C
apone's Pub & Grill has been part of the North Idaho experience for three decades, serving hand-tossed pizzas and offering 41 beers and ciders on tap at any given time, a whopping 24 television sets and the kind of goodies that got them noticed by the producers of the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives television show in 2010. Tom and Teresa Capone created the flagship Coeur d'Alene pub in 1991, eventually expanding to Post Falls and Hayden, as well as a smaller publet at the Ponderosa Springs Golf Course in 2018. Their Coeur d'Alene location manager, Tyler Geigle, remembers the place way back to when he was a kid.What can you tell us about the dishes you will be featuring for the Great Dine Out?
GEIGLE: We're going to offer our new Luau pizza [with ham, pineapple, bacon, jalapeño and a ranch dressing base], Roosevelt salad [chicken breast, caramelized walnuts, craisins, carrots, Gorgonzola and croutons over mixed greens] and our Philly steak deluxe [with beef or chicken, grilled onions, mushrooms, peppers and provolone]. It's awesome! All of our meats and veggies are cut daily, as well as our ingredients are very fresh, and we have our bakery at our Hayden location, so all our bread is baked fresh daily.
Every restaurant has handled shutdowns, restricted dining and mask mandates differently. What was your plan last year, and how did it evolve?
We have been following the recommendations from Panhandle Health District from the very beginning. We already had a very diligent sanitation routine in place, but we did remove some tables and added staff to help seat people and sanitize more efficiently. The plans have been the same for all three locations. And we have a huge outdoor patio, so we're ready for warm weather and outdoor dining.
Any upside or good news from this past year?
I had been wanting to get delivery going for Capone's for a while and bothering Tom and Teresa to start doing it for several years. This was the perfect opportunity to start delivery and curbside pickup, and we are going to keep it going!
How have your customers responded throughout this past year?
You know, Capone's has been in business 30 years this October. We have lots of locals who come in all year-round, people who've heard about us from the television show, and all the sports fans. For the most part, the customers have been awesome! We love the motto "Be nice or leave."
