The Spruce Grove Cafe on the Monashee

by Darrell Noakes
for Vernon Tourism, 2002

The Spruce Grove Cafe has been a way station for travellers and a meeting place for local citizenry for 40 years. Nestled into the valley floor next to Coalgoat Creek on Highway 6, the restaurant catches first-time travellers by surprise. Those who have made the trip before look forward to the Spruce Grove as the halfway point between the Okanagan and Arrow Lakes valleys.

Laureen Bertling took over the Spruce Grove in August 2002, when the most recent owners retired.

Since it first opened in 1963, the small white building with the green roof has seen four owners, including Ms. Bertling. She still keeps in touch with the original owner, now living in Edgewood, 56 km east. In the Monashee, they're neighbours.

"It was fortunate I came in at the right time," says Ms. Bertling. "This place is unique, and the people are what make it."

On any given day, customers crowd the tables closest to the entrance and the grill. Others move into the quieter dining area in back with the wood burning stove. Some are stopping in on their way to homes in the West Kootenay. Others may be up from Cherryville, dropping by for a visit. Many travel this way from afar, hoping to find new adventure away from busier highways. They arrive by logging truck, pickup truck, car, motorcycle and bicycle.

"I started a guest book," says Ms. Bertling. "We've gotten people from all over the world."

"Most of all, it's the atmosphere here that impressed me," she says of her decision to take over the Spruce Grove."

"I grew up in a Mennonite family," she says. "Food is a blessing. When it's cooked well and it's presented well, we enjoy it. This is another way of expressing it."

"You don't get that in too many other lines of business."

"It's fulfilling in a lot of ways I never thought possible, meeting lots of great people in different walks of life, and the different places that they come from, just to come here."

A lot of people stay at the bunkhouse and campground because of the home-cooked meals and for the peaceful, wilderness setting, she says.

"We've got bears, elk and deer for neighbours. There are a lot of trails that the animals were accustomed to long before we ever came. There's a wolf trail up here, where timber wolves still travel."

There is no electricity in the Monashee. The Spruce Grove runs off a pair of generators chugging behind the restaurant. At night, the Spruce Grove is a small oasis of light, becoming visible to travellers only as they round the corner on the highway. It's the only light for miles and it's quickly lost into the night sky and the forest.

Ms. Bertling plans to stay on until her own retirement, then pass the business on to her daughter, Sarah who helps with the day-to-day operations. Laureen's son, Doug helps out "behind the scenes". While Sarah greets customers and works in the kitchen, Doug can usually be seen working in back or fixing things around the buildings. They enjoy the work and look forward to every guest's visit.

"We try to keep it all home made," says Ms. Bertling. "Home made bread, home made pie, home made soups, and the best burgers - the biggest burgers - the best cinnamon buns in the valley."

"I'm getting a reputation," she says. "My borscht is a hit. I started out making it just once every two weeks, now it's almost three times a week. Mine has beets in it, but it's a lot more cabbage and onions and Mennonite sausage. I also make a sauerkraut borscht. My customers love both of them."

"I feel that I was put here for a reason," says Ms. Bertling, "and I feel that the food that I serve, I can bless and know that it is fully appreciated." "I want them to remember this place for all of that."

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