Bonners Ferry says farewell to Far North Deli
Photo by Mandi Bateman Alison Henslee says goodbye to her faithful customers at Far North Deli.
BONNERS FERRY — Far North Deli, the beloved sandwich shop owned and managed by Alison Henslee, closed its door for the last time on April 29, after almost five years in business.
The deli was well known for the wide array of fresh made sandwiches. They also served breakfast, take-n-bake dinners and fresh baked items. Henslee made all the soups, salads, baked goods and casseroles from scratch.
“People really liked what we had. The sandwiches were substantial, so people knew they were going to get full when they came here and ate. People liked coming in and visiting with us,” Henslee reminisced.
Henslee’s favorite memory is of the community, especially her customers. She made a lot of friends and garnered great support. One of those friends was a young boy, nicknamed “Slash” because of the top hat he wore when he first came into the deli. He came in one day with a handwritten recipe idea for a sandwich. Henslee made him one to try, and after remarking that it was delicious, the sandwich became a new lunch special.
The deli had been planning for two years to move to Les Schwab’s new addition to their building, but changes were made to the plan. “It cut my space down just enough, that I didn’t feel like I could grow the way I wanted to grow,” said Henslee.
After several months of searching for a new location, Henslee was not able to find anything that she was truly happy with. She decided that if she couldn’t find the perfect fit for her and the deli, then she would not move. It became the final reason why she decided to close.
As for Henslee’s future, she said, “It’s kind of a big wide open field and I’m going to take some time to figure out what it is that I really want to do. I’m going to be a grandma this fall so I want to have some time to be ‘Grandma’.”
“I am a hundred percent grateful for the community for supporting us. It’s been a great run. We are ending on a very high note,” Henslee said, “This morning I had a former regular customer come up from Sandpoint that heard I was closing. He came up to buy one last burrito, just check on me and to say goodbye.