Wolffy's tests the appetites of Airway Heights

Just like the residential population, the West Plains seems to be the area where expansion is taking place with business too.

Add the nearly 30-year-old local restaurant chain, Wolffy's, to that list with their location in Airway Heights.

"We looked all over, in the past we've been on the Northside (of Spokane near), Mead High School, Argonne and Montgomery (in the Spokane Valley), so we've been everywhere," general manager, Justin Davis said.

The family-owned business had not yet tapped into the area west of Spokane, and particularly the West Plains. Mom and dad, Bob and Barbara Davis, have deep roots in the restaurant business, having first launched the Wolffy's brand in 1988 with various locations all over Spokane.

But one of the most attractive things was the property, the former Taco Time in Airway Heights, gave the Davises a "bang for the buck," Justin Davis said.

And there really was not competition for a business model that stressed just breakfast and lunch.

"That was a transition because we've always done lunch and dinner," Davis said. "Out here there's a lot of dinner competition but breakfast, there really wasn't much here."

Already, just a few months into operation, Davis said they are exploring the idea of expanding to tap into the dinner market. "For now, (it's) just breakfast and lunch," he added.

In Spokane, where the family operates their other location, a small diner-style place at the corner of Hamilton Street and Sharp Avenue near Gonzaga University, the competition is fierce.

Breakfast, Davis admits, is complicated, "It's a lot more challenging."

Their niche will be offering all fresh ingredients, nothing frozen, as well as their own spices and sauces. "We're constantly fine tuning," Davis said. "Our hash brown that we have right now is a good hash brown but it's not quite the way we want it."

A lot of restaurants will go with what's the cheapest price.

And their striving to come up with a product that a customer will remember - bring them back and tell their friends - comes at a cost some do not understand.

"Even hash browns, too, we're not fast," Davis said. "That's the biggest complaint you'll hear from customers, 'we've been in here for 40 minutes."

Correct, Davis explained. "We cook it fresh." They do not cook 40 orders and stack them on the grill.

On a Tuesday morning, the booths were not full, but that is rarely ever the case between when the doors are open at 6:30 a.m. to closing at 2:30 p.m. "Come Thursday, Friday, Saturday it's standing room only," Davis said. "Even today (Tuesday) we'll get standing room only by 11, 11:30 (a.m.)."

If the food is not right, Davis said they try to correct it before it hits the table. The fact that Wolffy's is not fast food is something old customers already know.

The drive-thru at Hamilton is not there to produce assembly-line food, Davis said.

"We only have 17 seats." And if there's a full house inside, people will wait 20-25 minutes in the drive thru.

The Airway Heights restaurant did away with the drive-thru window.

"We don't really apologize for it (taking time), it's how we are," Davis said.

Restaurant life has been Davis' business as long as he can remember, telling of the days when he was 6 or 7 years old doing dishes and mopping floors. His parents also operate Davis Donuts in Coeur d'Alene, and mom still works the floor as a waitress.

The new location breaks the mold of a 1950s diner-style restaurant that other family restaurants in the past have featured, Davis said.

The other change is making breakfast more affordable. "Breakfast prices are outrageous," Davis said. "You go get bacon and eggs, you're like (paying) $15 these days." That same meal at Wolffy's will run $10.50.

Davis said they want customers to enjoy a nice atmosphere, but still have food at a relative bargain in the market. He wanted to have a location that would attract customers from across a wide array including families, young people and even businesspeople.

And the brew in the name not only means coffee, but beer as well.

This is the first Wolffy's to serve alcohol. That's because the array of shift workers that are present in the vicinity. "When they work graveyard, they're done at 6 or 7 in the morning, for them, that's dinner," Davis said.

In other locations the staple drink has always been milkshakes. "Here we sell more beer than shakes," Davis said. "It's crazy, we never thought that was going to happen."

The Airway Heights location, which opened in January, employs 16 people.

MORE INFO

Wolffy's in Airway Heights is located at 12807 W. 14th Ave. Business hours are Sunday through Saturday from 6:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. To contact Wolffy's, call (509) 368-9749 or visit wolffyshamburgers.com.

Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].