Mark and Janine Demple have owned and operated PO News & Flagstaff Café for eight years in downtown Sheridan. The Demple family is somewhat of a staple to the downtown history and Mark had some interesting facts to share about the business and his heritage. In April of this year, Mark and Janine’s daughter Laura joined the PO News & Flagstaff Café crew as an assistant manager to Mark. In her words, she is “learning the ropes to be able to step into Mark’s shoes” and take over the business in time. She has a passion for the business and Sheridan’s history, as well as some great knowledge about where her heritage comes from; she’s a bright young lady.
Not only did Mark’s great-grandfather come to Sheridan in 1887 and start Sheridan beer, but the Demple descendants still managed the Sheridan beer brand. “There is historic value to the restaurant, people are dining in history when they come here,” Mark said of PO News & Flagstaff Café. What started as a smoke shop, post office and newsstand in 1916 it has become much more of a Main Street staple for the Sheridan community. When asked for a fun fact about the PO News & Flagstaff Café, Mark pointed at the back brick wall of the restaurant (pictured in the graphic) and said, “That brick wall is the end of the building. When the restaurant was created there wasn’t room for a kitchen, so the walkway between buildings was enclosed to create the kitchen”.
If you are looking for fresh homestyle food with a modern twist, make PO News & The Flagstaff Café a must-stop restaurant. Mark suggests trying the seared ahi tuna and Laura added, “We have signature burgers with meat locally sourced from Legerski’s.” They also get their breakfast sausage from Sackett’s Market and carry Boar’s Head deli meat as well. Mark said happily, “We just switched to Manchester Coffee to serve as our drip coffee and espresso. They created a Sumatra blend for us.” The moral of the story here is, if you want a delicious breakfast or lunch and to enjoy a meal in part of Sheridan’s history, visit PO News & Flagstaff Café! They have friendly staff and great service along with locally sourced products, and they serve alcohol – what’s not to love?
