1980 National Restaurant Month

October was always National Restaurant Month while Jack Gordon was at the helm of the Restaurant Association.   He always managed to involve at least the mayor and governor and often a national figure. This page show the "NRM" Luncheon from 1980. According to the notes written on the file jacket, this event sort of jumped the gun having been held on September 29, at the "Washington Plaza Hotel" in Seattle. (See below for hotel information)

You've got to start a Jack Gordon event with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Seattle Police Chief, Mayor Royer, and 

King County Executive John Spellman. A true politician, he seemed to be always shaking hands .

Restaurant Association President Jim Russell, chief exec with Pizza Haven. (No matter what you may hear, they're the ones who pioneered home delivery of pizza.)

Seattle/King County Visitor and Convention Bureau's President Fred Burrow

RASW's Jack Gordon

Long time hotel exec and President of the Hotel Association, Vance Hotel's own Gary Wilson

I told you he was a politician. He always wanted to shake hands.

Here's Charles "Charlie" Royer, mayor of Seattle

When this National Restaurant Month event was held, it was at the Washington Plaza Hotel, located at the corner of Stewart Street and Westlake Avenue in downtown Seattle. The Washington Plaza was owned and operated by Western International Hotels (previously "Western Hotels" later Westin Hotels, later "Starwood Hotels"). The Orpheum Theater, shown to the right) was torn down in the late '60s to build the Washington Plaza. The Benjamin Franklin Hotel at the back was then torn down to build the second cylinder of the Washington Plaza, later named the Westin. The Puget Sound Theatre Pipe Organ Society has a nice page on the Orpheum.

For your trivia answer, during at least a portion of 1966, the Restaurant Association had its offices in the Orpheum Building above the theater. Jack Gordon's office was on the corner of the building where the "E" of the Orpheum sign was. (There were several plastic owls on the stanchion holding up the sign.)