Triple Grand “Wakes Up” Waitsburg

WAITSBURG - Hundreds of Touchet Valley residents and visitors descended on Waitsburg for its annual Classic Auto Show and its opening of three new food & drink establishments this weekend.

All new businesses reported big crowds at their establishments, stretching their venues and staffs to capacity, but all startups received rave reviews for their high standards in quality offerings and service.

The three days of startup celebrations marked a new wave of business activity downtown, leading some observers to remark that Waitsburg's star as a fun gourmet food destination is headed for the firmament like a rocket ornament on a '50s Chevy.

"It was really exciting to see people in the street and see the town wake up from a slumber," said Charles Smith, owner of the Anchor Bar, one of the three new establishments.

Friday, the day of the triple grand opening, began with the 6 am opening of Coppei Coffee Co. at 137 Main Street, bringing early birds in for a sampling of fresh pastries, hot espresso and iced drinks.

The crowd swelled by mid morning and at 11 am, residents and onlookers gathered for a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony with Izzy the camel, Coppei staff and family, and local dignitaries.

Rev. Bret Moser of the Waitsburg Presbyterian Church blessed the new business started by owner Imbert Matthee and his business partner Marc Bru.

"Bless this simple space, that the words spoken here may be words of freedom and peace, not words of condemnation and anger," Moser said. "May those who come here find not only nourishment and refreshment for their bodies, but also for their hearts and minds."

Matthee thanked the many contributors to the Coppei venture, which started more than a year ago with the renovation of the old Mock's Electric building and the back of the Times building.

He singled out Waitsburg contractor Ron Smith of Northstar Construction, whom he praised for his tireless dedication to the transformation of the coffee shop space.

City Councilman Karl Newell, who provided technical advice of much moral support to the project, was invited to cut the ribbon to the cheers of dozens of local friends gathered on the sidewalk.

"Now let's have coffee," Matthee said.

The next big development of the day was the opening of the Anchor Bar, which opened its doors at 3 pm with Happy Hour, drawing a steady flow of customers to reached its peak mid evening when the Walla Walla-based Rubbernecks duo Dillin Stiffler and Calvin Bertinelli took the stage with their roots blues, hillbilly and rockabilly tunes.

By then, the bar was packed with locals and visitors alike, taking in draft beers, cocktails and snacks. Some danced to the twangy string and snappy drum tunes. Patrons wandered out into the street and the night club atmosphere could be seen and heard up and down Main Street.

Tiffany Laposi and Bart Baxter opened their Betty's Diner at 5 p.m. and were immediately inundated with hungry customers.

"It was slammed," Baxter said. "If we can handle this, we can handle anything."

Baxter had all hands on deck for his '50s-style diner, preparing for big crowds in conjunction with the Classic Auto Show starting that same evening. All nine staffers were on hand to help serve the customers at his 31-seat restaurant.

"I had to have all hands on deck," Baxter said. "I didn't want to be shorthanded. I'd rather take a financial loss than a loss in service."

The manager said he sold 50 gallons of ice cream, or two and a half times what he had ordered, prompting staff to make a special trip to the Tri Cities to replenish the diner's supply.

In all, Betty's sold 380 orders of hamburgers and fries on Friday and Saturday, gave out 20 T shirts, 10 frisbies and 12 hula hoops as grand opening prizes.

Even though the diner did not have an official opening ceremony, a local resident, Bob Moulton gave Baxter a model of a 1957 Chevy as a present, after he noticed the car style and year were missing from the restaurant's glass- shelved collection stretched out along the upper walls of the dining space.

Opening day had its quirks and hiccoughs, their owners said.

Given the high outside temperatures and delay of fans installation, the ice cream at Coppei Coffee was a bit soft. The jukebox at the diner blew a tube, forcing the business to set up backup music from its theme era. The Anchor seemed a bit short staffed during its peak night hour.

But none of the owners would have traded their grand opening for anything.

As Smith, who worked behind the bar himself and could be seen carrying dish trays, put it: "It was great."