Whistlestop Cafe puts Paradise on the map

If the sweet scents of the delicious food being served isn't enough to entice a customer into the Whistlestop Cafe in Paradise then perhaps their newest attraction will add to the allure.

The cafe now can boast that it has had customers from each of the 50 U.S. states as well as 18 different countries. Each person that comes in from a different place marks their location with a brightly colored sticker on a map of the United States tacked up on the wall. Although some of the stickers strayed off the map this year, Carmin Wilmer, an employee of the cafe, says that next summer they will have a world map on the wall in order to properly display the origins of their clientele.

The map was put up at the end of May. Only four months later, the Whistlestop had filled in all fifty states. The last dot needed to complete the map was actually South Dakota.

"It even got to the point that we were saying to tourists that if they see anyone from South Dakota to send them in," said Heather Copp, one of the cafe's employees. "It was fun to do."

Wilmer said that locals that frequent the cafe also got caught up in the fun. They would check the map for new points every time they came in, which made the lack of South Dakota more and more apparent throughout the summer.

"It was probably a good month where we had everyone but South Dakota up there," Wilmer said, "It felt like we were starting to grill people that came in."

"We probably would have jumped in front of a car if the plate said South Dakota," Copp added with a smile.

When the day finally came that a gentleman from the long awaiting state meandered into the cafe, it caused quite a stir.

"Char and Heather and I were all here when he came in," Wilmer said, "I think we spooked him a bit but once we backed up and explained he got it. We traded him breakfast for the sticker, I think he really appreciated it."

Having the blank state finally contain that sticker wasn't the only highlight of putting the map up though, the wall around it is also brightly decorated with dots and the memories of faces.

"The country ones were absolutely the funnest," Wilmer said, "People really had a good time with that."

Wilmer said that one lone sticker close to floor came from a man all the way from South Africa. She could still remember his name because he made such an impression. Floyd, Wilmer said, made a lasting memory for them because he was so hard to understand and he was just as excited about the map.

"People wanted to put them where they would if a world map was up there," Wilmer explained.

Both she and Copp agreed that. although Floyd was memorable, it was a gentleman accompanied by eight other people from Madrid, Spain that made the greatest impression on them.

"He was very handsome," Wilmer said.

Both Whistlestop employees said that his group was in a band heading north to Seattle, where he was going wasn't really what mattered, it's where you're from that makes sticks a memory on those walls.

Wilmer said she had tried the same thing in Plains about 15 years ago. They had nothing like the response at the Whistlestop.

"Collectively I don't think we spent more than $20," Wilmer stated, "And we actually had a shorter tourist season this year than we did last year, the response has just been amazing."

The cafe is a bustling hub for passers by with the light, friendly atmosphere, everyone makes conversation while awaiting their food.

Wilmer said that people from all over take cards and sooner or later more people from the same area end up in there.

"We get more business that way than we ever would advertising," Wilmer said.

But their regular clientele is something to talk about too.

"We have people from Idaho that come regularly," Wilmer said, "There's people that come from the south going to the glaciers every year. The cafe is really the pulse of the town."