In a recession, restaurants traditionally are hard hit and, sadly, many fine Seattle restaurants have shuttered their doors in the midst of this Great Recession. So I take it as a sign of faith in the economy of our city when a new restaurant opens–or a long-established restaurant expands to a new location. That is particularly true of Red Mill Burgers.

This week, Seattle’s finest burger shack opened their Red Mill Totem House in Ballard. The SunBreak’s Lunch Team wasted no time in getting over there and getting in line–which is already long–with many happy soon-to-be-customers licking their chops.

While waiting, take a look around. Red Mill has done a fantastic of renovating a venerable eating establishment, and a wonderfully cheeky building.

The Totem House opened in 1939, ironically enough, in the middle of that other economic disaster, the Great Depression. It was originally opened as a store that sold Native American goods and artifacts for the tourist market. In 1945, they started selling fish and chips at the Totem House, and that continued for six decades until it was closed.

The building was designed in the vernacular architecture that was popular in a day when a hot dog stand was shaped like a giant hot dog, a coffee house was shaped like a coffee pot, and you could dine in a tee-pee at Aurora’s Twin Teepees restaurant, now long gone.

The Totem House was shaped and decorated like a traditional long house, the favored dwelling of North Pacific Coastal Native Americans. Red Mill Totem House has done a breathtakingly beautiful job of restoring the massive totem pole out front and restoring the fine, elegant wood-beamed inside. Painted up and fresh inside and out, it’s a welcome site in Ballard with good parking and outdoor tables, which will be brilliant about ten months from now.

We aren’t going to waste time telling you how good the burgers are. They’re great. You know that and we know it, too. Ditto the hand-dipped shakes and the fries, which are crisp with actual potato–not fry oil– flavor.

Red Mill has acknowledged and celebrated the building’s long history by offering hand-cut Alaskan Cod Fish and Chips, with a delicious homemade tarter sauce, and even a chowder. We didn’t try the prawns on this trip, but noted they come with a handmade Thai Chili dipping sauce. Coming from the dudes that create the delicious Mill and tartar sauces, you know it’s good.