NORTH BEND – When Rob Reynolds and Scott Sneddon met in a Seattle kindergarten class, they could not have imagined that almost 30 years later they’d own their own restaurant together.

“We started working in restaurants [together] at 15 or 16,” said Reynolds. “[Owning a restaurant] wasn’t a topic of conversation then, but once we started working in them for five to 10 years it became a topic.”

That “topic” became fact last week when the duo officially took ownership of The Reef, North Bend’s popular lunch and dinner spot probably best known for its fish and chips.

It’s been a hectic week, Reynolds said, but exciting.

Sneddon agreed.

“It’s a 24-hour-a-day job,” he said.

Although the duo had talked about owning a restaurant for years, the road to taking the reins was winding, to say the least.

About 13 years ago Reynolds moved to Alaska, where he managed restaurants, and Sneddon also was working as an executive chef and manager for several institutions in Seattle.

Three years ago, though, Reynolds decided to move back to the Seattle area. Deciding his former Ravenna stomping grounds and the city in which he was raised was too crowded, Reynolds landed in North Bend about the same time he began managing The Reef.

When owner Gordon Harris decided to sell the establishment, Reynolds and Sneddon took advantage of the chance.

“This transpired and brought back the realization that this could happen,” said Sneddon.

For the complete story, pick up a copy of this week’s Record