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Wednesday, February 8, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Sisbers couple marks 10 years ab café
SCHEDULE: Two-week
spring break remains
on the books
By Jim Cornelius
News Editor
Continued from page 1
Chris and Pam Wavrin are
marking their 10th anniver-
sary as the owners of one of
Sisters’ landmark restaurants
— The Depot Café.
Chris and his brother Bill
launched the venture, pur-
chasing the then-Depot Deli.
“My brother and I basi-
cally did this together,” Chris
recalled. “He had a chef
background. He rolled out
for other interests shortly
after purchase.”
That left Chris and
Pam, recently moved from
California, to operate the
business. They largely stuck
with what had worked in the
past — a strong breakfast
and lunch menu.
“It took a while to feel
like our place,” Pam said.
Gradually, they stream-
lined the menu, keeping best-
sellers and adding new items,
and increasingly moving into
sourcing their ingredients
locally. The café serves up
homemade, healthy options,
and has become a go-to stop
for people who are gluten-
free — which reflects a fam-
ily dietary change.
“Three of four of us are
gluten-free,” Chris said, “so
we really try to take care of
people who are.”
Pam enjoys coming up
with the new options.
“I do like to cook,” she
said. “Not on the line; I’m
not a line cook. I get to create
recipes.”
Each year, the couple
PHOTO BY JIM CORNELIUS
Chris and Pam Wavrin with long-time employees Sami and Cher Madsen.
engages in one big improve-
ment project — a back patio
and stage; a new front patio;
new siding.
“What we’d like to do is
expand our kitchen to better
serve summer crowds,” Chris
said.
Both Pam and Chris
expressed their appreciation
for the support of the Sisters
community. They were sur-
prised at how connected their
business has become with the
community. The Depot Café
is a Sisters Folk Festival
venue, and it has been a sum-
mer job for many a Sisters
teen.
“We’ve had people who
worked with us when they
got their first driver’s license
and now they’re having their
first babies,” Pam reflected.
“We’ve been a part of that,
and that’s pretty cool.”
The Depot Café employs
from eight to 25 people
depending on the season.
Some have been on staff
for the whole time Chris
and Pam have operated the
restaurant.
Running a successful res-
taurant in Sisters is challeng-
ing — coping with a seasonal
economy and wearing mul-
tiple hats as a small-business
owner. And it’s physically
demanding, too. But Chris
and Pam enjoy the people
on both sides of the coun-
ter and enjoy being one of
Sisters’ destinations for thou-
sands who visit here and for
the locals who rely on their
offerings for a tasty — and
good-for-you — meal.
The Depot Café is located
at 250 W. Cascade Ave.
“We have a plan, barring
more of the white stuff com-
ing down,” Superintendent
Curtiss Scholl said.
He explained that union
representatives for the
District’s certified and classi-
fied employees approved the
altered schedule “to do what’s
best for students.”
Shortening spring break
was discussed, but was
rejected because 20 staff
members have made plans
that will prevent them
from being in town dur-
ing the second week of that
vacation.
Scholl called the chances
of finding 20 available sub-
stitute teachers “very slim”
because other school districts
are in the same position as
Sisters, trying to find enough
teachers to meet their own
scheduling needs.
The superintendent added
that Sisters schools already
exceed the State Department
of Education’s mandatory
class time. That’s why no
waiver from the State is
needed here, although the
department is offering such
waivers to districts.
School Board member
Stephen King suggested
that, in the future, the Sisters
District build two potential
snow days into its annual
schedule. The school year
could start two days earlier
than normal, he said, and
classes could be curtailed two
days earlier in the spring if no
snow days are used.
Scholl called it an idea
worth considering. It would
put the District in a proactive
stance instead of a reaction-
ary one, he said. Scholl noted
that two days were lost for
weather reasons in 2015-16
—one for snow and another
for icy conditions.
This winter’s unusually
heavy snowfall has affected
more than class time. It
also has slowed some of
the work on school renova-
tion work authorized by the
$10.7 million bond mea-
sure voters approved last
year.
“This spring will be a busy
spring,” Scholl said of the
bond work. “We will start to
see earth move.”
School Board Chairman
Jeff Smith acknowledged the
unusual winter weather.
“This is the longest we’ve
had snow on the ground in
my 21 years here,” he said.
“There are a whole lot of
people in a whole lot of are-
nas who did a great job for us.
I want to take my hat off to
them.”
That includes personnel
who shoveled snow, inspected
school building roofs, and
arose in the wee hours of the
morning to drive area roads
and check whether conditions
would allow safe transporta-
tion of students.
Sisters Elementary School
Principal Becky Stoughton
added a touch of humor to the
discussion.
“Our snow berms have
turned into ice berms,” she
said. “We’ve lost a few snow
boots, but no students yet.”
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