New Bigfork eatery specializes in 19th century entrees

A 15-year-old idea finally came to fruition.

Karie Stidham has been dreaming of opening a restaurant for some time. She finally got the chance recently with the advent of Pocketstone Cafe in Bigfork.

Stidham is co-owner of the homestyle restaurant along with David and Carolyn Vale.

Pocketstone Cafe opened in June on Electric Avenue, replacing a two -story triangular-shaped pink building. The downstairs was completely gutted and the outside was given a facelift in the fashion of a saloon.

All the wood for the remodel was reclaimed wood from torn-down barns and dams. Wild Wood Eccentrics of Columbia Falls provided the wood, and Denman Construction did the rest. Stidham spent hours carefully sorting through wood piles last winter.

“She went out in blizzards” to make the selections, Carolyn noted

Pocketstone Cafe got off to a good start, David said. The business had more customers than they knew what to do with this past summer.

Things have settled down now, and Vale now has enough time to write poetry and novels in the upstairs office during the down time.

Home cooking from a simpler time is the theme of the restaurant, which is open from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. seven days a week.

Everything is homemade, and Stidham uses some of her family’s recipes, including her grandmother’s biscuits and gravy and pie crusts.

Pocketstone even makes its own English muffins, which Carolyn believes may be the only place to do so in the western United States.

“It’s a laborious process,” David said, but he thinks it’s worth the effort. They make their own French fries, too.

Food is based on the early- to mid-19th century time period, but there are a few eclectic additions such as fry-bread tacos, Juevos Montana, a chick pea burger, and Guinness Stout chocolate cupcakes.

Pocketstone also offers signature pancakes: traditional buttermilk, whole wheat and orange.

Stidham is an avid hiker who grew up in Whitefish. She came up with the idea for the name of the restaurant based on the heart-shaped stone.

The Vales moved to Woods Bay last September from Princeton, N.J., where David worked for 25 years as a psychometrician, a statistician who develops licensure tests for Realtors, insurance agents, doctors and nurses.

Originally from the Pacific Northwest — he’s from Oregon, she’s from Idaho — the Vales came through the Flathead Valley last year while headed to Northern Idaho to look for a retirement home.

The Pocketstone will host a charity Thanksgiving Dinner from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25. Reservations are recommended. Donations will be given to a local charity.

To reach the restaurant, call 837-7223 or go online at pocketstonecafe.com.

Reporter Caleb Soptelean may be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at csoptelean@dailyinterlake.com.