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Our motto says it all. Having a good experience when visiting Connies Cafe is what we strive to provide to you every day.
SANDPOINT — When Lars Hall and Chris Ankney first started shopping for a restaurant in late 2019, they weren’t planning to operate one of Sandpoint’s oldest and most beloved cafes.
The two had been friends for years, having met through outdoor groups after both recently moved to the area.
Their journey to owning Connie’s began when Ankney told Hall he wanted to start a brick oven pizza restaurant in Sandpoint.“
I piped up, if you're going to do that, I want to ride that train with you,” Hall said. “So at that point, we put the wheels in motion.”
Hall, who spent the past 20 years working in the outdoor industry, was ready for a change, he said.
“The last 10 of those years, I helped start and run a company called Breakwater Expeditions and we did one- to two-week-long backcountry wilderness trips,” Hall said. “I reached a point where I needed to transition, I needed to change, I needed a new chapter in my life.”
It wasn’t long after they began looking that David and Penny Libby put Connie’s up for sale. Hall and Ankney began discussions with the Libbys, and learned more about the long history of the cafe.“It kind of flipped to, ‘Oh, man, be part of Sandpoint’s history. This restaurant has been around since 1955,” Ankney said. “David Libby did a tremendous job of establishing a good solid system in place with a good solid core team of employees.”
Libby, who’s owned or opened over 20 restaurants, has never had one that failed, Ankney said. That served as inspiration for him and Hall, who said they want to keep what locals love about Connie’s.
Some customers have been coming to Connie’s since it opened in the 1950s, Hall said, including some regulars so consistent the staff will have their places set when they walk in.“
You can set your clock to them,” Hall said. “They just talk shop in the morning there for about a half hour, 45 minutes or so.”
Some of those regulars went to high school together, Ankney said. On Libby’s last day, he opened the restaurant just for them. As the restaurant switched ownership, the staff have continued to set those mugs out for the regulars.
It’s reflective of what the two new owners are trying to do with the restaurant as a whole, they said.“
He left some big shoes to fill. We are trying our best to fill those shoes with this transition that we have,” Hall said.
Hall and Ankney will be keeping the same menu, they said, with the potential to add daily specials. They’ve also expanded their drink menu thanks to longtime bartender Lyndsy Walson, and are working to spruce up the lounge area in the back.
Some of those new drinks include variations on Bloody Marys with homemade pickles, bringing back mojitos and expanding the selection of different types of Moscow Mules. She also plans to offer Mimosa flights and martinis, and bring back Bellinis, Walson said.“
Basically, we're just stepping up and being able to offer people more, so when they look at us and say, ‘Do you have a drink menu?’ and we have not before, now we can say, ‘Yes, we do.’”
While the idea of one day offering pizza hasn’t died, for now Hall and Ankney are focused on learning the ropes for Connie’s and keeping up with the service their customers expect.
Hall runs the day-to-day operations as the general manager, he said. Ankney currently works part-time managing bookkeeping, while also working as one of the owners for the young adult transition program Echo Springs out of Bonners Ferry.
A large part of their success so far, Hall said, is thanks to the staff, many of whom have been there for years, such as Walson or longtime cook David Truleson.
As they move forward, Walson said, they’ll also need more people — and not just for seasonal work.“
It's fantastic year-round employment,” she said. “There's so much in Sandpoint that's seasonal, right? And we get busier in the summer, but we are busy year-round.”
Although the new restaurant has presented many challenges, the owners say they’re having fun with it.“
Every day's a new day — a new day with new challenges,” Hall said. “I have adapted the saying, ‘Adapt, improvise and overcome.’ And it's just something that is [part of] the restaurant business, we’re finding out. Something will always pop up here and there and, and you just got to work with it and make it better.”
Rachel Sun can be reached at rsun@bonnercountydailybee.com and followed on Twitter @RachelDailyBee.
Connie's Café started out as a Conoco gas station with a five-seat lunch counter in 1952. Fred Hartley closed the gas station and remodeled the building to become Fred's Diner in late 1954. Hartley sold the diner to Conrad (Connie) and Donna Balch. Connie had owned two restaurants in Washington, but his parents lived in Sandpoint. At first, Connie simply painted out Fred Hartley's name on the diner and substituted his own, but eventually the facility became known as Connie's Café.
Connie's restaurant experience served him well in Sandpoint. He knew what people wanted and how to provide it. A dedication to quality food, gracious service and reasonable prices resulted in steady growth. Balch enlarged the restaurant three times to accommodate the local families and tourists eager to enjoy his hospitality.
After nearly 20 years of operating Connie's, the Balches started looking for a buyer who would continue the tradition. Bill Bowman was managing the Carnation Company's wholesale operations in the Spokane area, but was looking for a business of his own. Hearing from a friend in July of 1972 that Connie's might be available, he immediately began discussions. Connie wasn't interested in selling to just anyone, but Bowman persisted, and in November of that year, Bill and Lorraine Bowman bought Connie's Café. The Balches "retired to their 520-acre ranch in the Wrenco Loop area to tend a crop of 75.000 Christmas trees.
Legend has it that the Bowman's wanted to change the restaurant's name until they learned that revising the sign would cost $14,000.00. Suddenly, "Connie's" sounded pretty good.
Under Bowman's management, Connie's continued to thrive and grow. They treated both customers and staff well, and many of their employees worked at Connie's for decades.
Bill and Lorraine acquired the lot just east of the restaurant in 1980 and built the first part of Connie's Motor Inn, applying the same philosophy of excellence to the lodging business that had proven so successful at the restaurant. The expansion across Fourth Street took place in the late 1980's.
In 1994 Connie's was sold to Hospitality Associates, who still operates the motel. Hospitality Associates leased the restaurant from 1997 until February 2007 to Sand-Ida Services who elected not to renew their lease at that time and the restaurant closed.
Connie's new owners re-opened the cafe in May of 2007 and closed it in December 2008.
David and Penny Libbey purchased Connie's in April of 2009 and decided to remodel and upgrade the café. The Libbey's are dedicated to Sandpoint's iconic restaurant, and are committed to providing affordable, quality meals in a friendly atmosphere. Dave and Penny come froman extensive restaurant background opening their first of seven restaurants in 1985 in Portland, Oregon. The Libbey's want to continue the Connie's Café concept to provide coffee house atmosphere and prices with dinner house quality. Although it has weathered changes and face-lifts, Connie's quality food and unique atmosphere will endure.
Please join us for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Connie's is ready to welcome you again.