By Mike McKenna
Shortly after Café Della opened this summer, a 9-year-old named Lucy was already enjoying her second visit to the restaurant when she declared, “This is exactly what Hailey needs!”
A couple of months later, it sure looks like Lucy was right.
“People really like what we’re doing and they keep coming back,” said Liza Green, café co-owner. “It’s important that everyone feels welcome when they come here and they realize that we appreciate having them.”
Café Della has brought a fresh look to the restaurant’s historic location next to Luke’s Pharmacy on Main Street, while also offering breakfast and lunch options that are unlike anything else in the south Valley.
“Fresh foods that make you feel good” is how Liza describes their delectable offerings, and she credits business partner and accomplished chef, Ashley Roop.
“Ashley is passionate about quality ingredients simply prepared. A lot of attention and effort goes into everything we make,” Liza said.
Besides making fresh pastries daily, something Ashley once did for the Four Seasons in Jackson Hole, the team at Café Della offers a seasonally focused menu that takes advantage of the freshest and healthiest ingredients they can find. In addition to their delicious baked treats and cookies, Café Della has quickly earned a following for dishes like their Spiced Overnight Oats and Trout and Egg for breakfast and “updated classics” like their Pork Sandwich and Heirloom Tomato Salad for lunch. Café Della is also the only local restaurant that serves Doma Coffee, a specialty roaster from Post Falls, which some say is the best coffee in the state.
Opening a restaurant that serves great food and is also a part of the community has long been a dream that both Liza and Ashley have shared. The longtime friends met while working in the restaurant industry and believe that Hailey is the ideal place to make their dream come true.
“I love Hailey,” Liza said, adding that she feels Café Della offers food and a vibe that our “small-town community was missing.”
Part of the good vibes at Café Della, which some folks are saying is akin to a Hailey version of Ketchum’s legendary Cristina’s Restaurant, comes from the space itself. Unlike other restaurants that have been in the location over the years, Café Della has a clean, modern feel while still honoring local history.
The restaurant is named after Hailey’s Della Mountain, in part because of the pioneering woman the mountain was named after. Carrie “Della” Strahorn helped establish the city of Hailey and, amongst her other claims to fame, Della was the first woman to tour what became national parks like Glacier and Yellowstone by stagecoach.
“She was a very impressive woman and we are honored to name our café after her,” Liza said.
Café Della is certainly honoring its namesake by pioneering a welcomed new edition to the local restaurant scene.
“We want people to feel comfortable here,” Liza said. “To know that we have healthy and tasty food for life’s everyday celebrations.”
Café Della is open Monday through Saturday for breakfast and lunch. Located at 103 South Main Street, check out their Facebook page, CafeDella.com, or call (208) 913-0263 for more information.
