Football, food and drink

WASILLA — Brats for Packers fans at the Arctic Circle Club. A house-made bloody mary and breakfast pizza at the Palmer Ale House. A weekly pick’em contest at Klondike Mike’s.

These are just some of the options for football-hungry fans, eager to quench their thirst for the NFL each Sunday during the season. A survey revealed a promising list of hot spots for Valley fans eager to soak in all of the pigskin action, while feasting on their favorite fare or sipping on their frothy beverage of choice. Locations across the Valley have become communal gathering grounds for the gridiron crowd.

This list includes Arctic Circle Club, which owner “Klondike” Jim Flatley boasts the country’s northernmost Packers bar. Flatley, a native of Wisconsin, has hosted Green Bay faithful since 1999.

“We get people coming from Anchorage,” Flatley said earlier this week.

Arctic Circle Club (2750 E. Palmer-Wasilla Hwy, Wasilla) has a half-dozen televisions, and opens at 9 a.m. each Sunday, 8:30 a.m. if the Packers play in the morning. The bar caters to more than just Packers fans. With the NFL Sunday Ticket television package, which includes all of the NFL action, there is a full slate of games.

And the club is not private, Flatley stressed. Club is in the title, but Flatley tabs his club as a neighborhood sports bar.

Those who want to stay in the NFC north, but root for the purple rather than the green can call the Mug-Shot Saloon (251 W. Parks Hwy, Wasilla) their Sunday home. The Mug-Shot is the Valley’s Minnesota Vikings bar. Fans of the Purple People Eaters can enjoy food and drink specials at the bar, which features 10 televisions and NFL Sunday Ticket.

One of the Valley most popular spots to catch a game is Tailgaters (161 W. Parks Hwy, Wasilla) located just down the road from the Mug-Shot. There are drink specials and breakfast is served every Sunday morning. Tailgaters is another Valley destination with NFL Sunday Ticket in its arsenal, with a variety of NFL action on the 10 televisions in the restaurant and about 10 more TVs in the bar. Tailgaters opens at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday.

The bar draws fans from across the NFL, with Denver, Seattle and Minnesota faithful typically showing a strong presence, according to patrons.

Farther down the Parks Highway, Locals Pub and Pizzeria (3100 E. Parks Hwy) has seven televisions for football fans, and $5 Alaska Brewing Company pints. There are giveaways each Sunday. Locals is open at 11 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m.

On the Palmer side of the Valley, one of the Valley’s newest hot spots is Palmer City Alehouse (320 E. Dahlia Ave.). The Alehouse, which turns 3 years old in February, features nine televisions and the NFL Sunday Ticket package. The bar boasts house-made bloody marys, and breakfast sandwiches and breakfast pizza.

“The bloody marys sell really well,” general manager Moe Davis said.

Davis said the Alehouse tends to draw fans from a variety of teams.

Minutes away from the Alehouse is a Palmer staple, Klondike Mike’s Saloon (820 S. Colony Way). The downtown Palmer bar features season-long entertainment for Valley football fans, a weekly NFL football picks contest. Fans can hit Klondike Mike’s each week, picking the winners of each NFL game, Thursday through Monday. There are weekly prizes, and a grand prize. The top prognosticator for the season in Klondike Mike’s contest will earn two tickets to a Seattle Seahawks during the 2017 NFL season.

Klondike Mike’s is also home to nine televisions, boasts the NFL Sunday Ticket package, and serves breakfast on Sunday.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz

at sports@frontiersman.com.