Carson City restaurateur earns posthumous lifetime achievement award

Charlie Abowd’s mother was more than a savvy restaurateur. She was a game changer.

He credits her with setting standards that his restaurant, Cafe at Adele’s, has become renowned for in Carson City.

Adele Abowd also worked tirelessly for the industry as a long-time member of the Nevada Restaurant Association (NvRA), Abowd said, advocating at the legislature on behalf of restaurants statewide.

The industry gave back to Adele last month, showing its appreciation for her contributions with a Lifetime Achievement Award presented to her son, Charlie, at the Oct. 6 NvRA annual Awards Gala in Las Vegas.

“It was both a shock and a pleasure,” Abowd said. “The people at the NvRA recognized her contribution to the industry. It was the biggest applause of the evening for any of the awards that were given. It was humbling.”

Abowd said there was no notification prior to the award, not even a hint in the program about a lifetime achievement presentation. So when his mom’s name was announced, he said it floored him like nothing else.

“A one hundred percent complete surprise,” Abowd said. “I had not even a clue. I was sitting in the crowd, kind of daydreaming, and only half listening. Then the next thing I know, they announce my mom as the lifetime achievement award winner.”

His mother’s recognition surpassed his nomination as a finalist for Nevada Restaurateur of the Year award, Abowd said, because of her impact not only on his life but on so many others in the Carson City community and industry professionals across Nevada.

Charlie Abowd accepted the award on behalf of his mother, Adele Abowd, who passed away in 2004.

“It was ironic that the award was given to me without any notification or any hint that mom was going to get this award,” he said.

Adele was the very first woman in Nevada to be elected as NvRA Restaurateur of the Year, Abowd said, a distinction she received in 2001.

“That was a big deal,” he said, “because Northern Nevada was just a click on the restaurant map in Nevada. There was very little recognition for Northern Nevada within the restaurant association.”

Abowd said had Adele been alive today to receive the award, he believes she would have been honored and humbled. But her inner strength would have undoubtedly shown through, too.

“My mom was a strong woman,” he said. “She lived and worked in a man’s world.”

Immediately after arriving in Carson City to open Adele’s Restaurant in 1977, Paul and Adele Abowd got to work becoming active in the community.

The restaurant’s popularity took off, Charlie Abowd said, partly because its location had already been a legendary restaurant spot for decades. Legislators and other community leaders were well known to frequent previous establishments occupying the Comstock Mansart Victorian home still located at the corner of North Carson and West John streets.

But Paul Abowd, a third generation chef whose family came from Lebanon, also brought his culinary talents to the Nevada state capital, introducing the community to his unique San Francisco Bay Area cuisine.

“Dad’s reputation from the Bay Area followed him up here,” Charlie Abowd said. “It just so happened that the first year they opened, the legislature was in session.”

As for Adele, Charlie said she ran the business side of the restaurant and quickly became a local leader in Carson City.

“My mom became a fixture,” he said. “Mom always had a vision of a vibrant Carson City. She was a community player, and I learned a lot from her.”

Charlie spoke of Adele’s special blend of social grace and tenacity in describing how she was able to make the kinds of impacts she did in Nevada — and particularly in Carson City — during her time here.

“She was a gracious, very intelligent, beautiful woman,” he said. “And she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind.”

Abowd said that although he learned everything he knows in the kitchen from his dad, Paul, he credits many other attributes to Adele, his mom.

“I got a lot of what I have today from her,” he said.

Except for her sense of business, Abowd said with a laugh.

“Hers was way better than my dad or me,” he said. “I picked up my dad’s talents in the kitchen … and his bad habits, too.”

He described Adele as being a very bottom line person, naturally suited for business.

“She ran herd over my dad in that way,” he chuckled.

But despite this, Abowd said his mother always deferred to his dad in all other areas. There was never any disrespect, he added.

“They loved each other deeply,” he said.

Both of them also shared a deep love for community that they passed along to their children, Charlie said.

“They loved Carson City,” he said. “This became their home.”

Abowd said his mom would be pleased to see the changes happening currently in Carson City, because they fit her vision for a robust community.

“What’s going on in Carson City now, she would be very proud,” he said. “That’s why we dedicated a bench to my mom and dad in the downtown corridor.”