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I am happy to present to you our 50th local business spotlighted in the Pay it Forward feature – Stonehouse Restaurant.
Our recent Lake County business featured was Star Gardens Nursery, and owner, Tanya Striedieck, chose to Pay it Forward to Stonehouse Restaurant.
The catch is that I will not choose the next business to interview, but the current spotlighted business will choose who I will interview next. Local businesses will Pay it Forward.
Stonehouse Restaurant specializes in breakfast and lunch. Their breakfast menu offers everything from buttermilk waffles to salmon benedicts, which can be savored with a wide variety of beverage options – specialty coffees, teas and espresso.
Their lunch menu features an array of unique sandwiches, burgers (veggie included) pasta salads and more, while their beverages selection is over the top.
The next time you are craving fresh, homemade food, check out Stonehouse Restaurant. You will not be disappointed.
1. Why did you decide to start your own business?
This opportunity presented itself to us at a time when we had the capability to take it and make it work. We have experience in the restaurant industry and knew the difficulties we were facing reopening in a location with such an established history. There is a major need for more food options in the Middletown and Hidden Valley Lake area. With the closure of the Cowpoke, the community was missing a large piece that had been there for decades and that the people had come to depend on for a gathering place for families. It’s been important for us to bring that place back to town, while putting our own spin on the food and offering fresh, homemade options.
2. What advice would you give to someone just starting their own business?
Be open and honest with people. When problems arise, do your best to take care of them and move on from them without taking things personally but focus on the best interest of your business. There is a learning curve and the best thing you can do is learn from that curve, not fight it.
3. What routines do you follow each day?
Our routine is pretty fluid as we have a lot going on with kids, animals, and business. The core routine is to get up early, get the family out of the house, animals taken care of and then switch to business mode- check in with employees and make sure the food that we need is prepped and ready.
Coffee is a must have. Make sure money items are in order and that the staff have everything they may need to conduct their days. Next thing is to take care of all day to day paper work. Lastly, handle any issues we have through the day so that the next day is ready to go!
4. Where do you see your business in five years? Ten?
We hope to expand our backyard into a beer garden with a full bar and have live music events. We also intend to open up for dinners on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. We hope to continue to be a gathering place for locals and visitors alike and we want to bring unique foods to the people of South Lake County.
5. How did you market your business when it was brand new?
We focused on our locals & used the community Facebook pages to show our patrons what we offered. We wanted to allow ourselves the opportunity to learn what works & what doesn’t, while getting to know our staff and creating our own “Stonehouse” family.
6. If you could spend the day with anyone (living or who has passed on) who would it be and why?
Phil Rasmussen, writer & creator of “Everybody Loves Raymond”. He currently has a show on Netflix called “Somebody Please Feed Phil” where he travels the world and eats the local foods and learns about their culture. He seems to be the human embodiment of Grover from Sesame Street, with a sense of humor and goofiness that warms the heart.
Jana & David Campbell
Owners
Stonehouse Middletown
21118 Calistoga Road
Middletown, CA 96461
707-809-8041
Stonehousemiddletown@gmail.com
Facebook – Stonehouse Middletown
Instagram – Stonehouse_Middletown
Business Hours:
Closed Monday
Tuesday-Saturday 7am-2pm
Sunday 8am-3pm
Stonehouse Restaurant would like to Pay it Forward to Grinder Steep.
Stay tuned for Grinder Steep!
