In 1902, the southern half of the building was used as a Tailor Shop. Burnett leased the building to Sam and Anna Francis (Frankie) Johnson for their restaurant in 1904 and at that time, it became the Johnson Restaurant. Johnson's bought the building on October 20, 1920. after Sam's death in 1923, Frankie continued the restaurant until she died in 1942. Their daughter Sarah Trine and her husband Harry then bought her brother's share. Sarah continued to operate the restaurant (summers only in later years) until 1985. In 1996, the Tredway Family bought the Johnson Building from Sarah Trine. They have restored and renovated both floors of the building. The lower floor is now a Gallery where many of the original antiques are on display. The upper floors are offices.
Johnson's Restaurant
1942-1985
Building Owner:
Sarah Trine-1942-1986
Tredway Family-1986
Gunnison Gallery
1996-Present - Tredway Family
GUNNISON COUNTY
HISTORIC REGISTER
Address is: 124 North Main Street, Gunnison
Legal Address:
Current Use: Gallery / Offices
Contact: Nancy Tredway
Date Designated: 1/5/2005
to a lunch room, law offices and notions store, as well as a restaurant for over 80 years. As the oldest intact commercial building in town, it forms a tangible link to Gunnison’s early mining camp days and community’s extended commercial history.
The property on which the Johnson Building was built, changed hands seven times in 1880 with the price fluctuating from $20 to $275. Then in 1881 the building was built on the property and Mary Thomas bought it for $250, immediately selling it for $800. The "Vienna Bakery" operated in the early 1880's, then the building was vacant in 1886.
In 1890, the northern half of the building was being used as a Notions Store, while the south half was still vacant. Walker Burkett bought the building and the property in 1901, and when Effie Jane Lashbrook arrived in Gunnison with her sick husband and children in 1901, she took over the empty building. She turned the lower floor into a restaurant and made living quarters for her family upstairs and named the restaurant the Royal Café.
Johnson's Restaurant
1904-
Building Owner:
Walker Burnett-1901-1920
Samuel & Anna Frances Johnson-1920-1942
Sarah Trine