Heart Rock Wines, CrossTime Saloon: A hit in the community
Courtesy photo Kris and Lillian Lonborg, owners of Heart Rock Wines and CrossTime Saloon.
Photo by MANDI BATEMAN A wide selection of wines line the walls of Heart Rock Wines, winner of the 2019 Best of Boundary County Best Wine category.
Photo by MANDI BATEMAN CrossTime Saloon has a wide variety of craft beers, ciders, and meads.
Photo by MANDI BATEMAN Heart Rock Wines and CrossTime Saloon hosts different events; this array was for the annual Rotary Grapes and Barley Walk.
BONNERS FERRY — When the community looks for a great place to sip on a glass of wine or enjoy a frosty pint of beer, they have several places to choose from in Boundary County. More than 1,000 voters came out to cast their votes for their favorite places, choosing Heart Rock Wines for Best Wine.
Heart Rock Wines opened in 2015, by owners Lillian and Kris Lonborg. CrossTime Saloon opened the following year in the adjoining cellar, when Kris Lonborg’s beer selection grew so large that Lillian Lonborg was playing “beer jenga” to get to her wines.
CrossTime Saloon proved to be popular with the voters as well, taking second place as Best Cold Beer, and Kris Lonborg took second place as the Best Bartender.
The two places, side by side, provide a unique experience for customers. The Heart Rock side is elegant, with a classy, yet cozy feel. The walls are lined with wine bottles available to be purchased to be enjoyed at the bar, tables, or couch, or taken home for another time.
“Our wine selection, while focused on the Northwest region, also includes wines from California, France, Italy, Portugal, Argentina and Chile,” said Lillian Lonborg. “A favorite of ours comes from our very own state of Idaho and is a rich and spicy, velvety Malbec from Clearwater Canyon. We stock mainly boutique wine, the vast majority of which cannot be found in the supermarkets.”
On the CrossTime Saloon side, customers can enjoy their pint in a relaxing sci-fi, fantasy, and music-themed setting. They feature a selection of more than 400 varieties of craft beers, ciders, and meads from the Pacific Northwest and beyond, from bottles or from eight constantly rotating taps.
“Kris’s love of sci-fi, fantasy and rock and roll plays a big part of making for a fun-filled rec room with a kick,” said Lillian Lonborg.
On the Heart Rock side, the staggering selection of fine wines are all hand picked by Lillian Lonborg, who left the corporate world behind in the UK, where she is originally from, and found a calling in wines. While waiting for permanent residency, Lillian Lonborg turned her hand to learning about Northwest wines, volunteering in several tasting rooms over in Seattle. She said that she loves people and sharing her wine knowledge with her guests through the bar, wine tasting, and retail.
Kris Lonborg also selects top craft beers, ciders, and meads for the CrossTime Saloon.
“He especially loves a Scotch ale which he says ‘hits that balance between dark and light’, his favorite being The Claymore by The Great Divide Brewing Company out of Denver, Colorado,” said Lillian Lonborg.
When enjoying a nice drink, many people also like to pair that with food. Both Heart Rock and CrossTime offer antipasto platters, featuring Italian cured meats, aged cheeses, and a medley of olives, artichoke hearts, and crackers. They also have Foodie Friday, which they call a “one pot wonder.” These vary but have included Thai and Indian Curries, Chicken en Mole, Moussaka, Lasagna, Chili con Carne, and Tacos, Beef and Guinness stew.
“Our offering, we’ve been told many times, brings a totally different charm to Bonners Ferry and we now also attract a large following from places as far off as Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, Libby, and Canada,” said Lillian Lonborg.
Atmosphere, drinks, and food are only part of the equation that has made the two places favorites for people in the community. Service is another important part, and Lillian and Kris Lonborg pride themselves on that aspect.
“It’s all about the hospitality, which luckily comes naturally to us, and it was pretty clear from the outset that our sophisticated but fun venue would become very popular with the local community, because we offer a safe and worldly atmosphere where people can enjoy meeting up for dates, reunions, showers, birthday parties, painting and craft classes,” said Liliian Lonborg.
She also explained that they enjoy the clientele so much, that many of them now socialize outside of the bar now, often at one another’s homes, or somewhere on one of the many beautiful lakes in the Northern Idaho outdoors that they have come to love so much.
The vision and dream that became Heart Rock Wines and CrossTime Saloon has proved to be a successful combination, going from crazy dream to reality.
“It took a few years to move from our jobs in Seattle and move here permanently, and each time we visited we grew more and more encouraged that Bonners was finally ready for us and our bold business, which many people thought was a bit of a crazy idea in such a small town,” said Lillian Lonborg. “We love what we do and plan to continue for many years to come. Thanks for having us, Bonners Ferry!”
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More information: www.heartrockwines.com or thecrosstimesaloon.com
Location: 6371 Kootenai St., Bonnerport Building, Bonners Ferry
Phone: 208-290-4397