Since 1988, Maltby Cafe has been worth the wait

MALTBY — In June 1988, four soccer-playing friends decided to combine their business and kitchen skills and open a restaurant. Never mind that they didn’t have any restaurant industry experience, and they had doubts about mixing business and friendship.

The four — Tana Baumler, Barbara Peter, Sandra Albright and Molly Merrill — selected the basement of the old Maltby High School gymnasium, which was built in 1937 and was originally the school’s cafeteria, to house their venture. They called it The Maltby Cafe and built a reputation of excellence for their country breakfasts and American lunch favorites.

The cafe has a weekday menu that has a few more sandwiches ($8.50 to $10.95), and the weekend-holiday menu has more breakfast choices ($6.25 to $11.95). Also, the Belgian waffle topped with fresh fruit and the house’s creme fraiche ($10.95) is made only on the weekend.

The Maltby Cafe, which does not take reservations, is so popular that you need to plan for an hour wait on the weekends. On holidays, the wait can be a couple of hours. Or more. But, don’t plan to visit on the Fourth of July because the cafe will be closed July 2-4. Everything will go back to its wonderfully crowded and noisy routine on July 5.

My friend and I decided to visit on a recent Sunday, which was the anniversary day of the cafe’s opening. For our breakfast, I had the daily special — a scramble made with Goose Point oysters from Willapa Bay, sliced mushrooms, chopped bacon, green onions and lots of garlic. Parmesan cheese topped everything. There was the anticipated hearty helping of country potatoes and a biscuit.

My friend ordered the Montana potatoes and eggs ($11.95), which is made with a heap of buttery, skin-on red potatoes with ham and onions and topped with Cheddar cheese, sour cream and two eggs any style. My friend had the toast made with house-made bread, and added a 16-ounce mocha ($4).

While we waited for our meal, we enjoyed the lively crowd of multigenerational families and a brief conversation with the father-son duo sitting at the counter next to us. Although it can be a long wait for a table, every time my friend and I have visited, the kitchen does a remarkable job of keeping up with the crowd.

My delicious oyster-mushroom scramble with bacon and onions got eaten in that order, and the biscuit was a tall, tasty, crumbly treat. My friend’s potatoes and eggs disappeared just as quickly as mine, and he said his breakfast was just as scrumptious. Like most customers, we left with a cinnamon roll ($6.95) in a container for later; my half disappeared while writing this review.

After two decades, three of the four owners of The Maltby Cafe are still making great food with fantastic service, and the wall of signed and framed testimonials that say things like, “It’s worth the wait. Trust me,” says it all.

Herald restaurant reviewers accept no invitations to review, but readers’ suggestions are always welcome.

Reviewers arrive unannounced, and The Herald pays their tabs. Contact Anna Poole at features@heraldnet.com.