Valis Alpine Restaurant and Delicatessen, born as the result of a dream of Hungarian immigrant Miklos Mike Vali 40 years ago, is still going strong as a popular place to dine at Wallowa Lake during the summer season.

In fact, Valis will celebrate the anniversary of its 1974 Memorial Day weekend opening this Friday, May 23, with an open house buffet from 3 to 7 p.m. Friends, customers and well-wishers are welcome.

The traditions of the restaurant, which features Mikes Hungarian recipes and delectable pastries, are now carried on by his wife Maggie, and son and daughter-in-law Michael and Dionne Vali, former Las Vegas chefs.

Mike Vali passed away in December 2011, but the business he founded with Maggie continues to thrive.

Mike and Maggie Vali, both refugees from Hungary, met in the United States and married. They were living in California when they discovered Wallowa County, indirectly through an outdoors convention where they happened upon a brochure for Reds Horse Ranch.

Though they never made it to Reds, they did find their way to Joseph, and then Wallowa Lake. Maggie remembers, that while outdoorsman Mike was enthusiastic from the first, she was not impressed with her first view of Joseph during Chief Joseph Days with its cowboys, hitching posts and horse droppings in the street. However, her first view of Wallowa Lake took my breath away, she recalls.

The couple ended up buying vacation property at Wallowa Lake, and from the first Mike, a fourth-generation baker, started designing his dream restaurant. Maggie thinks that their Wallowa Lake neighbor, Russells at the Lake, is the only older Wallowa County restaurant to remain under the same family ownership.

The couples two children, Michael and Monika (now a nurse), were raised at Valis, with young Michael especially showing a very early aptitude in the kitchen.

Michael, a 1995 graduate of Joseph High School, and Dionne, both culinary school grads then working in Las Vegas, first started helping out his parents summers 10 years ago, when his mother had a bout with cancer. Now they find themselves here most of the year, from spring through mid-January.

They met while working together at a Disneyland restaurant, and then moved on to Las Vegas to work at kitchens in such casinos as Stardust and Mirage.

California-native and city girl Dionne wasnt completely impressed with Wallowa County on her first visit with Michael and two of their friends at the end of a very long road trip. It was a dreary April and snowed six inches. I dont even think I saw the mountains, she recalled. I was not totally wowed.

Now, both Michael and Dionne have happily become involved with the community, judging the youth art show, for example, and giving cooking classes at Joseph Charter School. They maintain a townhouse in Las Vegas, but admit that Wallowa Lake is now their home.

Its great what my parents established, and now were making it our own. It feels really good, said Michael.

Valis hasnt changed much in 40 years, still offering the same entrée on the same night for dinners all summer, Wednesday through Sunday, and pastry on weekends.

However, the new generation in the kitchen has mixed it up a bit. They now offer Chefs Choice on Fridays, giving Michael and Dionne a chance to exercise their culinary creativity. They also expanded the season to include dinner on weekends in October and November, and holiday parties in December. In addition, theyve established a Valis Facebook page and have updated the business website. The restaurant still doesnt accept credit cards, though.

Maggie is happy that the next generation is now running the show at Valis. She feels her son and daughter-in-law are even better partners than she and Mike, since they are both chefs. Maggie was always the person out front making customers feel welcome, while Mike was in the kitchen. I peeled a lot of potatoes, too, she said.

The family is especially happy that the people who came to eat at Valis as children, now bring in their own children and grandchildren.

What makes Valis still popular after 40 years, besides its alpine setting and good food?

Im not going to lie to you, Dionne Vali said of her mother-in-law. Maggie may be little, but shes the big show.