DECEMBER 15, 2010
When Del Kresl occasionally comes back to town, he stops at his former restaurant every day. He loves to “chew the fat” with old friends.
Meanwhile, Laura Hanson, one of the new owners, is in the kitchen looking at what she needs to cook next from the wheel where waitresses place orders. She keeps turning out good, plain food for which the small cafe in the Grand Cities Mall is noted.
Laura used to run the Third Street Cafe downtown before she went to work as a cook for Kresl. She asked him one day if he was thinking of selling the cafe. Del said yes, and when he told her how much he wanted, she said it was too much.
He then said, “Well, don’t buy it.” She said, “I will buy it.”
That was two years ago, and these days she is wearing a happy smile as she cooks and manages the restaurant with help from her sister, Becky, who also teaches at Winship Elementary School.
Del’s is one of the few restaurants still serving lutefisk and lefse, the traditional holiday fare for people of Norwegian descent and other people with curiosity. People can order plates of the codfish soaked in lye and then boiled and served on a plate with drawn butter, lefse and potatoes for $9.29. Del’s also is serving potato dumplings and side pork ($6.49).
When Laura isn’t serving all of Del’s specialties, she is turning out his ever-popular burgers made from meat that is ground and hand-pattied daily. She has a Monday–Friday breakfast special of two eggs, toast or cakes and hash browns for $2.29 that includes a small glass of orange juice or coffee.
Del’s is noted for old-fashioned food such as liver and onions ($6.69) and meatloaf ($6.79). The menu still lists the Winnipeg Gas Station Special among its sandwiches. It is a toasted, triple-decker sandwich with bacon, lettuce, tomato, fried egg, baked ham and American cheese ($7.79).
The food is good, not fancy. The service is very friendly, and nobody comes around repeatedly asking if everything is all right. The place is small enough so you can catch the attention of the waitress.
Laura has a background in business here. She started working at age 15 at Miller’s Cafe on South Washington Street and 17th Avenue South. She sold cars at Eide’s for 10 years. She and her sister own the Kegs Drive-In and run it from April through September.
Del’s Coffee Shop continues to operate in Grand Forks.