Upon entering the establishment, patrons are greeted by a comfortable atmosphere that is vintage North Idaho through and through. Between a wood fire stove in one corner and a wood-fired pizza oven in the other, the cozy building continues to warm its residents even after it’s extensive remodel. Before the Hills picked up the property, along with the neighboring Avery Store and Motel, Pete explains that it was a simple pole building with gravel floors and a barrel stove in it that people could warm up by. The couple acquired all of the properties on Dec. 1, 2018, moved to Avery, and started the warming hut’s remodel in the summer of 2019. With what the place looks like now, it’s difficult to picture its simple roots.

From the bar, one can see the exposed kitchen and wood-fired pizza oven that truly is a work of art. Borrowing the look of an old-fashioned copper still, this unique piece of kitchen machinery cooks pizzas around 750 degrees — roughly 250 to 150 degrees hotter than normal pizza ovens. “I like exposed kitchens in restaurants because you can tell they are clean and you can see the action,” Pete said. “We talked about getting a regular pizza oven, but nobody is going to drive up to see a regular pizza oven.” The Hills chose to serve just pizza out of TFP’s at first, but were convinced to add chicken to the menu after several requests for a local favorite. “Initially, we were just going to do pizza, but everybody who came through the door told us ‘you have to get Sanda’s chicken,’” Pete said. Locals know Sanda from her time running the St. Joe Lodge and Chicken Joes.