There hasn’t been much a restaurateur has changed since opening his doors two decades ago. The menu, some staff and several customers remain the same since Terry Myhre established the Chuckwagon Café and Cattle Company as a breakfast and lunch joint on April 25, 1998. Myhre says there’s little reason to change after receiving rave reviews from locals, visitors and food critics. “The menu really hasn’t changed,” he said. “I let the cooks come up with specials every day for lunch. It keeps things interesting for them to come up with stuff they think the customers are going to like. It’s really important to keep the cooks happy and interested in the job. If they’re just fry cooks they’re not going to last long.” Less than a month after opening, Mother’s Day brought 88 customers into the door. Now Myhre and his staff cater to close to 400 on the busiest day of the year. “Originally I thought it would be just me cooking and one waitress,” he said. “I realized really quickly I was going to need help. We now have a staff of 15.” Catering to the tastebuds of customers, Myhre has stuck to some old favourites including smoked salmon eggs benedict on a croissant, an idea he got from Fourth Street Rose in Calgary before it closed its doors years ago. “It just stuck in my head,” he said. “That turned out to be a very smart move.” Another smart move for Myhre was raising his own cattle to guarantee top-quality beef after being disappointed with the steak he was getting for his steak and eggs. Myhre first took some classes at Olds College 11 years ago to better understand beef products. “At the end of the first three-day class I thought, if you want good quality steak you’re going to have to do it on your own,” he said. Myhre began with 10 acres to raise Murray Grey Australian cattle and has since expanded to 80 acres. Since then, the Chuckwagon received the Best Burger award in 2011 and 2012 for Calgary’s Best Restaurants by Avenue Magazine and was featured on the Food Network’s You Gotta Eat Here segment. Myhre opened the restaurant after waiting tables and bartending for several years. His brother owns The Galaxy Diner in Calgary. “I always enjoyed going to breakfast joints,” Myhre said. “It’s a totally different vibe than working at a nighttime joint. It’s just a nice, relaxed vibe.” When the Chuckwagon came up for sale, previously a Korean American restaurant, Myres mulled the idea over. “That building had been for sale for a long time,” he said. “As time goes by the price is dropping. It needed a new owner.” Not everyone was as optimistic as Myhre when he opened. “Some people said, ‘I will give you six months – just doing breakfast, it’s not going to work,’” he said. They were wrong. Two decades later Myhre likes to sit back and watch the action. “The most awesome thing is to sit at the door and watch it work because it’s such a well-oiled machine,” he said. Myhre said his job is to ensure everyone is happy when they leave, having had good food and excellent service in a nice ambiance. “I always say to my waitresses, ‘Don’t just ask how is your meal, ask if they would eat it again,’” he said. “Make sure they’re happy. If they’re not make it right and figure out how.” Pleased with both the food and service is regular Frank Thomson. He’s been eating there since before Myhre took over. “It’s changed dramatically,” he said. “Over the years it’s gone from being just a little diner to being a real destination location. People come there from everywhere to try the food.” The local rancher returns almost every day for the friendly people, exceptional service and homemade, fresh food, he said. “That’s what keeps me going back is they do such a good job on the food,” he said. “I’ve tried everything on the menu. They do so many breakfast variations you can never get bored. Their salmon omelets are truly amazing.” The atmosphere is another reason Thomson has breakfast there almost every day. “Everybody knows you and says hi and is friendly,” he said. “You can’t much beat that. When I was first starting out ranching here, there will be four or five guys and every morning you would get hassled or praised. It’s really an old home atmosphere.” Waitress Susan Green, who has been serving customers at the Chuckwagon for more than a dozen years, said working at the Chuckwagon is like one big family. “The customers, we know each other, we know each other’s kids, extended family, we all care about each other,” she said. “We all share the daily news. It’s a friendly place.” The icing on the cake is having a boss like Myhre, said Green. “He’s the best boss I’ve ever had,” she said. “He pushes you to do the best you can do. You can expect the best customer service from our girls here.”
