Lefty's Burger Shack Is Coming

It’s been one of the biggest mysteries in the University Place gossip-sphere.

People of different ages have wondered. People of different shapes have asked. It was even a .

What’s planned for the old Dairy Dell building on 27th? More importantly, when will it open?

Well, University Place Patch caught up with the woman with all the answers: Pam Hubert.

The Day Island resident of 15 years says she’s opening Lefty’s Burger Shack, an ode to the golden age of community burger joints that served as the center of town on hot days and nights.

Think old-fashioned burgers, shakes and other favorites, she says, fraught with surfing memorabilia (even though she freely admits that there isn’t surfing within a 100-mile radius of University Place).

“Everybody locally around here went there on Friday nights,” Hubert recalls about the former restaurant. “Just wanted to bring that feel back.”

The bigger question, at least during this recent stint of sun, is when the poster-perfect burger joint will open its doors at 8317 27th Avenue West, just west of .

Hubert says she’s working with health officials to finish the permitting process, but it’s going to be soon – perhaps within the next week, but likely no later than the end of the month.

The story behind the restaurant’s name is as intriguing as its grand opening, and it’s definitely meaningful to Hubert, who has planned the restaurant’s opening for years.

Its namesake is Mark “Lefty” Lepelle, her friend of about 25 years who helped her plan the opening. Lefty died before he could see his and Hubert’s dream fulfilled.

“Just a good friend,” she says. “He would be tickled if he were around because he wouldn’t want the attention.”

Well, whether Hubert and Lefty would have liked it or not, they definitely have the community’s eye.

And in a couple of weeks, they could have University Place’s collective taste buds in a grip as well.