The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

As most of Big Sandy knows by now, the famous Mint has changed hands. Or rather it has come back into familiar hands who have owned it before.

Lawrence Jappe IV, Shayla Vroman and Marie Jappe were at "The Mountaineer" last week talking about what the Mint is all about.

Marie said that she and Larry bought the Mint for the kids. Marie added it was very familiar to the family as her mother and father owned it from 1996 to 2005. And even before that Walt and Judy Sivertsen owned the popular watering hole. They sold the Mint to Tammy Houle who was forced to sell it this fall due to physical problems.

Marie said that the best thing about the Mint is visiting with people who come in.

All agreed that the very worst thing about owning a bar and a restaurant is the endless cleanup in all areas of the building.

One other thing, all three agree that in order to make the Mint run well everyone has to come in early and stay late.

The Jappe family has not changed the menu much but they do have a little more variety in daily specials but other than that, things are about the same as they have always been.

Strangely enough, the most popular item served in the Mint is not even on the menu. It is the Saturday night prime rib which gets raves on a regular basis. The Mint runs out most every Saturday night. Lawrence said that if people would call in on Friday or even Saturday morning they would have some for them but it does go fast without reservations.

Other than the best prime in this neck of the woods, it is the burgers. All agreed that people will look at this sandwich or that sandwich but end up with that all time Mint favorite, the cheeseburger.

What is it about those Mint burgers? Marie says it is getting all their meat from Vaughn Meats. They are getting the best meat that money can buy.

As for popular soups, taco soup is always a favorite and the hamburger/macaroni is a sellout whenever it is served.

Over in the bar side of the business Canadian whisky is very popular right now as is lots of beer.

However, drink specials are very popular now too. Matter of fact for the Christmas Stroll and for the holidays in general Frosty's Hooch has been smashing. Basically it is a Brandy Alexander with a Christmas Twist and is named because it is the special hooch of Frosty the Snowman.

You can see where this is going. It sounds like a lot of work is put out at the Mint but there is a lot of fun to go with all that work.

The Mint is open every Sunday at 9am for breakfast. There is lots of chatter going around town that they will be open daily for breakfast but that has not happened yet. For now it is Sunday. Look for old standbys like biscuits and gravy and Tammy's standard eggs, bacon and hash browns. However, there are specials on Sunday morning as well like maybe gourmet pancakes.

Marie said it is nice to be back in town. She said they are very busy right now with Christmas parties and getting the hang of what is happening. Right now they are planning a New Years restaurant treat of prime rib and giant shrimp.

Look for the Mint to be closed around January 30 for some needed remodeling. They plan to be open for a big hoopla for Super Bowl Sunday.

It is good to know that the famous Mint of Big Sandy is in such capable hands and is getting along better than ever!