Panhandler Pies celebrates 35 years

By DAVID GUNTER

Feature correspondent

SANDPOINT — There’s a lot of history sitting on the corner of First Avenue and Lake Street, dating back, in recent memory, to the time when a service station sat on this prime piece of downtown real estate.

Local entrepreneur Beaner Johnson saw the location’s promise in the 1970s, when he opened a popular burger joint known as B.J.’s Drive-In. In 1983, Johnson upped his game — and the size of the restaurant — when he built a 3,200-square-foot restaurant and bakery called Panhandler Pies.

Now in its 35th year, Panhandler Pies has remained a dining staple in a town where restaurant concepts tend to come and go. Not so in this case, due primarily to a failsafe combination of tasty, affordable food and friendly service.

“I think it’s the consistency,” owner Rex Williams said when asked about the restaurant’s longevity. “People have their favorite items and they come back again and again for them. I talk to people every day who tell me they’ve been coming here for 10, 15, 25 years. We have a lot of loyal customers.

“With all those nice people and a great staff, why would you want to leave?” he asked.

“Retirement,” he said, fielding his own question.

Williams bought the business from Johnson in 1989 in a handshake deal. Now running it with his wife and co-owner, Maria, he is closing in on three decades of watching Sandpoint — and Sandpointians — grow up around the distinctive, barn-shaped building.

“We’ve watched the generations come and go in here,” Maria said. “Customers who used to be little kids are now bringing in their kids.”

Certainly, the old-fashioned, hometown feel of the place contributes to return business, but the restaurant’s reputation for good food at family friendly prices also keeps folks coming back.

“Beaner’s motto was: ‘Good home-cooking at affordable prices,’” said Rex.

A look at the lunch menu shows several items falling in the $7-$10 price range, for instance. Serving breakfast all day has been another winner for the business, as have diners’ favorites such as fajitas, chili and the Navajo taco.

And then, there are those pies.

“We bake them right here every day,” Rex said, adding that the baker rolls in during the wee hours to get the pies ready before the breakfast rush hits.

Apple pie remains a strong seller, but the fastest-mover at Panhandler Pies tends to be an original blend of berries.

“Oh, our best-seller has to be the razzleberry pie,” Maria said. “It’s got marionberries, blackberries, blueberries and raspberries.”

Requests for pie recipes are not uncommon, the owners said, but people ask for the restaurant’s corn bread recipe — a menu item that comes pretty close to being famous — almost daily. Sorry, they respond — that’s a secret.

With an eye toward more leisure time and some travel plans already in the works, the Williams’ have Panhandler Pies up for sale, either for someone to buy the property and restaurant outright, or purchase just the business. They feel that the location — it is one of only a few downtown businesses with its own, large parking lot immediately adjacent to the building — and the profitable tenure make it a solid investment.

“It would be a great thing for a husband and wife team,” said Rex.

“It really is a perfect opportunity,” Maria added. “And we would love for someone to come in and carry on the tradition.”

Panhandler Pies has a staff of about 20 people, some of whom have been on the payroll for more than a decade. The owners pride themselves in supporting the community through donations to local causes and in other ways, such as the free birthday meal that has become an institution in itself.

“We give away an average of 10-15 birthday meals every day,” Rex said. “You’d be amazed how many people come back every year for that meal.”

Tourists from myriad directions also make Panhandler Pies one of their stops, whether they’re staying in town or just passing through, telling the Williams’ that they consider it a dining destination on their travels.

Since the time when Johnson first opened the restaurant and bakery, a colorful character has peered down upon passing motorists in the form of the restaurant’s logo. Over the years, there has been some conjecture about whether the mustachioed fellow in the floppy hat and suspenders is holding a pan because he’s panhandling for money or panning for gold. Neither, according to Rex Williams, who inherited the logo as part of that handshake deal.

“No, he handles the pans,” the owner said. “He’s the cook.”

Panhandler Pies, located at 120 S. First Ave., is open Mon.-Thurs. from 7 a.m.-8:30 p.m., Fri.-Sat. from 7 a.m.- 9 p.m., and closed Sundays.

For information on the business, contact Rex Williams at 208-627-2332.