Pizza and a place to call home

By settling in Midway and opening a restaurant, the Leshers were able to realize a dream they didn’t even know they had

The small town of Midway has fully embraced the Leshers and the Bored Room Bistro. — Photo courtesy RJ Lesher

Over the last year there has been a lot of pizza consumed from in and around Midway, B.C., thanks to RJ and Tom Lesher. The couple originally came to the Boundary region to start a poker league in the area. It wasn’t long before they fell in love with the community of Midway and decided to take the opportunity to open Bored Room Bistro.

“We’d been living in an RV for three years so it was kind of a question of whether we wanted to settle down or put roots somewhere but the community was fantastic—just absolutely wonderful people and a wonderful community,” said RJ. “So we just kind of sat back and put out a very, very tiny menu at the beginning and told the customers, ‘You tell us what you want us to be.’ . . . The community, hands down, wanted a pizza joint.”

Bored Room Bistro is approaching its first anniversary with the distinction of having sold over 5,500 pizzas to a customer base of about 2,000 people—and that’s just the pizzas; Bored Room Bistro actually offers much more on its menu. RJ still makes up custom orders, perhaps one of the reasons customers keep coming back. Want a crunchy crust? She’ll double bake it for you. Want gooey cheese? Let her know and she’ll make it so. A new menu is coming out with a number of popular pizzas named for the customers that created them.

Another signature of Bored Room Bistro’s dedication to quality service is through its absolute commitment to homemade. Whether Tom is cutting the bistro's own meat or RJ is making dough and batter from scratch, customers can rest assured that there is no relying on packaged, ready-made food. 

Many orders are sent on delivery, but Tom and RJ are careful to maintain a social restaurant where patrons can stay and visit or spend time as a family. They provide board games and also host crib and poker nights throughout the week. The community, said RJ, has made running the business a pleasure. People have even stepped up to help drive deliveries when needed.

As they look forward to a second year, it seems the Leshers have found a place to call home. Midway certainly seems happy to have them. It’s a win-win with business success coming from an appreciation for customer relationships, quality product and for the job itself.

“For me cooking is just very relaxing and it’s very rewarding to have people enjoy your food and come back and want more,” said RJ. “If I was at home every day I’d be doing the same thing, but we’d be having people over every night for dinner. That’s just who we are and this allows us to have our hand in the community.”