Putting money where mouths are

At a time when many businesses are devoid of consumer activity, it was surprising to find a swarm of customers in a new Minden restaurant two weeks ago.

Don and Debbie Griep of Jacks Valley opened Cowboy's Cafe because they were bored with retirement, they told me.

The interview fell on a typical Friday morning. Traffic skittish. Pedestrians more jittery than usual. All anxious for that 5 p.m. threshold of freedom.

Entering the modest storefront, which sits across the highway from the new Holiday Inn Express, I found starkly-colored walls decked out in Western decor. Crossing the room to find the Grieps, I noticed several tables occupied. A low steady murmur of conversation. The morning's nascent news. And everywhere the hearty, hale smell of breakfast " eggs and potatoes, sausage and bacon, the musky, slightly bitter smell of coffee.

Before I could even begin the interview, which never really became a formal interview, a new wave of customers came sweeping in.

"We opened May 4, and we've been swamped since," said Debbie Griep, hurrying about to fill coffee mugs.

The couple, both in their late 50s, have owned two other restaurants in the area and a liquor store. They said they tried to retire, but were driven out of their minds by boredom.

"We've just been running," said Don Griep, wielding a plate of biscuits and gravy. "We open at 6 in the morning, and there are people here at 6:01."

In a time when disposable income is scarce, Carson Valley residents seem to have no problem opening up their wallets and testing their appetites on a new roadside diner.

In fact, the food and beverage industry is one sector of the economy that's holding its own, relatively speaking.

When the state released its taxable sales report for February, the numbers sank in like a malediction. Sales down 26 percent in Douglas County. Furniture sales down 30 percent statewide. Motor vehicles and parts down 43 percent. But there was a blip in the dirge litany. Food and beverage stores statewide were up .2 percent. A fraction, a speck of light, but something.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for food services and drinking places, which were down 9.9 percent statewide. So it may be disingenuous to say that food and beverage is thriving right now, but I don't think it's disingenuous to say there are several bright spots, Cowboy's Cafe being one.

Kim Lee's Sushi & Carson Valley Cafe also opened this month in the Scolari's shopping center in Gardnerville. The restaurant offers an unusual mix of American and Japanese cuisine. Owner Tony Pastini, a Chicagoan turned Nevadan, has owned and operated almost a dozen similar restaurants in Northern Nevada since 1988. Also a food safety instructor for Washoe County, he knows the business well and is sticking to what he knows in this economy, one of many business owners and entrepreneurs still willing to bet on consumers' empty stomachs and curious taste buds.

"Friday nights are insanity here," he said. "People always spend money on comfort. They'll give up luxuries, but not comfort meals. They'll always go to that local restaurant that has a price range they couldn't match in their own homes if they tried."

Speaking of food, on a different note, Plant It Nursery in Gardnerville has introduced the national Plant A Row for the Hungry program to Nevadans. Participants simply plant an extra row in their garden to grow food for those less fortunate. The fresh produce is dropped off at the nursery whose owners relay it to the Carson Valley Community Food Closet throughout the growing season.

Plant It Nursery is located at 1346 Centerville Lane, across from St. Gall Catholic Church. Call 781-1918 for more information.

And so the mysterious cycle of life continues. Like a cataclysmic glacier that tills the soil, the economic recession is grinding the weedy ground into a deep fertile loam, leaving in its wake the many furrows of opportunity.