Pride in South Tacoma: Tibbitts@FernHill

The roots of Ladenburg Law Injury Attorneys are anchored deep in South Tacoma. John Ladenburg Sr., was raised in South Tacoma in the South Park neighborhood. He returned there after law school and opened a law practice on South Tacoma Way. He built a small house on South 96^th where he and his wife Connie began to raise their 5 kids (including John Jr. and Erik, now partners at Ladenburg Law) before moving to a larger house on South Alaska near Wapato.

John and Erik went to Fern Hill Elementary. Erik also attended Birney for 3 years. Fern Hill is same school that their great-great aunt attended in the 1920s. The roots run deep. John and Erik also attended Baker Junior High. Erik returned to South Tacoma after law school and lived near Fern Hill for 8 years with wife who is also a South Tacoma native.

For the Ladenburgs and many other South Tacomans, there is a deep pride in their community. Tacoma is known for its grit and its hard-working people. South Tacoma is has always felt a little grittier than the other areas of Tacoma. The people in South Tacoma have known that they need to work a bit harder to reach their goals because they are starting a rung or two down the ladder from many others.

When one of our own takes a chance on a dream and makes it a reality, we notice. Enter Shawn Tibbitts. Shawn Tibbitts is the owner, founder, head chef, and creative genius behind Tibbitts@FernHill. Erik met Shawn as young kids at Fern Hill. Erik and Shawn would attend Baker Junior High together as well.

Shawn was born and raised in South Tacoma. For more than 20 years he worked in kitchens all over the region. Despite having no formal culinary training and no experience running a small business, in late 2016 he decided to open his own restaurant. He could think of no better place then the historic Fern Hill neighborhood where he grew up. Shawn had no money to start a business but he was rich in support family, friends, and the Fern Hill community. With their help his dream became a reality in February 2017.

The restaurant was an immediate success. It is not hard to understand why. The food is amazing. Shawn has created a unique farm to table menu that is unlike any other restaurant in Tacoma. Top that with Shawn’s down to earth hospitality that makes every person who walks in the door feel welcomed and you have a 5-Star restaurant on Yelp. In addition to being rated 5-star on Yelp, Tibbitts was voted Top 5 new Restaurants in 2017 by Sue Kidd of the Tacoma News Tribune and Best Chef 2018 by South Sound Magazine.

Giving back to the community is a top priority for Shawn. He often closes his restaurants on holidays so he can spend his money, time, and resources to feed less fortunate. When Shawn asked if he could name a dish after our law firm because he wanted to show respect to other South Tacoma kids who are pursuing their dreams, we couldn’t say yes fast enough. Starting today at Tibbitts@Fern Hill you can order “The Ladenburg Law”:

THE LADENBURG LAWDUNGENESS CRAB, ARTICHOKES, LOBSTER, RED ONIONS, CREAM CHEESE, LEMON ZEST, DILL, FARMED GREENS BAKED IN A PUFF PASTRY ATOP TILLAMOK BLUEBERRY YOGURT WITH FRESH FRUIT

Get to Fern Hill soon and experience one of the gems of the South Sound!