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It sits in the center of what we call town, which consists of the Hiouchi Hamlet (gas station/grocery), the Hiouchi Motel, the Jed Smith Redwood Burl Co., the Hiouchi RV Park, and Shraders Antiques. The sign says the Hiouchi Café, the locals simply call it The Café, and Dan and I affectionately refer to it as the Bull S--- Café. From October to the end of March, Dan meets his clients there every morning at 6:00am, and it is a hotbed of activity from the minute the door opens. Whether its fishing guides and clients in the winter, summer tourists, or locals, the decibel level is lively and the coffee flows with the conversation. The café dates from the 1940's. In those days the building was a gas station. There were a couple of old fashioned gas pumps out front and a combination garage, grocery, and bait store inside. With time the pumps were taken out, a couple of stills were built out back, and the lube room was turned into a bar. Between the loggers, the fishermen, and the locals it became a honky tonk with a reputation for serious drinking and nightly fist-fights. Don Kincaid was working for the City of Redding and his wife Becky was running a catering business when they came to Hiouchi in 1987. While staying in the RV park they found out the café across the street was for sale. They bought it. Don's dad Cal decided that it needed a motel next door. Since he and Don were both carpenters, building it themselves was a no-brainer. |
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In the morning the Café greets you with a sign that states its "Just like home: great food, great friends, and great insults, and you pay for it." Don can be found at the grill, next to a plaque that reads "When I die, I want to go peacefully like my grandfather did - in his sleep. Not screaming like the passengers in his car." The Don Rickles of Hiouchi makes sure that tasty meals are served with a side of sarcasm, no extra charge. If you are brave enough to take a seat up at the counter you are considered on the front lines and fair game. No one is exempt, but you are also encouraged to sling them right back at him or take a turn on one of the other counter victims. It's a war zone, and not for the faint of heart. You can also catch up on the local news and gossip, get into a political debate, trade jokes, or just sit back and observe. The morning newspaper is available for reading or trying to hide behind.
Becky's contribution to the decor is her cows. There are cow planters, cow dishes, cow pictures, cow windchimes, a cow clock, and a plaque - "Just hanging with the herd." The walls sport a number of pictures from the good old logging days, one of a fawn taking a piece of toast out of Don's mouth, and one Becky's neighbor took of a bear that walked right into the neighbor's kitchen. He is eating a houseplant on the counter and ignoring a bowl of apples next to it - must be some kind of gourmet.
So if you are making a stop in the Hiouchi area, you must not pass the Café by. For great entertainment and a super meal it can't be beat. They are open for breakfast and lunch. At the end of another 12 hour shift Becky and Don are more than ready for a little rest before the next day. Oh, the joys of being self-employed! You might even see Dan in there if you get there at 6am. He'll be up at the counter having breakfast and dodging verbal assaults. Columnist Joan Carter co-owns, with her husband, Dan Carter's Guide Service. |
Two years and a lot of red tape later they opened the door of the first room. The fishing guide who stayed in that room the first night still comes back and requests that same room. Cal's wife Peggy greets you with a radiant smile that lights up the office and a smooth southern drawl that makes you feel right at home. It is clean, comfortable, affordable, and the center of fish talk at the end of a long day on the river. Anglers gather in the parking lot in the evening with hibachis and brews and swap lies.
Becky makes fresh biscuits every morning, sinfully good pies, cobblers, soups and lots more. They arrive at 3am to get things rolling. A local brings in fresh picked huckleberries for the pancakes and the day has begun. The menus are as unique as the homemade goodies inside them. Each one has a picture of a local person, place, or thing. There is a picture of the only guy to ever finish three of Don's huge pancakes (a real skinny guy, by the way), kids with messy faces, and pictures of people holding huge fish. A picture of Dan and I getting married in our driftboat is on one, and me and my 22 pound steelhead is on another. Becky likes to take that one out when the fish stories start, and point out that a woman caught that fish.
Becky tells me that Lavonne (the waitress) came with the restaurant. She had been working at the café for three years before they bought it. When Don's not insulting the clientele he's giving Lavonne a bad time. He threatens to fire her and she tells him he can't because she has seniority. Every spring when she wants to go on vacation she says she is retiring, but she comes back when the tourists arrive in June. She actually did retire once, but she couldn't stand it after four months. Must have been having insult withdrawal. She and Becky get in their share of jibes, jokes, and stingers, and Don has some worthy opponents there.
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