Stricker’s Café strikes gold in Lynnwood

Published 8:50 am Thursday, February 28, 2008

Fast food franchises and run-of-the-mill restaurant chains occupy a good chunk of the real estate along 196th Street SW. Convenience, it seems, is a top priority for Lynnwood’s always-on-the-go working-class contingent, especially during the day.

To find a real gem amidst the everyday eateries, all you need to do is venture a block or two off the city’s main drag. Yes, the often-glamorized road less traveled can indeed make all the difference (and in this town, a quicker commute).

Tucked away on a side street just south of jam-packed 196th, hidden from the nonstop motorcade — and most important, a stone’s throw from The Enterprise offices — Stricker’s Café is a prime spot to enjoy a homestyle breakfast or lunch any day of the week.

The upstart diner is hoping to flourish at a site where previous establishments have fizzled out. Owner/cook Jon Stricker dismisses the idea that a poor location doomed those tenants.

“It’s how you manage your business and how clean it is. Location and parking have nothing to do with it,” Stricker said. “If you’ve got a good product and decent prices, people are going to come. It’s more word of mouth than anything.”

Inadequate parking didn’t prevent Stricker and his wife Theresa from turning the Twin Eagles Café into a popular destination in Snohomish. Business tripled under the Bothell couple’s direction and they sold off the cafe last November three years after buying it for “next to nothing.”

Fans of Twin Eagles will find an almost identical menu at Stricker’s, an extensive list of hearty breakfasts, burgers, grilled sandwiches and soups.

“It proved to be a successful menu, so we’re sticking with it,” said Stricker, who got his start in the food-service industry at 16 working as a line cook in a hotel.

In the five weeks Stricker’s has been open, breakfast has been the biggest seller. The most popular dishes include biscuits and gravy and an assortment of five-egg omelets that go for $5.75-$6.95.

Among the more exotic selections are the Greek omelet, with tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, bell peppers and Feta cheese; and the taco omelet, with taco meat, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and salsa.

There’s also country fried steak, corned beef hash, thick-sliced French toast and fluffy blueberry pancakes to choose from. And don’t forget the Mickey Mouse pancakes for the kids — an ingenious idea I was sure my mom came up with — or the pancake sandwich: two eggs with bacon, sausage or grilled ham on top of two hotcakes for $5.50.

“It’s a big breakfast for a reasonable price,” Stricker said. “I do all the cooking, which helps us keep the costs down.”

Most of the lunch options run $5.95 or less, including the bacon cheeseburger, chili burger and a full range of hot and cold sandwiches that come with potato salad, coleslaw, cottage cheese, French fries or chips. Stricker recommends the French dip, Philly cheese steak, grilled reuben and turkey sandwiches.

“I roast my own turkey breast,” he said. “Not a lot of people can say that.”

Stricker’s serves its entire menu all day and closes at 3 every afternoon.

“We like to have a life after work,” Stricker said.