A work in progress: Cooper's dining room open; second-floor project under way

After six years and 10 different building designs, Cooper’s Eatery & Drinkery has emerged as a prominent downtown Whitefish “upscale casual” restaurant and lounge in the former Truby’s Wood Fired Pizza location.

The transformation of the former pizza restaurant into a 14,000-square-foot, two-story facility isn’t quite complete, though.

A separate sandwich shop in the building will open in a couple of weeks, and the second-story space will be finished by the end of the year, offering a place for catered events and private parties.

Owner Tom Donahue said he’s pleased with the final building configuration and acknowledged the size and scale of the two-story facility are more appropriate for downtown Whitefish than the original four-story proposal.

His now-defunct International Capital Partners development company originally had proposed a mixed-use project in a building 53 feet high.

The Whitefish City Council turned down the original project largely because of the height, and by the time the city’s Architectural Review Committee approved Donahue’s third design for the site — The Offices at Cobblestone — that project was sidelined by the recession.

Donahue phased out International Capital Partners and formed a private equity company called Twin Bridges LLC when he moved his family to Whitefish 4 1/2 years ago.

The Donahues had been Whitefish seasonal residents for a couple of years prior to that.

It was Donahue’s 14-year-old son, Cooper, who suggested his father open a restaurant just like the one his German grandparents — “Oma and Opa” — had operated, instead of building an office complex. Hence Cooper’s Eatery & Drinkery was born, drawing on German and other European recipes that have been in the family for generations.

Donahue’s in-laws, Hanne and Udo Mueller, were both born in Germany and were restaurateurs in Arizona for decades before they retired. Udo, a chef and executive chef for more than 50 years, cooked for the Rat Pack in his heyday, whipping up culinary delights for the famous group that included actors and performers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford.

Donahue brought his father-in-law to Whitefish to train the chefs at Cooper’s. The restaurant’s “Tour of Europe” section of the menu allows Cooper’s to feature not only German favorites such as Jager Schnitzel and hand-crafted Spaetzle but also French and Italian dishes.

The menu also features a “Montana Hearth” section with entrees such as whole rainbow trout and smoked chicken.

“It has a lot of local flair,” he said. “One of the main emphasises is to provide organic ingredients.”

Donahue provides much of the beef used at Cooper’s from cattle he raises on his Whitefish-area ranch.

“We’ve been real pleased with the response so far,” he said. “We’re upscale casual, and moderately priced.”

The average price of entrees is $14. Donahue said the menu purposely was designed with moderation in mind.

“It’s what was needed,” he said. “It’s a nice place for locals to hang out.”

The lounge at Cooper’s is located in the former Truby’s space, a portion of the complex that past pizza patrons will recognize.

It was remodeled and opened on Dec. 31, 2009, because Donahue had a liquor license from the former owners that had to be activated by that date. Lunch is served in the lounge area only.

The dining room, on the east side of the first floor where the kitchen used to be, opened Aug. 6. It opens on the east side to a courtyard.

A smaller bistro called Stumptown Station — the name of the original restaurant — will open in about two weeks on the north end of the building in the area that once was an outdoor patio.

The soup-and-sandwich shop will have its own entrance, and locals will recognize the funky wrought-iron gate that has been reconfigured to fit across the front entrance of Stumptown Station.

“It will be hearty, healthy and fresh,” he said about the bistro menu.

UPSTAIRS, construction still is under way by general contractor Corpron. Not all the details have been finalized as to how that 7,000 square feet of space will be configured, but the second floor will house a second kitchen with a dumbwaiter connecting to the main kitchen.

Donahue plans to have space on the second floor for his corporate office, and the catering office for Cooper’s will be located there.

Some of the space will be used for catered events or private parties.

“We may have a chef’s table private dining area upstairs,” Donahue said.

Four balconies — one with an outdoor fireplace — add to the second-floor ambiance.

Donahue said he may end up with roughly 1,000 square feet for lease on the second floor, and there’s a possibility some of the space could be converted to residential use.

Cooper’s is located at 115 Central Ave. The restaurant is on Facebook, has a website at www.coopersmt.com or can be reached at 730-1018.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.