Idaho City Area Photo By Natalie Bartley
www.idahoseniorindependent.com
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Brent & Terry Hobson reopen historic Naf store
By Dianna Troyer The remote, historic Naf Mercantile and Café four miles north of the Idaho/Utah border has been luring Brent “Buck” Hobson ever since he was a boy. “When my parents took us to visit relatives in Grouse Creek, we always stopped at the store,” recalls Brent, who grew up in Ogden. “When
the previous owners, who were also from Ogden wanted to sell it, my wife, Terry, and I bought it in 1999 for a retirement investment. I thought it would take about a decade to renovate it.” Reopening the store wasn’t quite as straightforward as Brent anticipated, but the Hobsons confronted obstacles with hard work, patience, and humor. “It has definitely been a long labor of love,” says Brent, 57, of renovating the 35-foot by 40-foot store. “We’ve worked hard to get it going without going broke ourselves.” Terry, 59, says, “At first, our four kids thought we were crazy, but now they love coming up.” In October, Buck’s Naf Mercantile and Cafe opened in time for deer season. “The public access for the Sawtooth National Forest is just down the road from us, so anyone coming to hunt has to drive past the store,” says Brent. Hungry hunters who stop in find a menu of filling food served at a 1950s soda fountain counter with round stools or at tables covered with immaculate red-and-white gingham tablecloths. “We serve breakfast, lunch, and supper and have some special burgers,” says Terry. To complement the burgers, Terry uses a vintage slicer to cut spuds for French fries or whips up shakes on a nostalgic mixing machine. “These machines were built to last,” says Terry. (Continued on pg 31)