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Michael Hanes believes he has finally found the formula for success for a downtown restaurant that has not lived up to its full potential. He spent seven months in planning and remodeling and countless hours of hard work with one goal in mind. “The basis of this restaurant is consistent and affordable food,” Hanes said. Last week he opened 4th St. Pantry at 206 N. Fourth St., and gave downtown something it has not had in many years — a 24/7 diner/Rick Thomas, Coeur d’Alene Press. More here.
Question: Can a 24/7 restaurant succeed in downtown Coeur d’Alene?
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
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Don_Sausser on December 22 at 10:15 a.m.
The 24 hour part might be a tough one.
KeithErickson on December 22 at 10:24 a.m.
I was surprised at how ambituous the menu sounded. I wish him the best, but the huge menu can make things difficult with extra overhead, slower food prep time, longer waits, etc. Remember Cheesecake Cafe? Its menu was several pages long. The restaurant simply offered too much. Of course, on top of that, the service at Cheesecake was a-w-f-u-l in my experience.
wheels on December 22 at 10:27 a.m.
To answer the question NO although I wish Michael Hanes the very best.The menu offerings are great.If 24/7 would work here Michael D would be doing it.
bpoole on December 22 at 10:39 a.m.
I think he has a better chance of success because of the late hours individuals will be downtown at any given time. Best of luck to him and his business.
OrangeTV on December 22 at 10:47 a.m.
I just turned in my review of this place and it was complimentary. Fantastic burger. Also, the menu is NOT huge at all, it’s three pages and fairly limited, but everything on it seems really great. They have something called orange cream cheese French toast and that rare delight, the Monte Cristo. Yum!
The owner told me that the graveyard shift has been their busiest time of day so far, and they haven’t even been open a week. I have several friends who went after the bar and they said it was so busy they had to stand at the counter and eat because all the booths were full at 2:30 am. I went in for a late lunch on a sleepy Sunday and we got the very last open table in the place.
I’d say they’re going to do just fine…
Lynne on December 22 at 11:15 a.m.
I think they’ll do fine too.
Liz on December 22 at 12:18 p.m.
So glad to hear this and so glad it sounds tasty. I can’t count how many times my husband has groused about there being no other options besides Shari’s when one realizes that one didn’t eat dinner and is hungry at eleven at night.
idbarrelracer on December 22 at 12:34 p.m.
Really?? They have a Monte Cristo on the menu???? Count me in!!
mike_s on December 22 at 12:52 p.m.
Last Monte Cristo I had was driving home from the Tacoma Dome after covering some high school state sports tournament. It was a pre-packaged, microwavable, mini-mart special. I ate it cold, along with some Doritos, a day-old maple bar and some chocolate milk. Disgusting meal and I put it on expense. Fun times.
BigMac on December 22 at 8:10 p.m.
I took the family in today to try this place out. As OrangeTV writes, the menu is small, but everything on it looked good.
I got corned beef hash with eggs, hashbrowns, and biscuit with gravy. The hash was excellent, the hashbrowns were OK, the egg was perfectly cooked (over medium). The biscuit with gravy was the star of the show. Outstanding. The gravy had chunks of sausage throughout. I thought I tasted some rosemary in there.
My wife got a mushroom swiss burger with fries and potato salad. The burger was perfectly melty. The fries were really very good. There’s not much you can do with french fries, but they were crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. The potato salad was delicious, with the potatoes cut into rounds and served in a tangy sauce.
My mother in law got the patty melt with fries and potato salad. The patty melt was served on dark rye with caramelized onions and thousand island on the side. The bread was nice and crispy on the outside, a little salty, which we liked, and gooey on the inside.
Our bill was $20 and change. Our waitress seemed a little flustered, returning to take our order after we had already ordered. She also forgot to give me back my credit card when I paid, and I had to drive back to the diner to get it.
Overall, it was a great meal for a reasonable price. We’ll be going back.
spokelooneh on December 23 at 12:34 a.m.
Damn, that got me salivating, BigMac.
Looks they’re offering a very good value proposition, as the saying goes, competing at price level close to the fast food joints. That should do well in this economy.
On a whim as I rarely eat fast food anymore, I tried one of those new 1/3 lb. Angus burgers at crackdonalds. Bacon (paper thin) variety. For the small combo it cost about $7.50. Not. Worth. It.
Zips far superior.