Bearpaw River Brewing Company celebrating new location with ribbon cutting ceremony

WASILLA — Bearpaw River Brewing Company owners and staff are celebrating the grand opening of their second location, at 240 E. Railroad Ave, in downtown Wasilla near Main Street and the railroad tracks with a ribbon cutting ceremony Saturday, Aug. 7 at 10:30 a.m.

The Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce will be present to help cut the ceremonial ribbon, and the public is invited to come to celebrate the long awaited milestone.

“There’s nothing but excitement around here,” Bearpaw co-owner Jake Wade said.

Wade said they held a soft opening ceremony Saturday, July 31. He said they offered drinks and food to friends, family, regulars from the original location, and visitors from word of mouth.

“It went really, really well. It served the purpose of a soft opening, which is to work out kinks in the flow of the kitchen and the restaurant. Overall, we were really happy with how it went, made a few tweaks here and there, and we feel like we’re ready to go,” Wade said.

Wade said that establishing a second location fulfills the longtime goals of expanding their operation to meet the growing demand and adding the ability to serve food alongside their carefully and creatively crafted beers. He said the menu includes to-go growlers, craft soda made in-house, and a variety of pizza, steaks, burgers, and other pub-style dinner items.

“COVID slowed things down significantly, so we probably could have opened a year earlier,” Wade said. “We’ve been open for five and half years and we’ve spent about two and half years working on this, so half the time we’ve been open basically has been this… All the owners and all the employees are just hands on deck.”

Wade said that he’s excited to have a custom-designed industrial pizza oven and knowledgeable staff to help them kick off the newest chapter of their homegrown family-run business. He noted that one of their long-term goals is to incorporate as many locally sourced ingredients into the menu as possible.

“We have been successful because of the amazing patrons of Alaska and I think the more money flowing through the local economy, the better. If we can source some of our stuff from local farmers, it just helps the Alaskan economy and helps everyone in general. That’s why we built a brewery here. We’re really proud of where we live,” Wade said.

Wade said they have numerous plans to ramp up their operations after the grand opening. He said they will utilize the added space at the new location and start rolling out more canned beer at a quicker rate with the help of their new canning machine.

“My focus is going to be back in the brewery and really start cranking out more beer into the market as far as distribution goes, and our increased capacity is gonna allow us to do that,” Wade said.

The new Bearpaw restaurant will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. after the grand opening. For more information, call 907--373-2537 or visit bearpawriverbrewing.com.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com