Beagle's Bakery and Espresso in Thompson Falls celebrated five years in business last Friday. Known for their homemade baked goods, breakfast sandwiches and burritos, owner Heather Chavez spent the day welcoming customers and celebrating with her family. To mark the occasion, customer's names were drawn every hour for prizes. From free drinks and breakfast sandwiches to the final drawing at 3 p.m. for a basket loaded with merchandise and coffee.

"I'm very humbled that we've been able to continue on for this long," Chavez said. "From day one I was nervous, 'are we going to make it, or are we not?' But we have some great customers that keep me in business."

Over the last five years, Chavez says the biggest hurdle the business has faced was COVID-19. "Having to close our lobby was big," she said. ``We were lucky that we got to keep our drive thru open but we were struggling to find supplies, even now we still can't find everything we need."

The owner says she's tracked her progress over the years by adding to the menu little by little. "We added quiche, then the baked goods caught on and then the sandwiches really caught on," said Chavez's husband Steve Bruner.

The breakfast sandwiches have become so popular that Chavez says they've started keeping track of how many they make in a day and have since made a plaque displaying the names of the top sandwich makers. "It started out as a joke," Chavez said. "My mom started keeping tally when we had to make 36 sandwiches one day."

Another accomplishment Chavez noted was when her business began carrying locally made merchandise including artwork from her own employees. "We just carry items related to coffee, but we want to be a one stop shop for everyone," she said.

As for the future of Beagle's Bakery and Espresso, Chavez has some expansion ideas in mind. "If we do expand, it will be a bigger kitchen set off the building," she said. "But I would definitely miss being able to chat with my regulars. They're why I get up and come to work every day."

Beagle's Bakery and Espresso is located at 4896 Hwy 200 in Thompson Falls. They are open Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and closed Wednesdays.