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We didn't think the original building was a good fit with the quaint, western feel that characterized the village of Bigfork. The sloping roofline, the bland coloration, the modern look just felt wrong.

The transformation plan started with Karie's drawing. She was the first to envision the saloon front and the roof covering what would become our very popular front porch.

The interior was actually quite cozy, but didn't lend itself readily to use as a dining room. Having been designed as three separate spaces, it was a bit chopped up for our needs.

We selected Denman Construction in January 2010 to be the general contractor on the project. Denman had a solid reputation for quality building in the area and Karie had personal experience working with them.

Before the new could go in, the old had to come out. And there were piles and piles of old that had to be ripped out and hauled away. Fortunately, what was left was in great condition.

That wall in the middle of the dining room turned out to be important to holding up the apartments above the dining room. To take it out, we had to replace it with a steel beam.

It was something of a challenge to find a beam strong enough to span the dining room without extending below the ceiling. But, with a bit of persistence, we were able to do it.

The plumbing and ventilation needs are minimal for an antique store. Such is not the case for a restaurant. Fortunately, there was a generous crawl space under the building.

While most of our cooking equipment is fueled by gas, we found that our equipment still had a massive appetite for electricity. The restaurant itself required 600 Amps, without even considering the apartments above.

Nothing is ever easy. Our electrical needs quickly exceeded the capacity of the cable supplying the building and we had to run another one.

We dug a trench around the Eva Gates building where we found an old unused conduit to the transformer. Unfortunately, we were delayed slightly when we discovered it had been crushed and filled with concrete.

Aside for the plumbing and electrical, ventilation was the challenge. A 16' ventilation hood spanned our cook line. Justin Freeman from Advanced Restaurant Supply sold us the hood and directed its installation.

Karie, having a solid background in the construction industry, was always around to lend a hand on the big jobs.

The construction crews were invariably grateful for her assistance, especially when small fingers were needed for tight spaces.

Reclaimed lumber played a large role in the ultimate look and feel of the cafe. Emanating from barns and bridges across the Northwest, we made our selections at the yards of Wildwood Eccentrics.

The heavy timbers that once protected trains and cattle began to take shape as the roof over our porch. Notice that wherever there's construction, there's Karie.

A hands-on sort of contractor, Craig Denman seemed to especially enjoy working on the porch roof.

By mid-May, work on the exterior was essentially complete, although the sign was still temporary.

Meanwhile, back on the inside, J.L. of Wildwood Eccentrics was installing the reclaimed wood floors. Lots of cracks, nail holes, and character.

A granite countertop finished off the cabinetry on one side of the espresso bar, creating a popular place for individual diners to eat. This photo was taken just before the countertop broke in half, providing yet another element of character.

The layout of the dining room suggested that much of the seating be in the form of booths. Booths have to be designed carefully to be comfortable as diners arrive in a variety of sizes and shapes.

Having implemented the basic booth design, we all tried it out with a simulated table top to make sure the padding was comfortable and the distances between the seats and the tabletops were right.

Chad Felt of Felt's Upholstery built and installed the booths.

Karie spent a most enjoyable afternoon scrubbing dirt and tar off of the corrugated tin that surrounds our espresso bar.

The ceilings worried us a bit because we thought, at eight feet, they might feel low. So we commissioned an artist to paint a faux skylight on the ceiling to make them seem higher.

We're not sure that the idea of raising the ceiling actually worked, but in the end the height seemed adequate and we liked the painting.

Ultimately, the exterior of the Pocketstone Cafe looked like this. It took the better part of the summer for the vegetation to get this lush, though.

On June 4th of 2010 we opened for business. This picture illustrates Karie's versatility in her transformation from a construction worker to a restaurant general manager.