Airway Heights' iconic Buckhorn Inn is sold

A long chapter in the life of Noreen Pederson closed Nov. 30 when Airway Heights' venerable and iconic restaurant, The Buckhorn Inn, changed hands in a sale.

The matriarch of the family, who owned the eatery along U.S. Highway 2 since 1981 with her husband Gary, and who worked in every imaginable part of the establishment since 1974, chose to have her son, Matthew Pederson, speak on their behalf over parting ways with a place that meant so much in her life.

"Mom began working there in 1974, which was also the year I was born," Matthew Pederson said.

As newlyweds, the Pedersons first arrived at Fairchild Air Force Base in 1964, but moved a number of times, primarily between there and Glasgow Air Force Base in eastern Montana in Gary's 22-year career.

Gary Pederson, a B-52 bomber crew chief, had numerous deployments and spent many tours in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. He also crewed periodically on the SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance plane.

The couple was originally from Butte, Mont. and planned to return there when Gary Pederson retired from the service. But the Buckhorn came up for sale and they figured this was a great opportunity, Matthew Pederson said.

Gary Pederson, 74, exited the Air Force and went to work in a paving business before finishing his career in 2010 as the public works director in Airway Heights. He helped Noreen, 72, at the restaurant in his spare time.

With 35 years of ownership, Matthew Pederson said each of the family's children, "Spent multiple tours of duty," as he called time working in the family business. Those "tours" included bussing tables to washing dishes to management, "And being part of a family team," he added.

A third generation, the grandkids, which includes Matthew Pederson's 7-year-old, have also helped on the floor.

The Pedersons put down serious roots in 1972 when they built their home and Airway Heights had a population of just 800 people.

"Highway 2 was a two-lane blacktop with a dirt gully down the middle," Matthew Pederson said. "We've had tremendous growth to a city that is now more than 10-times the population."

While the community where it resides has changed greatly, The Buckhorn has not.

Built and founded in 1951, Matthew Pederson said, reading from handwritten notes, a fire about three years later burned the original building to the foundation. The original owners, Al and Eve Musser rebuilt the restaurant on the same footprint.

The restaurant has been a hub of the community that has hosted weddings, funerals and virtually every kind of organizational meeting, Matthew Pederson said.

Many employees were long term at The Buckhorn, and likely hope the new owners -who the family chose not to disclose - will keep the tradition that has existed in the log building for so many years.

"Employees and their families have always been part of our family," Matthew Pederson said. "Some of my closest friends were also children of our employees, we spent our summers together."

Many are still friends to this day, Matthew Pederson added.

Matthew Pederson said his dad is more excited to not be involved with the restaurant. "Over 42 years in the same business, that's a long time; that's stability you don't see."

Sticking to what works has been the key to success for the Pedersons, their son said. The signature food attractions included breakfast, chicken fried streak and prime rib.

But The Buckhorn was also the business partner communities love.

"Dad and mom were involved in virtually every organization in Airway Heights, the Lions Club, the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars)," Matthew Pederson said. They sponsored sports teams and racers from nearby Spokane County Raceway.

Noreen Pederson has always taken a lot of pride in the history of the business and the role it has played in the community. "The business aspect came far secondary to the community aspect," Matthew Pederson said.

As the world spins more in corporate circles, a "down home family business is something that is rare," Matthew Pederson added.

There were many opportunities over the years for Noreen to sell the business, Matthew Pederson said. "Her biggest consideration was 'What were their intentions?'"

And that seems to weigh heavy on Noreen Pederson's heart today, not knowing what the new owners have in mind for the 65-year-old piece of Airway Heights' eating history, which remains closed during the transition.

Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.