Newest drive-through in Oakridge offers much more than coffee

By GARY CARL/for The Herald  —  Yup, it’s true, the Bigfoot Bean Coffee Company drive-through is now open.

Bigfoot Bean is located on Highway 58 directly across from the Cascade Motel and just behind the Vintage & Variety Shoppe, 47486 Hwy 58 Oakridge.

After waiting patiently for several weeks to complete their county inspection process, the Bigfoot Bean Coffee Company has its doors, or at least their drive-up window, open and serving up the various java combinations as well as an often-changing menu of home-made meals and sweets.

It’s a Family Thing…

Jason Parker and his daughter Dawn are the proprietors and are relatively new to our Oakridge community. They moved here from Wyoming this past July. Jason had worked for the Wyoming Department of Transportation for

11 years as a heavy equipment operator and was also a Wyoming wildland firefighter and Washakie County Sheriff’s Search & Rescue volunteer. But like so many other small business owners, Jason wanted to spend more time with his family and develop a business plan that would allow his children (he has 4 of them) to establish their own business.

What’s Not to Like?

The Bigfoot Bean will be open Monday through Friday, 5 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. They will not only offer a full line of coffee and drinks, but also fresh fruit smoothies (made with real fruit), Homemade biscuits and gravy … yes, real bacon gravy made from scratch, not out of a can. Also, there will be homemade soup or chili every day. Every day! And cookies!

Maybe a full meal isn’t what you had in mind. In that case, there will be fresh-baked cookies on hand, right out of the oven, along with muffins and cinnamon rolls.

As Jason put it; “I want to offer people the kind of food that I would want to eat.”