When Hockinson Country Cafe announced its relocation last month from its old home in the tight-knit Hockinson community to 20th Avenue in Battle Ground, the news garnered enough attention to be mentioned in Battle Ground Mayor Michael Ciraulo's State of the City speech a few days later.
"The Hockinson Cafe will bring additional jobs, as well as a locale for breakfast for residents," Ciraulo said during his speech on March 10, naming the eatery first in a list of new Battle Ground businesses, such as Ellsworth Bikes, Laurelwood Brewery and Anderson Plastics.
However, Lora Rohde and her husband, Robert, owners of this restaurant specializing mostly in breakfast fare, weren't present at the speech to receive the mayor's praise. According to Lora Rohde, the couple was too busy hammering out last minute preparations for the move from a 159th Street Hockinson location that had housed their business for 9 years.
"Honestly, I hadn't heard that he had mentioned us," she said.
The couple first started their business in 2001, shortly after Robert left his job as a cook at the long-shuttered Waddles Restaurant in Jantzen Beach, leaving Hayden Island for this small, census-designated area 30 minutes north on I-5.
Once there, they set up a business to serve a traditional "family dining" menu consisting of meat, potatoes and Hockinson Cafe's specialty, homemade pies. At an average price of $8 per plate, as well as being one of the only eateries in the Hockinson area, Lora Rohde said the café often found its 50 place settings full.
It was this overabundance of customers, as well as the condition of the restaurant on N.E. 159th Street, that made staying in Hockinson untenable, according to Lora Rohde.
With the restaurant "falling apart" and with attempts to purchase the land going nowhere, the county's plan to construct an adjacent sidewalk served as the "last straw" for the couple, she said. "I understood why they were building the sidewalk – that road was too dangerous for kids to walk on," Lora Rohde said, claiming the roadwork would have severely hindered access to their business during its busiest time of the year. "But it left us with the choice to either move or quit."
The Rohdes decided on the former, and, along with 15 employees, moved five miles into the heart of Battle Ground. Although a loan couldn't be facilitated through any bank, the couple was able to borrow money for the fully-furnished location from family and friends, she said.
"Our landlord, Jon Anderson, is letting us go month to month to make sure it's a good fit," Lora Rohde said.
Upgrading from a 1,500-
square-foot, 50-person capacity restaurant to a 4,800-square-foot establishment with room for 125 people had picked up business, she said, leading to three long weeks filled with 15 hour workdays since Hockinson Cafe's reopening.
"I hope it doesn't let up," she said. "This is a great place for a business and the overwhelming amount of customers is a great thing for us."
