COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — After the Wolf Lodge Steakhouse was destroyed in a fire Monday, Naomi Boutz had a recurring thought.
“If this were me, if I lost one of my restaurants, what would be the most helpful?”
It didn’t take long for the owner of Vine and Olive Eatery and Wine Bar and Vicino Pizza in Riverstone to come up with an answer.
On Monday, Sept. 16, she will host a free dinner at Vicino Pizza and provide other gifts to the 33 employees of the iconic restaurant that burned to the ground on Labor Day.
It left behind a heartbroken and devastated crew of longtime employees.
“They need a place to be together, just to give them that space to be together,” Boutz said Friday. “So that’s what I’m doing.”
Already, support for the event is strong. Boutz’ distributors pitched in with beer and wine donations, and US Foods is helping cover costs.
Boutz wants to send each Wolf Lodge employee home with a care package that includes gift cards for groceries and gas.
"Just something for their team to know that this community cares about them,” she said. “The end of the tourist season is a very tough time to look for a new hospitality job. This will hopefully help them get through the weeks ahead until they find another job.”
She said the famous restaurant 8 miles east of Coeur d’Alene was like a second home to many of the staff. Some had worked there for decades.
To read the full story, visit our news partners, the Coeur d'Alene Press.
