Two Tones Cafe wins eight Best of Boundary County awards
(Courtesy Photo) Two Tones Cafe won several Best of Boundary awards.
Courtesy photos With a variety of foods for every taste, Two Tones Cafe won a total of eight Best of Boundary County awards. The Bonners Ferry restaurant features entrées such as Buttery Shrimp Scampi and dessert items like the Chocolate Truffle Torte.
BONNERS FERRY — As they power through their second year open in Bonners Ferry, Two Tones Cafe has made their impression on the community, as evidenced through the Best of Boundary County competition.
Two Tones won the following Best of Boundary awards: First Best Place for Lunch, first in Best Restaurant, first in Best Steak, second Best Burger, second in Best Wine, and third in Dinner on a Budget.
Owner Tony Fleck was awarded first place in Best Local Cook/Chef, and Brianna Rhoades won second in Best Waitress or Waiter.
“It feels really good,” said Fleck. “It is amazing and it makes me feel like we are doing something right here, and that all that hard work is worth something. We have had a lot of people come in and be a part of what this is, so it makes me feel good that people that I brought together created something that was bigger than what I could have done by myself.”
Two Tones is moving forward by introducing Saturday Night Live performances, showcasing the patio. They are beginning with mixing local artists and bringing in artists from around the United States. So far, they have booked a couple of singers that tour around, and on the first Saturday of August and September, it will be Open Mic Night.
“That way anyone can come,” said Fleck. “We plan to sign up ahead of time so people aren’t waiting on who goes next.”
For example, someone would sign up and say they plan to sing three songs, and on to the next performer.
“I have done it in previous places that I have worked, and it works out pretty well,” said Fleck.
With the limited amount of cooks in town, the restaurant has found it challenging to open the patio kitchen and keep the traditional kitchen up and going. Beginning at 8 p.m. on the chosen Saturday, the patio will come alive with the light menu such as the flatbread pizzas, kabobs, cedar plank wraps, beer, wine, and will be accompanied by live musical entertainment.
“It’s a lighter fare, so it’s a lighter price too,” said Fleck.
The team is in the process of changing up the menu a bit, adding more global cuisine to the mix. They continue to experiment with daily specials to observe how each dish is received — for example, the Beef Matador, which received a lot of praise.
“It turned out really good,” said Fleck about the Beef Matador. “I am not trying to compete with any other restaurant in town, but I am a global cuisine, so I thought it would be smart to have at least one dish from south of the border, or the southwestern style.”
Dessert wise, they plan to add chocolate cake and the Brookie Sundae for example. The Brookie Sundae was a saved fumble that went from a dessert disaster to a hit among the patrons after they doctored it up, making it a loaded brownie topped with ice cream.
The team has tentative plans to celebrate the Best of Boundary wins in the future, in which they will recognize and thank the community again for voting and being a part of the Two Tones adventure.
“Thank you for welcoming me back to Bonners Ferry,” said Fleck. “I know it is tough to have new businesses come in, and we still have some years ahead of us to earn your business, but I think we have done good in the first year and we will continue to do that. I look forward to more of you coming out of the woodworks and trying us out.”
Two Tones Cafe is located at 6536 Main St. in Bonners Ferry. For more information, call 208-417-3040, visit www.twotonescafe.com, and they can be found on Facebook under Two Tones Cafe.