Cougar Country Drive-In has been a staple in the Pullman community for 51 years and Zoe Coffee and Kitchen has been for 19. Recently the owners of the restaurants put them up for sale.

According to Beasly Reality, Zoe’s is listed for $750,00 and Cougar Country Drive-In is listed for $1,200,000.

Beasly Realty owner Justin Cofer said everything inside the restaurants is for sale as well. This also comes with the rights to each brand of the restaurants.

Owners Mike and Terry Wagoner said they originally opened the first coffee shop on the corner of Terre View and Merman Drive. Then they opened a new location dubbed Zoe Underground in the Interfaith House, also known as the K-House, which was located where the parking lot is by the Chinook.

“We were in the basement there for many years, and then they wanted to sell it,” Mike said.

WSU then bought the building for $1.2 million and planned to demolish it.

Mike did not know what to do at that point but someone had started a “Save Zoe Underground” petition, he said.

“I get a call from Elson Floyd. He goes, ‘Mike, you got to make this stop.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ He goes, ‘There’s people camping out in the lobby here, my phone won’t stop ringing and my email is full. You got to make it stop.’ And I said, ‘Well, Elson, it’s not me doing it. It’s your students that are doing it and what you’re doing is wrong.’ So anyway, that bought us another eight months.” Mike said.

Mike bought Zoe’s current building from his neighbors Tam and Dave Shermer, who owned Tam’s Place.

“We were losing [Zoe Ungerground]. So we said, ‘We’ll tell you what. We’ll buy your building,” he said. “So, we were only out of business for six weeks.”

Mike bought Cougar Country Drive-In in 2019 after the original owner put it up for sale. One of his favorite memories was when they reopened the restaurant.

“We had lines all the way down past the gas station, people coming in. Newscasters were there from Lewiston, Spokane, King County, everywhere,” he said.

However, it is now time for Mike to take a step back.

“We just want to start spending more time with our kids and our grandkids. We were with them for one day this weekend, but it’s short visits and stuff like that,” Mike said.

When it comes to selling Cougar Country, Mike said he has has one prerequisite.

“Whoever buys Cougar Country has to [have it] remain Cougar Country, or else,” he said. “As far as Zoe’s, it’d be nice to see Zoe’s stay and carry on that tradition.”

For now, Mike said the restaurants are not operating any different.

“We have a super good crew here and a super good crew at Cougar Country, so that takes a huge load off us.” Mike said.

Zoe’s waitress Julie Wilson said she is sad to see Zoe’s and Cougar Country up for sale. She has never loved a job as much as her job at Zoe’s.

“It keeps the small town vibe, it keeps our independence, but also allows us to work and actually enjoy it,” she said.

Wilson said Cougar Country was also the first restaurant she ever went to in Pullman.

“It’s an absolute staple of Pullman. Everyone knows it. It’s the first restaurant my dad took me to when we first toured here, and he was like, ‘Is Cougar Country still here? It has to be still here’,” she said. “So, it’s a big part of the Pullman community and I think Zoe is just another piece of that.”

With the announcement of the restaurants for sale people have been showing their support for Mike, he said.

“I’ve received letters and emails from people congratulating us and I got a nice letter from a professor in Oregon who went to school here and taught here and was a steady customer here,” Mike said. “[I] got an email from Saudi Arabia too, so it’s from all over the place saying how much they’ve appreciated being with us and stuff.”

Mike said he will miss the customers once the restaurants sell.

“We think the world of [the customers] and just our big hope is that everything will just carry on and, you know, everybody will be happy,” Mike said.