Coffee, tea and Michael D

Restaurant owner connects with customers, friends with special one-day sale; hopes to reopen soon

COEUR d’ALENE — One after the other, cars and trucks and SUVs turned into the parking lot at Michael D’s Eatery Tuesday.

Not to eat breakfast or lunch, as the popular restaurant on Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive has been closed about a month.

They came for coffee, tea, and a little of owner Michael DePasquale’s company.

“Michael’s been a longtime friend. He always has reached out to the community,” said Pete Puga, who showed up with his wife, Tammie, and left with two 16-ounce bags of whole bean Doma Coffee for $12 each. “We just wanted to come and show him some love.”

Tammie said DePasquale has always been generous and supportive of fundraisers — besides operating one of the area’s best eateries for 21 years.

“Great coffee, great food here,” she said. “He’s just a great guy.”

“I’m thrilled that we’re able to give back,” she added.

DePasquale was joined by longtime servers Amy Stodgell and Bettina Whipple in selling Doma Coffee, their popular Pike Street tea and coffee mugs outside his restaurant on a sunny spring day.

They greeted guests with smiles and hellos — no hugs — and chatted about how things were going.

“This isn’t a work day,” DePasquale said. “This is a day to get together and do exactly what you just saw.”

He said when they closed their doors last month due to the coronavirus, they gave what food was left over to employees, froze some and took home what they could.

Michael D’s is not offering curbside service, as that won’t work for breakfast on the east end of town, DePasquale said. And, he believes the government-ordered shutdown of nonessential businesses will be short term.

But because he had recently ordered a fresh supply of coffee and tea before the closure, he decided to reduce the inventory as well as let the community know they’re still there, still positive and still hoping to reopen soon.

“Let’s sell it to those who want it,” he said. “It gives us a chance to say hi to everybody and generate a little cash.”

It was kind of a reunion of good friends as folks stopped, bought coffee or tea or both.

Many wanted conversation with the personable DePasquale, too.

The Pugas made a donation after chatting with their friend of more than two decades.

“It wasn’t just about the coffee,” Pete Puga said. “You don’t need to have something tangible.”

Michael D’s has done well. It is one of the area’s longest-running restaurants with a loyal following who enjoy its affordable omelets, sandwiches, burgers and salads. But the current situation is tough, DePasquale said.

He said if the government stimulus package plays out how it’s designed, that should help.

“We’re ready for the storm to end and game on,” he said. “We’re all hopeful.”

He believes in East Sherman Avenue. A new Mexican restaurant recently opened in the former O’Shays Irish Pub site and the Lake Drive Lofts apartments opened, too, with a Bakery by the Lake on the ground floor. There’s word of a brewery coming to the area, as well.

“All of that adds up to growth here, so we’re ready,” he said.

Stodgell and Whipple are ready to return. Both have worked for DePasquale about 20 years and miss their customers.

“It’s challenging. I mean, we are used to going to work and talking to people,” Whipple said.

“The social aspect is the roughest part,” Stodgell added.

When asked how they’re getting by economically during the shutdown, both said OK.

DePasquale, always a man of good humor, concluded: “I’m broke.”

On a warm afternoon, sitting at a table outside Michael D’s, it felt good to laugh.