Three miles off Highway 30, the road winds through the rolling farmland outside St. Helens to a place that proves some of the best finds require a little wandering.
Welcome to the Yankton Store & Restaurant.
Part country store, part restaurant, part local gathering place. Entirely its own thing. This female-owned Columbia County institution serves up hearty breakfasts, famous Hillbilly Burgers, and, perhaps most importantly, pie.
Come hungry. Stay awhile.
Grab a seat inside or head out to the back deck, where the hills are green, the air smells fresh, and nobody seems to be in much of a hurry. Strike up a conversation and you just might find yourself chatting with a local who can regale you with a tale or two from St. Helens lore. Around here, you never quite know what story you’re going to hear. Or who might be telling it.
The Yankton Store isn’t polished or pretentious. It doesn’t need to be. It’s quirky, welcoming, a little sassy, and authentically rural Columbia County.
So get off Highway 30. Drive through the farmland. Follow the road into the hills.
There’s pie at the end.
Worth the wander? Absolutely.