History of the Poodle Dog Restaurant and the Century Ballroom
By Curt Cunningham

If you were driving down the Pacific Highway through Tacoma back in the 1940s, one of the places you'd be sure to spot was The Poodle Dog Restaurant in Fife. It's still there, sporting its pink-and-white neon poodle out front. With the Century Ballroom just north of the restaurant, it was a happening place in its day. The bar is known as the "Pup Room" and the place still serves your typical American style food while giving the visitor a big dose of old style ambience.

In 1933 Rocco "Mac" Manza and his childhood friend E. J. "Jimmy Zarelli opened the Poodle Dog Restaurant. It all began when Manza and Zarelli pooled what money they had, and with an additional $500 borrowed from Manza's father, they opened a hamburger stand called the "Mayflower." This was because it was the name on the neon sign they had purchased from a mini golf course. Sometime later the name was changed to "The Blue Jay" but Manza grew tired of the name and renamed it to the "Poodle Dog" after the popular San Francisco joint.

The place quickly became popular with the locals and it has welcomed thousands of hungry travelers. The restaurant even sponsored a bowling team in the early 1940's, and in the spring of 1941 the team had won the Coliseum alleys championship for team play with a score of 3009.

Many famous musicians such as Louis Armstrong, and Glen Miller have dined there. This was because on December 29, 1934 Manza and Zarelli opened a new 20,000 square foot dance hall they named the Century Ballroom. The building was constructed to resemble the Washington State Pavilion at the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago. Guy Lombardo was the opening act. The dance hall was a big hit and it hosted many of the leading acts during the "big band era."

On August 17, 1940 the Miss Washington beauty pageant was held at the Century Ballroom. Manager Al Paige had the ballroom completely redecorated for the event, which included a horseshoe ramp and runway, with overhead spotlights. The dance floor was sanded and polished and everything was put in tip-top shape for the big night. Reserve seating was also available and ushers were in attendance to keep everything in order. The hundreds who attended the event got to see America's youngest dance band director in action. His name was Gene "Corky" Corcoran, who was 16 years old and was born in Tacoma. That evening he directed an 11-piece orchestra, and took the spotlight with several solo numbers during the evenings entertainment.

The event was not a money maker. Manager Al Paige had spent lavishly on making the venue one to remember. The pageant was a civic contest and not a Century Ballroom promotion, and Al Paige basically just subsidized the event, and barely made enough money to buy himself a new shirt. The ballroom received no assistance from the merchants of Tacoma even though they would have benefited from the national exposure had Tacoma's Peggy Mason won the title of Miss America.

On Friday August 16, 1940 the first out-of-town candidates for the title of Miss Washington arrived in Tacoma, and at noon, were the guests of the Young Men's Business club. The young women in the party were all from Southwest Washington with the exception of Miss Puyallup, Marcelle DuSell. The other contestants were; Lorraine Dean, who represented Aberdeen; Beatrice Nyhus, represented the South Beaches, and La Juan Fackreel represented Hoquiam. The party spent the day "seeing" Tacoma before the big day of the pageant.

Peggy Mason, Tacoma’s entry, acted as host and took the visiting candidates on a motor tour during the afternoon. The Narrows bridge, McChord Field and Fort Lewis were on their calling list. One of the thrills of the day was the initial experience of riding and driving the new Oldsmobile with the Hydromatic clutch. Ed Munson, president of the Munson Motor company, turned his personal car over to the future “Miss Washington's” who reported having the time of their lives seeing the sights the modern way. They were the guests of the Century management and that evening the party enjoyed a chicken dinner at the Poodle Dog restaurant.

The pageant was held on Saturday August 17, 1940, and after an exciting evening, the winner of the pageant was Tacoma's Peggy Mason. A week later on August 24, 1940 The Century Ballroom hosted the farewell dance for Peggy Mason who was then off to Atlantic City for the Miss America finals. Unfortunately for Peggy and the State of Washington she didn't win, Francis Burke of Philadelphia was declared the winner. 

Throughout the "Big Band" era of the 1930's and 1940's the dance hall hosted many of the leading bands of the time, and all kinds of music was played. Some of the musicians who played at the Century were; Louis Armstrong, Joe Thomas, Brad Bannon, Walt Rose, Pappy's Duo, Duke Ellington, Glen Miller, Dale Fitzsimmons, Ray Noble, Ozzie Nelson, Jimmie Lunceford, Frank Flynn, Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Jan Garber, Ted Fio Rito, Gene Krupa, Buddy Rogers, Bud Hancock, Harold Shaw, Arthur "Bub" Scott, Kay Kyser, and the Lombardo brothers; Guy, Carmen, Lebert, and Victor.

The big band era began to fade by the end of the 1940's and in 1956 Manza and Zarelli decided to close down the ballroom. This was so they could concentrate on their construction firm, Merit Co., which built the Villa Plaza mall in Lakewood and the Tacoma Dome. The old ballroom would sit empty for the next 8 years, and in 1964 the building burned to the ground. The Poodle Dog restaurant would remain open and continue to serve its hungry customers.

In 1963 Mac Manza gave an interview to a local newspaper concerning the opening of the freeway, about what it had done to his business. He said that; "We were pretty hard hit last November when they barricaded the access from Tacoma." Business fell more than 22% at the popular restaurant but climbed back steadily after the highway was reopened to Seattle-bound traffic, and former customers became familiar with the new Fife exit. Manza estimated that business was off by 10% or 12%. "We're trying to get highway signs near the freeway exits indicating that food, lodging and gasoline are available here." Manza Said. "Some customers have come in and said "Well we finally found you again."

Nicholas Radnich operator of the White Spot restaurant which featured a very talkative mynah bird, said; "The freeway hasn't hurt so much. But the fence along the parking area behind my restaurant is killing me. Customers from the industrial area from the north can get in but they can't get out the same way. The fence has cost me about half my business. Customers wanting to go back to work have to drive way up the old highway toward Seattle before they can turn around."

All had agreed that when the Puyallup freeway bridge opened in 1964 and the linking section was completed, it would be good for everybody from Fife to Midway, and that it would make a 4-lane highway out of Tacoma through Fife to Midway, and the temporary freeway connection west of Fife will be closed."

After Jimmy Zarelli passed away in 1985, Mac Manza began to focus his attention on running the restaurant. Rocco "Mac" Manza would run the restaurant for the next 14 years until he passed away in 1999. Today the Manza family continues to serve it's hungry customers just like "Mac" did.