it the Coffee Pot Restaurant. The diner opened its doors in 1930 and served coffee, doughnuts and low budget breakfast meals known as blue plate specials.

During prohibition the restaurant became a speakeasy and by the end of the 1930's it became a roadhouse. During the 1940's, a dance floor was built and big bands played there. From the mid 1930's to the mid 1950's, the restaurant would change hands a few times but would remain a restaurant and nightclub.

In 1955, Bob and Lylabell Radonich bought the place and turned the old cafe into a music club for local artists and remodeled the interior with a Polynesian theme. Lylabell came up with the name, "Java Jive," from the 1940 song Java Jive by the Ink Spots. There was a jungle room, with 2 macaque monkeys, named Java and Jive who lived there. The monkey's would bang on drums while Radonich's son played the organ. The most famous of the bands that played there were The Ventures, who started their music careers at the old coffee pot in the 1960's.

The unique roadside attraction is now on the National Historic Register, and has remained a coffee shop and music bar until the present day.