A Documented Place in Tacoma Culinary History • Independent Kitchen • Public Record
Tibbitts @ Fern Hill was built from a mother’s dream for her boys to do the very best they could with their lives. She passed one month before the restaurant opened, and after Chef Shawn Tibbitts later lost his brother to a fentanyl overdose in 2025, this website was created in their honor — to carry forward what has been built, carry their names and legacy, and keep moving through grief with strength, resilience, and love.
34 Documented Honors • 10 Consecutive Years • Tacoma-Built • Community-Built • Minority-Run • Diverse • Fact-Checked
Multi-Award-Winning Indigenous Fine-Dining Brunch With High-Level Execution in Tacoma
Tibbitts @ Fern Hill
Chef Shawn Tibbitts of Tibbitts @ Fern Hill has built one of the most extensively documented recognition records in Tacoma restaurant history, with 34 documented recognitions spanning ten consecutive calendar years, 2017–2026.
Recognized by Visit Tacoma–Pierce County
The region’s official tourism guide calls Tibbitts @ Fern Hill “one of Tacoma’s top-rated restaurants.”
The guide also highlights Chef Shawn Tibbitts’ work with local farmers. Read the original Visit Tacoma feature.
Led by self-taught Alaska Native chef-owner Shawn Tibbitts, Tibbitts @ Fern Hill has earned an independently documented record of 34 recognitions across culinary awards, rankings, editorial selections and annual community awards across local, regional, statewide, national and global recognition.
Built from an intentionally small, independent restaurant model— two portable induction burners and one conventional oven— that record forms an unbroken ten-calendar-year culinary recognition chain from 2017 through 2026.
Honors & Recognitions
2017–2026
Yelp-Associated • 2019–2025
2019–2024 & 2026
in Washington
Public Record
This is reservation-only Indigenous fine-dining brunch with high-level execution: scratch-built, chef-presented food shaped by Alaska Native foodways, Pacific Northwest ingredients, seasonality and community.
Open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM through four scheduled seatings. Reservations are requested by phone only.
The restaurant prepares around confirmed guests, supports zero-waste operations, uses no plastic in its front-of-house service model and does not offer to-go food. Running out by design means the kitchen prepared with purpose.
In Peggy Cleveland’s 2026 Reedy Press book Unique Eats and Eateries of Tacoma, Tibbitts @ Fern Hill is the first restaurant mentioned, appearing on page 2.
As of September 18, 2026, the Public Record identified Chef Shawn Tibbitts as the first Indigenous chef found among Tacoma’s currently documented named historical restaurant and culinary figures. This is a dated, specifically scoped research finding—not a claim that Indigenous cooking in Tacoma began with one person.
Phone Reservations Only
How to Reserve
Call 253-327-1334 and leave one clear voicemail.
Include your name, callback number, requested Friday, Saturday or Sunday, preferred service time and party size. Available seatings are 9:00 AM, 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM and 12:00 PM.
A voicemail is a reservation request—not a confirmed table. Your table is confirmed only after Tibbitts @ Fern Hill returns your call. Voicemail requests may be left even when the restaurant is closed.
Remember those long phone cords and landlines—the way people called each other before every part of life needed an app? Those days may be mostly gone, but Shawn remembers them. At Tibbitts @ Fern Hill, you call, you leave a message, and a real person calls you back. This is the way. 🙂
Call, leave one voicemail and wait for confirmation.
Chef to Guest • Independent • Tacoma-Built
What Makes Tibbitts Different
Two Burners. One Oven. The Tibbitts Model.
A disciplined, chef-present restaurant framework built around direct reservations, limited equipment, scheduled service, seasonal food, close guest relationships and minimal waste. Explore Decolonized Kitchen.
Documented Recognition
The evidence is preserved through source-linked media, awards, books, rankings and public records. Examine the receipts.
Community Responsibility
Community meals, holiday service, food drives, civic appearances and partnerships are part of the restaurant’s identity—not a separate marketing campaign. View the community record.
Tibbitts @ Fern Hill
The Old Ways
The seasons change, so the food must change with them.
Chef Tibbitts respects Mother Earth, the food provided and what each season brings. He does not force the same menu through the entire year. What is available changes, and his thinking moves with it.
His mind connects the ingredient, the season, the room and the people all at once.
It is treated as one gathering.
Cooking was never born from equipment. It was born from survival—from understanding what was available, respecting the food and finding a way to feed people with it.
Chef Tibbitts honors the limits of the kitchen and the responsibility of feeding many people with what the Creator has provided.
The purpose was never only to serve food. It was to honor the season, respect the food and gather people together in the old ways.
Essential Guest Information
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Tibbitts @ Fern Hill?
A reservation-only Indigenous fine-dining brunch restaurant in Tacoma built around high-level execution and led by Alaska Native chef-owner Shawn Tibbitts.
How do I make a reservation?
Call 253-327-1334 and leave your name, callback number, requested day, preferred seating time and party size. Your table is confirmed after the restaurant returns your call.
When and where is the restaurant open?
Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM at 8237 S Park Ave, Tacoma, WA 98408. Check the Google Business Profile for holiday or special-service changes.
What kind of food is served?
Scratch-built, chef-presented Indigenous fine-dining brunch shaped by Alaska Native foodways, Pacific Northwest ingredients and seasonal cooking. View the current menu.
Are walk-ins accepted?
No. Food preparation and service flow are planned around confirmed reservations and scheduled seating times.
Does the restaurant serve alcohol or to-go food?
No. Tibbitts @ Fern Hill is alcohol-free, food-first and does not offer to-go food.
How many guests are served?
The restaurant has four scheduled seatings and serves approximately 80–100+ guests across a full service day.