New cafe off to bustling start

Jacks Valley residents Don and Debbie Griep barely had enough time to stop and chat Friday morning as their new restaurant, Cowboy's Cafe in Minden, filled with customers.

"We opened Monday, and we've been swamped since," Debbie Griep said while topping off coffee.

"We've just been running," her husband added, wielding a plate heavy with biscuits and gravy. "We open at 6 in the morning, and there are people here at 6:01."

The couple, both in their late 50s, are no strangers to the food and beverage industry. They owned Grizzly's Cafe in Walker, Calif., for three years, Cafe Chamonix in South Lake Tahoe for seven years and King's Liquor, also at the Lake, for 17 years.

They said they both tried to retire, but got too bored.

"We sold the store, and I took six months off and just started going crazy," said Don Griep.

"I thought I wanted to retire, but I realized that I really need to stay busy," said Debbie Griep.

Restless, the couple found a storefront along Highway 395, across from the new Holiday Inn Express. Tapping into the Valley's Old West heritage, they spent two months remodeling, mounting a pair of bullhorns on one wall, along with a few antique rifles, a set of six shooters and a saddle.

"It's a nice location," Don Griep said.

But he said what's really luring people in is the hearty food.

"We try to do everything homemade," he said. "We had a woman in here the other day who said she was a judge for a chili cook-off. She said our chili was excellent, and she gave me her card."

Griep said other popular dishes include chicken fried steak and hot turkey and roast beef sandwiches.

Only open for breakfast and lunch, Cowboy's Cafe offers daily specials, such as pork chops and eggs on Friday mornings and homemade meat loaf and mashed potatoes on Wednesday afternoons.

For those with a sweet tooth, the restaurant also offers milkshakes, malts and root beer floats.

"We love Minden," Griep said. "There are a lot of nice people here."

Cowboy's Cafe is located at 1679 Highway 395, suite A. Business hours are 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The restaurant is closed on Mondays.

For more information, call 782-8800.