Servers, cooks devastated after Couer d'Alene restaurant burns down

When Cory Parker pulled up at the Wolf Lodge Steakhouse early Monday afternoon, the roof was on fire. 

The place he had worked at and called home for nearly 32 years was going up in flames. 

He couldn’t believe it. 

“I’m still in shock,” Parker said as he stood with fellow Wolf Lodge employees on Frontage Road as they waited for the OK to return to the restaurant. 

Parker had served in many roles over the decades. He started off washing dishes, became head cook and then kitchen manager. He worked as a server and bartender. 

He took pride in the wood-fired steaks that attracted guests from across the country, and in the closeknit group that produced the nightly dinners.

“We put out a lot of business,” he said. “A lot of us have been together for quite a while."

The fire took what had been a huge part of Parker’s life. 

“I don’t know where we go from that,” he said. 

There were hugs and tears as employees, joined by friends and customers, huddled together, smoke from the fire still rising in the distance more than three hours after it started. Some stood silently, some walked and talked, while others looked on in disappointment. A few took deep breaths.

“This was our life,” said Jesse Duncan, a four-year employee. “This is awful.” 

Duncan said he worked in kitchens throughout the area and turnover tended to be high. Not at the Wolf Lodge. People stayed. 

“That kind of gives you a sign of what kind of workplace this is,” Duncan said. “This is the best restaurant I’ve ever worked at in my life. We’re all family. This is home.” 

He said they were hoping to see general manager Nicole Martel, who was their leader and key part of Wolf Lodge for nearly 28 years and offer comfort. 

”Show her some love,” he said.  

Mallory Kubat had worked at the Wolf Lodge for nearly 10 years. She called the fire “devastating.” 

“It feels like a death,” she said. 

Kubat said generations of families came to the Wolf Lodge. Many dined there weekly or dropped in now and then. Others came for special occasions.  

“This has been people’s place to go since they were children,” she said. 

Kubat said she has another job as a hairdresser to fall back on, but she was worried about her colleagues and the impact the fire will have on them. 

“The hardest part is watching people who have been here their whole lives,” she said. 

Mandy Jones had been a server at the Wolf Lodge for 16 years. That it burned down so quickly, she said, “doesn’t even seem real.” 

Jones wasn’t sure what she would do. 

“I don’t feel like it’s set in,” she said. “This has always been my bread and butter.” 

Longtime customers stopped by to console employees. 

Laura Reese said she and her husband have celebrated birthdays and anniversaries there since the 1990s. 

“It’s very sad to lose an iconic place in North Idaho,” she said. 

Dana Bosworth has been a regular there for three decades, often driving in for dinner on her ATV. She loved the food, the staff and the atmosphere. 

“They’re like our family,” Bosworth said. “They made it so special when we came through the door."

    Wolf Lodge employees hug on Frontage Road just west of the restaurant on Monday.