Nourish owners serve up final meals

Published 3:30 am Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Handing over the keys to the restaurant they have operated in Sequim for 13 years wasn’t easy, but when Tanya and Dave Rose first met the prospective new owners — three longtime friends who had been colleagues in the hospitality industry — they felt that Nourish Sequim would be in very good hands.

The couple served their final dinner service at their organic, gluten-free restaurant at 101 Provence View Lane on Sunday, March 8.

The new owners — Tami Ardron and married couple Pierre and Heidi Jolivette — plan to reopen in June.

Feeling comfortable with the new owners made the transition feel unusually seamless for the Roses. They all share a common philosophy — that restaurants are not just businesses, but gathering places rooted in community.

A seed planted

The story of how Dave and Tanya arrived in Sequim began with a gluten-free baking class.

Both are originally from England, and Tanya had lived for years in Portland, Oregon. Late one year, she came to Port Angeles for a gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free baking weekend with friends. They visited the Port Angeles Farmers Market at the Gateway Transit Center Pavilion downtown.

“It was the end of November,” Tanya recalled. “And there was all this beautiful produce. I was blown away.”

For anyone accustomed to winter markets tapering off into sparse offerings, the sight of abundant greens and root vegetables in late fall felt almost miraculous. Tanya’s friends took her to Nash’s Organic Produce — a name (owner Nash Huber) synonymous with local agriculture and organic produce on the North Olympic Peninsula.

To arrive in a town where the farmer was “the most beloved man in town” felt like a sign, Tanya said. Within a week, she and Dave had found a house.

Built in 1885 — reportedly by a cousin of Alexander Graham Bell — the home had no plumbing and was in disrepair. But with Dave’s background in construction, they took it on.

The pair would later learn that there was more to the house than architectural charm. It was one of the first pioneer homes in the area, site of the first recorded wedding and birth. Over the years, locals would wander into the restaurant and share stories: a grandfather who had lived there, a college student who once stayed in the home alongside the father of Barack Obama. Folk musician Pete Seeger, blacklisted during the McCarthy era, had also been a guest.

The piece of real estate carried another distinction as well: it had been associated with the early days of Sequim’s lavender movement, which led to the annual Sequim Lavender Festival.

With all that history associated with the property, Dave and Tany’s affection for Sequim became more cemented. They worked on renovating the house while building their adjacent restaurant, an eatery with a farm feel where hops climb into green canopies over the patio and herbs from the garden find their way onto the plate.

Ingredients were sourced locally whenever possible. Hormone-free meats, organic or spray-free produce and scratch cooking formed the backbone of Tanya’s kitchen.

Under the Roses, Nourish Sequim was open Thursday-Sunday from 5-8 p.m. The menu changed every week. “Casual Thursday” menus included such items as meatloaf, rosemary potatoes and lamb burgers. Weekend menus at times contained entrees such as Black Lime Crusted Lamb Loin Chops and Beef Bourguignon.

While the food was healthy, that didn’t mean desserts were overlooked. Almond Carrot Cake, Flourless Chocolate Torte, Raspberry Tiramisu, and Seasonal Fruit Crisp were just some of the offerings.

Fond farewell

When Dave and Tanya recently announced that they had sold the restaurant, reservations filled almost immediately, Dave said — even in what is typically a slower season for restaurants. Former customers returned. Current regulars secured tables.

For Tanya, the thought of the final plate leaving the kitchen was almost too emotional to contemplate. Yet both she and Dave indicated that they felt at peace with their decision. They sold the historic house last October and now, with the sale of the restaurant, retirement will bring travel and occasional visits back to Sequim.

“It’s their baby now,” Tanya said of the incoming team.

A new chapter

Heidi, Tami and Pierre are stepping in with decades of shared experience behind them.

Heidi began her culinary career at 16, apprenticing as a chef before attending the Culinary Institute of America in New York. Classically French-trained, she describes herself as “food-obsessed.” Raised in Ohio, she went on to cook in the Bay Area and later on California’s central coast.

Tami and Pierre have been part of her life for nearly three decades. Together, the trio built and ran a high-end catering company in California’s wine country, executing thousands of weddings and winemaker dinners. Each event featured custom menus tailored to the couple — sometimes inspired by such things as Ethiopian dumplings from a grandmother’s kitchen, sometimes by Persian rice dishes so authentic they earned a standing ovation from 250 exacting guests.

The trio does not claim to cook “traditional” cuisine outside their own backgrounds, but rather to be inspired by it — taught directly by those who grew up with the food.

“We’ve been educated by Persian mothers,” Heidi said with a laugh. “You can’t always learn that from a book.”

Their bond extends beyond the kitchen. They have raised children alongside one another. They refer to themselves as “ride or dies” — committed friends and chosen family. Drawn by all the North Olympic Peninsula has to offer, they even moved to Sequim together after COVID-19 upended their California catering business.

For years they believed they might not return to restaurant ownership. But then one day, while browsing commercial real estate listings, they saw the space that was for sale by Dave and Tanya.

“It all clicked,” Tami said, adding, “We’re doing it again.”

Community over competition

While the friends feel an affinity with Dave and Tanya, the restaurant will not be exactly the same. They will put their own imprint on it, and some of the menu choices will be different.

The trio said they value “community over competition.” They want a restaurant that is friendly with its neighbors and collaborates with farmers.

They envision “rustic, refined comfort food with global flair.” The restaurant will no longer be exclusively gluten-free, though gluten-free and vegan options will remain prominent.

Ahead of their planned June 4 reopening, the friends might hold some pop-up events, such as a Soul Food Sunday or barbecue night.

Like Dave and Tanya, they see the restaurant as a hub, and they want guests to feel part of something.

“It’s a family affair when you come to eat with us,” Pierre said.