TJ's Cafe serves up fresh taste, homestyle family dining

PONDERAY — A new restaurant is counting on fresh ingredients and hearty, home-style dishes to make waves at Bonner Mall.

TJ’s Cafe is now open for business with a full breakfast and lunch menu. Owners Todd and Julie Coumbe aim to carve out their niche in family-operated and family-oriented dining.

 “The main thing we’re emphasizing here is freshness,” Julie Coumbe said. “So everything that we serve here is prepared fresh every day. For example, we don’t stock frozen hashbrowns and serve them up. We actually cut up our own potatoes.”

I went in recently to check out these much-lauded hashbrowns for myself. The restaurant was tucked away enough to avoid much of the mall’s bustle but still easy to find. Inside, the space showed signs of recent renovation, with a fresh coat of paint and a carefully cleaned dining room.

“We spent a couple of months just gutting the place, painting and scrubbing every surface,” Coumbe said.

I chose to sit at a booth in the corner. The restaurant was quiet and, aside from another couple conversing in low tones at the far end of the room, peaceful. Coumbe said that I arrived an hour or two late for the breakfast rush.

“Right now, we get rushed once a day, and there’s no telling whether it will be for breakfast or lunch,” she said. “We’re hoping to raise that consistently to two rushes a day.”

Coumbe handed me a menu, and I perused my options. The selections were diverse, serving up classics like combo platters, eggs benedict and biscuits and gravy along with rarer selections like frittatas. The lunch menu was similarly eclectic with its wide array of sandwiches, salads and seven ounce burgers.

Given the breadth of the menu, it’s surprising that the Coumbes originally intended to open a bagel shop. However, they weren’t able to secure funding for the business. But when Sandpoint Diner at the Bonner Mall closed its doors, the Coumbes saw an opportunity. After securing funds, the Coumbes named their new restaurant TJ’s Cafe by using their first initials: “T” for Todd, “J” for Julie and “S” for their daughter Sarah, a North Idaho College student who suggested the name.

“This spot has a reputation for businesses coming and going,” Coumbe said. “So that was something we were going to have to overcome.”

And the Coumbes say their food should be the weapon to beat back that unseemly reputation.

I ordered a smoked salmon frittata served alongside toast, Evans Bros. coffee and, of course, hashbrowns to see if they could back up their claims. Sure enough, their fresh ingredients made the difference. Unlike many restaurant chains that use weird egg mixes and previously frozen sides, the meals taste like something your mom would make — assuming, of course, that your mom is a trained cook with years of professional experience. My frittata had a pleasant consistency and flavorful salmon. The hashbrowns were crispy and subtly spiced. 

So far, their strategy is yielding promising returns. Business has been increasing about 20 percent every week, and Julie has seen some returning customers.

“We hope that word of mouth more than anything will bring new faces into TJ’s,” Coumbe said.

As for me, I left TJ’s full and satisfied. According to Coumbe, that’s  exactly the feeling that will bring the customers back time and time again.