The Olde Schoolhouse Cafe and Saloon has survived blizzards, fires, power outages, the COVID-19 pandemic and 30 years’ worth of hungry skiers and snowboarders fresh off the slopes of Purgatory Resort. The restaurant’s secret to success, according to longtime owner Stacy Malone: the community that rallies around it.
The restaurant and bar, located 25 miles north of Durango at 46778 U.S. Highway 550 has no lack of character and charm. As the name suggests, the business used to be a schoolhouse before it was converted to a restaurant in the late 80s.
Owner Stacy Malone bought the Schoolhouse with ex-husband Terry in 1995. It was passed on from former owner Jody Barile, who ran it as a winter-only spot.
Malone, Terry and Terry’s brother Ickes were behind operations for the first 10 years. Malone has been at the helm as a sole owner for the last 20 years.
To Malone, the restaurant is more than just a business.
“We just have a great community up here,” she said. “We all support each other. And I have a great crew. It’s just amazing. I love it. It’s family, you know?”
The Schoolhouse has become known for its pizza, wings, calzones and drinks – some of which are award-winning. But the food isn’t the only part of the restaurant that delights patrons: Its atmosphere is also a welcoming and eclectic sight.
A school bus – which operated as a mini Schoolhouse restaurant during the pandemic – sits parked outside the small, red-accented building. A prosthetic leg hangs from the original school bell out front, left behind by a patron who good-naturedly told Malone he wanted it to remain there forevermore. Dollar bills and cut-out photos of the heads of several regulars act as wallpaper inside, diligently watching over the bar, pool table, dart board and wooden tables.
The restaurant is more than just a business, Malone said: It’s a support network for locals and visitors alike.
“When someone’s down and out, we rally behind them,” Malone said. “Yesterday was (the) birthday (of a local who passed away), and we all had a cheers for him. ... We try and make people feel special, especially if they’re alone.”
Customer Diana Cole has been going to the Schoolhouse practically since its opening. She said Malone has become known as the “mom of the mountain” for her boundless care and support of those who visit the restaurant.
She often drives a regular without a license home, and keeps the birthday’s of all the locals in the work calendar behind the bar, Cole said.
“It’s the one place you know you can rely on getting food up here,” Cole said. “She’s here seven days a week.”
Reliability is a common theme at the restaurant. In regular Schoolhouse fashion, the crew continued cooking for the community by headlamp during a power outage several weeks ago, Malone said.
According to Malone, the restaurant was packed during the blackout with grateful locals who had also lost their power.
“Everyone was watching the football game on their phones,” Malone said. “We had like, two phones (pushed together) with the football game on. You just make do. It’s kind of funny. It’s cozy.”
The restaurant’s hours shift seasonally – but that hasn’t stopped loyal Schoolhouse regulars from getting into various routines, Malone said. A group she calls her “Sunday guys” wait outside the doors on the weekends, waiting for Malone to open up, she said, and seeing other locals stop by on a similar weekly schedule is common.
The Schoolhouse currently opens at 11 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays and 4 p.m. on weekdays. Those hours will continue through early December. Food service ends at exactly 9:43 p.m., and drinks go until midnight or later most nights, depending on demand. Once tourist and ski season kicks in, the restaurant will shift to its earlier opening hours, Malone said.
According to Malone, locals – and the restaurants colorful offseason offerings and events – are what keep the business afloat in the slower months.
Malone serves corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day, and Cajun food on Mardi Gras. The restaurant also holds a yearly winter Uller party, referring to the Norse god of hunting, winter and skiing. The area’s local snowplow driver, who visits the Schoolhouse often, delivers the Uller prayer for snow each year, Malone said.
This year’s Uller party is set for Dec. 13.
Malone wants patrons to feel comfortable when they come to the Schoolhouse, she said.
“People that have visited, you know, coming into a place like this, it’s like, ‘Whoa. This is kind of a crazy dive bar,’” Malone said. “But everyone’s so nice and welcoming, and that’s what I feel like is the most special: People feel comfortable.”
The restaurant’s long life span has meant Malone and longtime patrons like Cole have watched lives unfold and kids grow up through the lens of the business.
“We have so many mountain kids that have just grown up in here,” Malone said. “We’ve seen a lot of people meet here and end up getting married and having kids. It’s special that way.”
Malone hopes to continue providing comfort to the community through the restaurant for as long as possible, she said.
“It’s an appendage for me at this point – it’s like my eldest child,” Malone said. “And I still have fun. I work the weekends because I have a great time. ... It’s nice to have something like this, you know? It becomes so embedded in everything that you do, that it kind of just runs itself with you.”
epond@durangoherald.com
