Boathouse offers good food, priceless views

BIG LAKE — On a clear day, the views from here are priceless.

Perched on the shores of Big Lake, the new Boathouse Restaurant, 5268 S. Big Lake Road, offers indoor and outdoor seating with views of Mount McKinley and Foraker when the weather cooperates.

Located at Sunset View Resort, the restaurant officially opened at 5 p.m., March 2, but first began serving folks last month during the community’s Winterfest and Iron Dog celebration Feb. 17 to 19.

And Boathouse manager Heather Puckett said the restaurant has been serving customers ever since.

Her mother and her husband, Kathy and Newell Glines, started Sunset View Resort in 1998. Back then, it was a three-bedroom bed and breakfast. Over the years, the family has expanded the business.

The Boathouse is the newest addition, Kathy Glines said.

She said she’d had the idea for years to add food service for resort guests and after several area restaurants closed, she felt like there was a need in the community.

“I started talking about it and people started saying, ‘Why aren’t you open yet?’” Glines said.

In the past when the resort has hosted weddings or other large groups, she said they’ve had to bring in a caterer.

Puckett said the Boathouse serves nice, homemade food, but people expecting cloth napkins will be disappointed.

“I won’t do cloth napkins at night. I grew up out here and I won’t do it. That’s not who we are,” she said.

On opening night, diners in snowmachine gear sat next to couples enjoying an evening out, a mishmash of locals, Puckett said.

“I just think of it as a nicer casual place,” she said.

The menu includes steaks cut on the premises, pasta and quarter- and half-pound burgers cooked to order, homemade steak chili, steak dogs and corn dogs hand-dipped in their own special mix. The establishment also is licensed to serve wine and beer.

“We’re just trying to do good food,” Puckett said.

The Boathouse serves customers from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Reservations are accepted, but walk-in customers also are welcome. The Boathouse is kid-friendly and offers seating for groups.

The Boathouse’s signage has not arrived yet, and thus far the only sign is the one along Big Lake Road indicating the turn into Sunset View Resort, Puckett said.

To get to the Boathouse, turn into Sunset View Resort and follow the road to the right. Look for a garage with the siding removed in preparation for relocation. The Boathouse is just beyond that building in a former residence that has been converted into the restaurant.

For more information, contact 892-8595 or visit akboathouse.com.

Contact managing editor Heather A. Resz at 352-2268 or heather.resz@frontiersman.com.