Local customers helped Kaniksu Dining Room cook up success

(Today, Marguerite Thompson Olson continues her story about the Kaniksu Lounge and Dining Room. She came to this area from Nebraska during World War II and took over the management of the dining room in 1949.)

“When I took over the dining room I knew I had to make it go. In the summer time you had the tourist coming from Canada and we were really swamped. When we had the slot machines in the cocktail lounge we were busy all of the time, but when the machines went out, so did a lot of the customers and it was really terrible.

“I decided I had to bring in some additional customers so I went and had a talk with Coach Cotton Barlow. I asked if he would give me the names of all the coaches of all the schools his team played or any team passing through Sandpoint. He gave me the names and I wrote each one of them and gave them a copy of my menu. I emphasized the chicken fried steak because I knew how much boys liked that dish. I told the coach that I would give his team a 10-percent discount on all the meals and if he would let me know when they would be in; the food would be on the table waiting for them.

“That is the way I really made business in the winter time. I recall telling some of the local football players that if they won a game to come in and lunch would be on me — they did. I also had banquets for some of the teams at the end of their season as well as a lot of the different organizations in Sandpoint. I could seat a little more than 100 people at these events and I would charge $1.50 per person.

“We had some well known personalities visit the Kaniksu. Claudette Colbert came in the dining room on her way up to Lake Louise. There was another movie star, Rosalind Russell, that came in to eat. I remember she always wore a red rose at her neck. She was on her way to Lake Louise and she had her chauffeur and two white poodles with her. Word got around town that she was there and the Kaniksu Lounge was full of people having a drink with Joe just to see her walk out of the dining room. People were even standing out on the street.

“But the most important people were our local customers. Jimmy and Doug Bopp had lounges in Sandpoint and they were regular customers in the dining room. Mr. Otis Parker had the Chevrolet-Oldsmobile dealership across the street from the Kaniksu and he was a very good customer. I also remember that Mr. Albert Pier was a steady customer and he was the sweetest old gentleman.

“We also had some excitement at the Kaniksu. I remember the day a plane crashed in the lumber yard. I was in the dining room near the cold water fountain and all of a sudden the whole wall came right out at me and then went back in. I was dumbfounded and I didn’t know what happened but it was such a strange feeling. I walked outside and everyone was out on the street trying to figure out what had happened.

“It was getting very busy in the dining room and I needed someone to help me out. My brother, Barney Blasko, was in Tacoma, Wash., and he was experienced in the restaurant business. I called and begged him to come to Sandpoint and help me. I told him that he would have free room and board and I would pay him exactly what he was making in Tacoma; that is what brought him to Sandpoint.

“He would only work through the summer months and when elk season came along, he was gone. I had been hunting ducks with him around Sandpoint and he told me I should go elk hunting with him. I arranged to have someone come in for two weeks and we went over to Montana elk hunting. I had a borrowed gun and I missed when I shot. I came back and bought my own gun, a 270 Winchester, from Roy Johnson who worked for Spokane City Power and Electric, and I never missed getting my elk after that.”

To be continued