End of an era at Silver Beach

On Sunday morning we read in Nils Rosdahl's Press business column that the Beachouse Restaurant at Silver Beach would close for good that evening, the building slated for demolition.

So we decided to go there for dinner, a last opportunity to enjoy the signature huckleberry ribs. It was a nostalgic evening on the patio overlooking the lake and marina at sunset, with other like-minded locals and long-time customers, including Glenn and Jodi Lauper and their family.

We took photos of the restaurant, which I later posted on my Facebook page. An outpouring of commenters shared their memories of the Beachouse and earlier businesses on that location - Jackson's and INNtrepid.

One of the posters caught my attention: Marina Matelich Otter. She said her family owned the INNtrepid and Matelich Marina. When she was born in 1977, a year or so after the business opened and the only girl with three older brothers (Greg, Ted and Thomas), her parents, Joan and Greg, named her Marina after the business. She connected me with her father, Greg, Sr., who's now retired and living in Eureka, Mont., where he designs dock and shoring stations on the side. He provided some of the historical background which I'll share.

"In 1973, Matelich Marine Inc. of Kalispell, began looking for a location in the Coeur d'Alene area to market the sailboat franchises it represented. The favored location was a derelict motel formerly known as The Shorewood, located on I-90, east of town at Silver Beach.

"The motel had been severely damaged by a combination of very high spring runoff and a monumental storm around 1971 that destroyed the lower level of rooms and damaged the foundation as well. The owner at the time was a pharmacist from Dishman who had resisted local developer offers to sell the property.

"Upon hearing of our concept to build a marina at the site he agreed to sell to Matelich Marine and was excited to see the development progress. In 1974 the restructuring of the old building began and was named 'The INNtrepid' as a play on the Americas Cup 12-meter racing boat. The logo also incorporated the stylized representation of a 12-meter sailboat.

"The A-frame portion of the building had been a real estate office located adjacent to Silver Beach and had also suffered shoreline and foundation damage from the aforementioned storm. The A-frame was then jacked up and moved alongside the old motel building and became the headquarters for the marina, boat sales and dock rentals. The motel building then became the restaurant and bar and featured what was known as the 'million-dollar view,' offering an unobstructed view over the tops of the docks, boats, and down the lake. We opened for business in 1975 and sponsored the infamous New Year's Day Frostbite races, and lots of hot buttered rum!

"From the opening day, a favorite customer was Duane Hagadone, who in 1987 opened negotiations to purchase the properties to complement the expansion of the golf course and to expand the then 100-slip marina owned by Matelich Marine. The INNtrepid was turned over to the Hagadone Corporation in 1988 and subsequently renamed the Beachouse."

In 1979-80, Woody McEvers was a host at the INNtrepid and helped run the sailboat rental fleet. The longtime owner of Rustler's Roost and Coeur d'Alene City Council President said that was the second-best job in his life. Another piece of trivia was that the INNtrepid location was leased to Pete Stanger, who operated Jackson's in the early '80s before Wayne Cofield took over the lease.

Some friends also shared fun memories of the Beachouse, including Rosemary Brien Goodlander, who was proposed to there on Christmas Eve in 1990. John Goodlander conspired with Beachouse manager Terry Eastman to place the engagement ring on a cherry on top of a Yule Cake dessert. Rosemary declined dessert when the time came but Terry brought it out despite her objections. John got down on one knee and proposed. Rosemary recalls that hostess Lisa Eastman King was on the phone, with the cord stretched as far as it could go, giving John's mom, Deanna Goodlander, the proposal play-by-play.

Needless to say, the Goodlanders have celebrated many anniversaries at the Beachouse. Bill Hilbish remembers the Beachouse as the location of his pre-junior prom dinner in 1981. In the summer of 1991, Dorene Kirking and Pat Russell had their first date there and have since enjoyed many happy years of marriage.

Back in the day, before I-90 was relocated in the early 1990s, that two-lane road past Silver Beach was the Interstate. Restaurants and motels dotted the lakeside landscape on that scenic and winding highway. I'm grateful to have lived here long enough to remember the good old days and to see so many of the vast improvements that have evolved, including the Centennial Trail. Thanks for the memories to the Matelich family and to the Beachouse crew for the best huckleberry barbecue sauce EVER.

Happy birthday today to Willi Buerge, Lesli Lind, Emily Davis, Dave Bobbitt, Kris McIlvenna, Jim Hamby, Robin Merrifield, Patty Jacobs, Jeremy Moser, Jeff Tyler and Taylor Valente.

The same tomorrow to Paulette Fabian, Maggie DeTar (Sweet 16!), Steve Yost and Rich Dickman.

On Friday, Ken Bookamer, Bobby Olson and Dave Pulis will celebrate.

Taking another trip around the sun on Saturday are Carl Riegert, Claudia Pryor, Evelyn Wegner, Dave Chamberlain and Della St.Clair.

Putting on their party hats on Sunday are Keri Alexander, Vicki Fulton, Laura Umthun, Kathleen Cavender and Jim Brannon.

Sept. 8 is a special day for Anne Mitchell, Vicki Currie, Sheena Dunn, Angie Demmig, Lorna Price, Gayle Simpson, Imogene Sverdsten, Irina Ponomarenko, Sonya Fernandes, Rosemary Dickson and Bob Coles.

9/9 is the lucky number for Tuesday birthday celebrants Mary Larson, Dani Zibell-Wolfe, Kibbee Walton, Seth Anderson, Richard Clearwater, Dominick Pokosa, Krysta Azzollini, Marty Meyer and Chase Price.

Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. She was voted Best Local Writer for 2013 by the readers of the North Idaho Business Journal. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email mainstreet@cdapress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kerrithoreson.