Frederick Henry “Fred” Stedtfeld was born on October 13, 1874, in Indianapolis, Indiana, to German immigrants, Henry and Sophia (Frodeman) Stedtfeld. Raised in a household rooted in Old World traditions, Fred learned the trade of baking from his father — a skill that would shape the course of his life.

By the early 1890s, as a young man in his late teens, Fred felt the pull of the American West. In 1892, with a well-worn recipe book tucked under his arm and dreams of opportunity ahead, he left Indianapolis and began working for the Union Pacific Railroad as a chef, steadily making his way westward. He worked in numerous restaurants along the rail lines, gaining experience and reputation at each stop.

His journey eventually brought him to Utah, and from there, he continued on to Pocatello, Idaho — a bustling railroad hub, and the place he would ultimately call home. Fred worked at the Pacific Hotel in Pocatello between 1896 and 1898 and after went back out working as a chef in towns along the railroad, including Omaha, Nebraska; Ogden, Utah; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Mackay, Idaho. During his time in Ogden, he met and married Pauline.

In 1905, Fred and his young family moved back to Pocatello; he worked briefly at the Office Café, located at 126 N Cleveland (now known as Main Street), and then quit to work as a chef at the Bannock Hotel. The Stedtfelds lived at 458 E. Center St.

In 1906, Fred opened the White House Café, a frame building located at 242 West Center Street, Pocatello. After it burned, he moved into a frame building known as the T. B. Smith building at 113 N. Main, which he named Fred’s Place; it remained open until 1909. It was located behind what was then the Temple Pharmacy (later, the old Pocatello Drug, on the corner of Main and Center Streets). Pauline worked with Fred part-time, while keeping an eye on their now three children, the third of whom died within its first year. Their fourth child, Norman, was born in 1908.

In 1907, Fred purchased all of lots 13 and 14 (and later lot 15), Block 155 in Pocatello (known as 170 S 9th Ave) for $1.00, where, within subsequent years, with the help of Pauline’s father, a skilled carpenter, and his brothers traveled to Pocatello to build the Stedtfeld family home.

In 1909, Fred purchased the Turf Café, 238 (242/244) W Center Street, for $400 and renamed it the Monarch Café. A fire forced a move around the corner onto Main Street, where Fred established the Montana Café at 124 N Main, previously known as the Office Café. He held onto this business until 1915, when a second fire in the flue put him out of business.

Click link: Turf Cafe Menu

Hamburger $0.15 - Sirloin Steak $0.40 - Mutton Chops $0.30 - Weiner Snitzel $0.35 - Halibut Steak $0.40

In 1911, Fred established yet another new restaurant in a new building at 144 N Main with new, state-of-the-art equipment. This was the beginning of Fred’s Cafe.

Fred Stedtfeld died in 1948, and in 1956, Fred’s Café went bankrupt and in that same year re-opened under new management and remained open until 1972.

Pauline Stedfeld died in 1984 at the age of 104.

Today, you can still see remnants of Fred’s Café in the tile work in front of 144 N Main Street.