BREMERTON — Sweet and Smokey Diner, a downtown Bremerton staple that has won multiple awards for its barbecue and smoked meats, will be closing its doors next week after five years.

Owner Betty Walker announced the popular barbecue joint will close for good on June 21. Saddled with thousands of dollars in bills after she was injured in a car crash in 2016, Walker put the restaurant up for sale.

"It's been very difficult for me to make the kind of money that I needed to make to stay open," Walker said.

Walker, 79, never intended to run a restaurant. She opened Sweet and Smokey for her children: her son, a butcher and award-winning meat smoker, and her daughter, a baker. The goal was to offer cured meats, sweet treats and a menu of Southern-inspired items.

But just five months after opening in 2014, Walker's daughter was diagnosed with cancer. While the cancer is in remission, she never returned to work and Walker took over day-to-day operations.

In March 2016, Walker drove out to help her grandson, whose car had broken down on Highway 16. A truck veered across the road and rear-ended Walker's car, slamming it forward into her grandson's vehicle.

The crash put Walker out of commission for six months. Once she returned, she found the diner owed $85,000 in bills.

"I thought that if I came back and worked really hard, I could just pull it out and I would feel just fine," Walker said. "But I have never been able to work as hard as I did before."

Walking near the corner of Fifth Street and Park Avenue in downtown Bremerton, it's difficult not to be drawn to the smell of smoking meats emanating from the diner. Since it opened, Sweet and Smokey has been a destination for people looking for high-quality meats and a friendly atmosphere.

In 2017, members of the Kitsap County Food Co-op struck a deal to run a pop-up shop inside the diner. Sweet and Smokey has hosted local artists and classes, and the diner has also been a place of respite for Bremerton's less fortunate. On several occasions, Walker has set up a place for homeless people to eat and rest outside the diner.

"A lot of good things have come out of this place," Walker said.

Larry Timby, who owns the Horse & Cow Bar & Grill and Shenanigans Irish Pub on Fourth Street, has stopped by frequently for the last year to pick up bangers (sausages) for the pub.

Timby said he was upset to see Sweet and Smokey close. He'd explored several different vendors before asking Sweet and Smokey to make the bangers.

"We tried it, and everybody loved them," Timby said.

While the diner is moving out, Sweet and Smokey's space won't stay empty. Walker said she sold the business to a young couple, a pastry chef and his wife.

"It's not going to be another empty building downtown, and that I hated, I hated that idea," Walker said. "I want somebody in there that is going to take and do something that's fun and exciting."

Walker said she doesn't know for sure what kind of business will replace the diner. Calls to the new owners requesting comment were not returned.

Walker's son smokes all of the meats at the diner and has won multiple awards for his efforts. She hopes to find someplace in the county for him to continue that work but doesn't plan to open another restaurant.

Sweet and Smokey will hold a closing event on Friday, June 21.

"I don't regret one minute that I've spent here, and I'm glad that it's not going to be an empty building and I don't have to walk away leaving an empty building downtown," Walker said.