Sandpoint crowds digging The Tunnel's vibe, dining

SANDPOINT — Without knowing it, Jeff Spencer and Adam Starchman had been spent decades shadowing each other.

They grew up in the greater Coeur d’Alene area, worked in restaurants before and after graduating high school.

Both did stints on the West Coast before returning to North Idaho, and both consider themselves ski bums.

“We had a lot of mutual friends,” Starchman said.

Their formal acquaintance came before they joined forces to manage The St. Bernard, a Schweitzer Mountain eatery.

“He ran the kitchen, I ran the front,” Spencer said.

Starchman had worked his way up from cook to chef in restaurants from Coeur d’Alene to San Francisco’s Bay Area, and Spencer had managed restaurants between North Idaho and Portland.

They combined their talents on the mountain.

“We sometimes joke that it’s all we know how to do,” Spencer said.

It was a blown engine in a Subaru Outback, though, that sent them underground.

Spencer and Starchman operate The Tunnel Cookery and Drinkery at 202 1/2 N. First.

The two were driving south on Highway 95 last winter when their car broke down in Westmond.

Most of their friends were skiing, out of cell range, or otherwise occupied.

When they finally got a ride back to Sandpoint, it included an invitation to a potluck where they learned of an empty space along the main drag that was looking for proprietors and a new enterprise.

There was a caveat: The space was not actually on First Avenue.

It was underground.

The men, though, were undeterred.

“We came down here, and immediately decided we needed to be here,” Starchman said.

A few months later, and The Tunnel was looking for its first customers.

“It all happened really quickly,” Spencer said.

The establishment, though, seems to have found a niche.

Serving a variety of appetizers and dishes from portabella fries to lamb ravioli made in-house, as well as a host of wines and eight microbrews on tap, The Tunnel is working its way into Sandpoint’s subconscious.

“We wanted to provide more access to a larger demographic,” Spencer said.

The unique one-page menu includes kid food like macaroni and cheese with prices ranging from $5 to $20.

Salads, sandwiches, appetizers and entrees such as prawn linguine, or crispy scallops with candied ginger butter and tobiko seem to defy The Tunnel’s pub atmosphere.

“We generally try to accommodate everyone,” Spencer said.

It is working.

“Everyone is leaving here very happy,” Starchman said.

In addition to its food, beer and wine menu, The Tunnel offers live music and “the best dance floor in town” on weekends.

The Tunnel opens at 4 p.m. and the kitchen stays open late, sometimes until midnight.

“We’re subterranean,” Spencer said. “We’ve adjusted our business model to fit that.”