9B Pho Noodle Joint under new management

BONNERS FERRY — New restaurant managers Lee and Tanna Yeoumans are ready to provide the community with interesting culinary delights.

Pho, a traditional Vietnamese soupy mainstay, is the reason for this small, quaint, but aromatic and pleasant, food establishment’s name.

David and Lori Allen, the owners, are excited to have the Yeoumans managing the restaurant. The Allens, from Reno, Nev., have now lived in the community for the past four years. David Allen is a former deputy sheriff, and his wife, Lori Allen, has worked in the restaurant industry for 10 years.

“Being a cop and on duty all the time, I got used to eating a lot of different foods, so I am a foodie,” David Allen explained. Noticing that there was a need for a restaurant like this, the Allens and former partners opened 9B Pho Noodle Joint.

Lee Yeoumans explains, “Pho is a Vietnamese soup made with bone marrow and fresh vegetables, with chicken or beef.”

“It is gluten-free,” Lori Allen added.

David Allen clarified that Pho is a Vietnamese/ French Fusion soupy delight.

During the late 1800s to 1954, when the French colonized Vietnam, formerly known as French Indochina, Pho developed with influence from the French, which culinarily translates to the Pho we know today.

RJ Coates, a cook for 9B Pho Noodle Joint, specified that, “it takes five hours to make the vegetable broth and another five hours for the meat based broth.”

There are other flavorful dishes on the menu besides Pho.

Yakisoba, a Japanese dish, is also made in-house at 9B Pho Noodle Joint.

“Presentation is everything,” Coates said as he prepared a to-go box with Yakisoba. The recipe includes a meat of the customers choice, vegetables, yakisoba noodles, and sauce.

Lee Yeoumans has been cooking for different food establishments in Bonners Ferry for approximately 15 years, and his wife, Tanna Yeoumans has 15 years of experience with customer service and cashiering.

The decision to make Lee and Tanna Yeoumans restaurant management was easy.

“They’ve been here, they’ve lived in the community forever, and it has been Lee’s dream of opening a restaurant,” David Allen said. “ I worked with Lee for a number of months. Lee has a lot of cooking talent, he is great, and is really good at it. From day one, from speaking with Lee, there is a huge passion there with cooking and food.”

Tanna Yeoumans described some changes and future goals for the restaurant: “A stirfry special and spring rolls will be added to the menu, the Pho will be a little different; a chicken-based Pho and a beef-based Pho will be available too.

“The hours have changed. We are closed Saturday and Sunday and open Monday through Friday,” Tanna Yeoumans said. “This is mainly for our winter hours; not a lot of places, closeby, are open on Mondays.”

Lee and Tanna Yeoumans have been managing the restaurant on their own for the past week.

“We have a huge variety of customers, from people traveling from Montana to locals. Mostly, people hear about us by word of mouth or the Yelp review pages,” said Lee Yeoumans.

Lee and Tanna Yeoumans described how they would like to get better public relations with the community and feel that positive exposure would be helpful. They plan to be a part of local fundraising and will also offer coupons in local publications. Currently, there are three coupons in the chamber of commerce publication.

“We will be doing more in the community,” said Tanna Yeoumans.

The restaurant offers car-side delivery where customers can call in their orders, and restaurant staff will run out the orders to their cars if they pull in near the back door in the alleyway adjacent to the restaurant.

The 9B Pho Noodle Joint is located at 6387 Kootenai St. in Bonners Ferry and can be reached during business hours at 208-267-2000. They can also be found online via Facebook and reviews can be accessed at YELP.