By Mike Weland
Before packing up and moving to Bonners Ferry, Jay Carr and Elva Zepeda would pack their tent and picnic basket to go camping at Ocean Cove, and sitting on a blanket on bluffs overlooking the Pacific, they would enjoy the traditional fare of Elva’s home country, El Salvador, eating papusas as the reddening sun slid slowly down a horizon so close you could imagine jumping right across if you could get a fair run at it.
No ocean views in Boundary County, but after moving to Bonners Ferry in 2019, they spent considerable time … and money … working on their yard and their home.
“It was June of 2019 we realized that we’d been spending money like drunken sailors and Elva pointed out neither one of us had jobs.”
After a month’s honeymoon in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador and not far from Elva’s hometown of La Paz. By the time they returned, both were getting concerned about money.
A pupusaria seemed a logical solution. Pupusas are the national dish of El Salvador, a thick tortilla filled with any number of savory fillings, such as beef, cheese, refried beans and more, and they’re bill of fare for traditional meals, as snacks, for holiday and festivals. In fact, the country is gearing up for National Pupusa Day, celebrated each year on the second Sunday in November.
While growing up, pupuserias flourished in her home country, from the ubiquitous stands dotting street corners to the fashionable and upscale restaurantes in the cities. There are pupuserias across the United States, though most are in the cities and very few are actually dedicated to making and serving pupusas.
To find an authentic brick and mortar pupuseria in a town tucked clear at the north end of Idaho is a near miracle, as is how “Bonners Ferry Pupuseria & American Diner Restaurant +Fine Cigar” came into being. On November 15, that miracle celebrates its fifth anniversary, proving pupusas are no fluke.
After returning from their honeymoon, the Kootenai River Kitchen, 6428 Kootenai Street, went up for sale and Jay and Elva were there and able to close the sale.
All the décor and much of the equipment came at bargain prices thanks to Elva’s ability to sniff out good quality at great prices in nearly any thrift store, each a Macy’s in their parlance, she stops at.
All the restaurant tables, chairs, silverware, dishes, photo frames and more were bought at thrift stores.
It’s been a great five years, both agree.
Elva loves her back yard and owning a restaurant in town. She loves shopping in each of Bonners Ferry’s three grocery stores each week. Jay still loves the ritual of letting Elva off their Honda Goldwing and parking it in its customary spot on Kootenai Street in front of the pupuseria.
But he’s 65-years-old now, and he knows he’s slowing down bit by bit.
“I want to sell my Goldwing and purchase a mid 50s to early 60s pick up truck and drive around town – maybe to Sandpoint – until the wheels fall off,” he said. “Look, I’m losing reflexes and wouldn’t want to wipe out with Elva on the back. I’m due for a deer strike.”
He and Elva look forward to retiring in a couple of years or so, Elva to enjoy that back yard more, to pitch in at the Second Chance Animal Adoption Macy’s on Lincoln Street, to grow more mint, Jay to play more trumpet and watch more dvds at home, to tackle some of those small home projects that seem to wait perpetually, to go to Iron Mike’s Gym more, to the range to target shoot more. To sit back on the porch of an evening with Elva, sipping a mojita made with fresh mint from Elva’s garden.
To keep exploring all the beauty Boundary County has to offer in an old pickup whose wheels show no sign of coming off soon. Of having their family and friends drop in visit.
In the meantime, they welcome everyone who’s developed a taste for pupusas or who would like see for themselves to stop in at 6428 Kootenai Street in downtown Bonners Ferry between 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays. from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays.
To view their menu, visit https://bfpupuseria.com, to place an order or to learn more, call (208) 255-8792. And if you stop in on Tuesday, November 15, be sure to wish Bonners Ferry Pupuseria a hearty and happy fifth anniversary!
