Behind the Business: Wayside Café

HEYBURN, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — It’s not easy to find places in the Magic Valley that offers good comfort food 24-7. But one place in Heyburn has been doing just that for decades.

The Wayside Cafe has been a staple of the Heyburn community since the 1960′s, but the current owners purchased the restaurant in the ‘80′s.

It’s a place that locals, and those passing through, have come to know and love.

A place that you can find all the comforts of home.

General Manager Lori Bird says, “I would say it’s mostly home cooking it’s that comfort food. We’ve got the sweet and the salty and the fries and chicken fried steaks and steak and eggs and all the yummy stuff that you would want if you were at home and your mom was cooking for you. That’s what they Wayside is about.”

Comfort food is just the beginning. Many of the staff have worked at the wayside for as long as it’s been around. So have their kids and some their grandkids. It’s the same for customers.

“I think the thing that makes the wayside special is people are treated like family and you may only come through here once a year or you might be one of those people who are here four times a week. You’re treated like family. They look for their favorite waitress when they walk in the door they want their favorite item off the menu and they love it when people remember faces and we usually remember what their favorite thing is, Bird says”

And for many their favorite meal is followed by their favorite slice of the Wayside’s Pie.

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