She waited in the wings for years, and now she’s a trailblazer on the Loop Trail

WENATCHEE — Just a few steps from the Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail and less than a hundred yards from the parking lot you’d use to leave your car behind and take the 10-mile journey across two bridges all along the banks of the Columbia, there’s a little café with a woman named Dianne behind the register.

It’s taken her a long time to get here, but she’s now the owner of the Loop Trail Café, a restaurant with the distinction of being the absolute only eatery directly on the Loop Trail. There are plenty that are nearby, but it’s just hers that sits 150 feet from the water, ready at a moment’s notice to offer refreshments to people walking and biking the Loop.

Dianne Hall started out with just hot dogs, and that’s kind of a fitting analogy for how the café came into existence in the first place. Hall’s background, as well as her son Josh’s, who helps her out at the café, is rooted in making do with what’s available.

Hall opened the café back in September, but had a few lean months, since that was the end of summer, when most people might frequent a spot like hers. But she had a brilliant idea: She would ask customers what they wanted to see on the menu, and build from there. In no time, she’d added breakfast sandwiches and burritos to her offerings, since she’s up early and there at 6:30 every morning.

And Hall knows the kitchen. She’s worked every aspect of the food service industry, from being a server at a Denny’s to cooking at a sports bar and even a Yan Can restaurant owned by Martin Yan, the famous TV chef. She hasn’t always been on the fun side — she stocked a Golden Corral buffet for a while — but when the fun has been there, she’s followed it. Diane traveled with the food trucks that supplied corn dogs and elephant ears for Apple Blossom every year since her son Josh can remember.

“She kind of enjoyed that, besides being a roadie sleeping in a tent, she loved the people she met all over… so many personalities!” Josh says. “I think she taught me values that have come back tenfold and inspired her to be independent again and go for her dreams. By teaching me those values, she rediscovered them in herself.”

When the space at 1 Fifth Street, Suite 160 opened up, it came with history for many locals. It had been the previous home of the Hard Hat Winery, whose storied run came to a close when the owner’s scandalous past caught up with him. But Dianne Hall jumped at it. It wasn’t the fact that it’s some prime location right downtown, although it’s just a few blocks from where the new YMCA will be opening up. It was that her dream suddenly became a reality.

“I always wanted to be right by the river. The river is life, and when people walk through the door here, they become family. I feel like I live on the Columbia River now, and it’s a blessing.”

Add to that the fact that she got to become a landmark overnight: The only restaurant right on the Loop Trail. Hall seems surprised to learn that there are no other restaurants or cafés directly on the trail, but she’s genuinely excited. Upon hearing the news, she shares a fist bump with Josh, who’s been busy in the back rolling out dough for their Zombies.

Everyone loves food with a funny name, and the Zombie comes directly from Wenatchee High School. Josh remembers eating them in the mornings at the school, and customers who were also nostalgic for the legendary handheld breakfast suggested the café carry them, so now Hall has a hot case with fresh-made Zombies — pastries with sausage links and cheese inside — right next to the espresso machine, luring customers with their flaky crust.

Before the day goes on too far, however, the Zombies and breakfast burritos begin to compete for attention with Loopy Dogs, an all-beef hot dog opened in the middle with cheddar melted inside, served on a hoagie roll. And for any old time when you need something sweet, you can pick up one of Hall’s Pie-ookies, an actual pie in the size and shape of a cookie. Today she’s got cherry, and it looks tempting.

Hall took a risk opening right next to construction, with the park improvements going on just a few steps away. But she’s banking on the risk being worth the reward. Down by the river, the residential community is very loyal to the restaurants in the area. People living at the Riverside 9 Apartments have Wenatchee Valley Brewing right at the end of the complex, and the Riverside Pub, Cigar Bar, and Pool Hall are just down the road. With the new apartment complex just built at the curve where Worthen becomes Riverside Drive, Diane Hall has a built-in customer base that lives within walking distance, and the clientele she’s picked up who have learned about the café while enjoying the Loop Trail.

In the end, it will be up to Wenatchee to decide how Hall and her son (who she intends to make a partner) fare as the lone eatery right on the Loop. For right now, however, it looks like people should give them a try before the weather gets much nicer, because even on cold days, she’s had a lineup outside waiting for Zombies and coffee.

That’s something worth getting up early for.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media