Who bought the Pancake House building in McCall? Its owner’s past is hint of the future

The McCall building that was home to The Pancake House before the restaurant closed last month might wind up housing another kind of food business.

Equity Ventures Commercial Development, headquartered in Topeka, Kansas, bought the building at 209 N 3rd St., according to an Intermountain Multiple Listing Service record. The building, with nearly 16,000 square feet, was listed for $2.9 million.

The developer, with an office in Denver, has worked on several stores for Natural Grocers, headquartered in Lakewood, a Denver suburb. The Colorado Real Estate Journal describes Equity Ventures Commercial Development as the “preferred developer of Natural Grocers and develops each of their store locations.”

Neither Equity Ventures nor Natural Grocers replied Friday to messages seeking comment.

Natural Grocers, founded in 1955, has more than 162 stores in 20 states. Net sales increased 1.8% in 2021, to a record $1.1 billion. It was the 18th straight year the company showed same-store sales growth, according to its 2021 annual report.

If Natural Grocers goes into the McCall building, that will give the nation’s largest family-owned health food chain its fifth Idaho shop. The company, operated by the family of founders Margaret and Phillip Isely, has stores in Boise, Hailey, Idaho Falls and Coeur d’Alene.

The Pancake House had existed in some capacity since 1949, making it the oldest restaurant in McCall. In the early 2000s, owners Bonnie and George Bertram bulldozed the old structure and replaced it with a massive, lodge-style building, with an interior filled with exposed overhead beams.

“After 43 years, the time has come for George and I to retire,” Bonnie Bertram explained in a goodbye “to loyal customers” in the (McCall) Star-News. The Bertrams had hoped to find a buyer to keep The Pancake House alive but were unsuccessful.

Instead, they found “a buyer who is interested in utilizing the building for a new purpose. That purpose has not been disclosed to us — nor to anyone else … .”

Boisedev.com first reported the sale of the property and the possibility of Natural Grocers taking over the former restaurant space.

‘What a journey’: This Idaho institution, the oldest restaurant in McCall, will close

With Pancake House closed in McCall, a new brunch restaurant is coming to town