Happy Bison

PALMER - Happy Bison Barbeque will be bringing the flavors of Eastern Carolina Barbeque to the Colony Inn. Amanda and Mike Bowles heard that the Colony Inn was open and decided to move their Happy Bison BBQ operation indoors after two seasons of operating out of the trailer. Happy Bison began when Mike Bowles had a hankering for some mustard sauce he could not find anywhere in Alaska. He had relatives send up cases from Carolina before being convinced by his wife to take his own attempt at recreating it. Happy Bison was born in 2016 my making a few BBQ sauces and has grown into an award winning must have for BBQ fans in the Last Frontier.

“We absolutely love it, we do. We both quit our state desk jobs to come and do this full time,” Amanda Bowles said. “We absolutely love it but it is tiring. We’re both putting in easy 80 hours weeks.”

The Bowles’ plan to bring their award-winning BBQ to the Colony Inn for lunch and weekend dinners. After debating over whether to open a restaurant or a food truck, the Bowles’ settled on the latter and haven’t looked back since, preparing eastern Carolina BBQ for customers wherever they park. Happy Bison took 1st in their first competition ever, the 2016 Greatland Chili Fiesta. The Bowles’ took the crown with their Chili Verde and then traveled to Reno, Nevada where they also won the People’s Choice Award at the World Championship Chili Cookoff. The Bowles’ took home a trio of awards in 2017, winning Grand Champion in the beef showdown at the Alaska State Fair, first place in BBQ sauce for their Carolina style mustard based BBQ sauce and again took 1st at the Great Alaska Chili Fiesta with their Chili Vere. Last year, Happy Bison won the Mat-Su BBQ battle with their chicken dish. The Bowles’ have no plans on selling their food truck, but will scale back the operation with a home base at the Colony Inn. Amanda Bowles is especially looking forward to having a dishwasher in the kitchen. Mike just recently completed his culinary degree at the University of Alaska Anchorage, and Amanda was ecstatic about their new location. Happy Bison plans to begin moving in after they compete in the Alaska State Fair this fall.

“It’s been a great way of growing and building for us,” Bowles said. “Myself being born and raised here in Palmer, I love the history of Palmer. There’s so much to it.

Bowles describes the Happy Bison experience as “southeast meets northwest.” Happy Bison currently offers three BBQ sauces and two spice rubs, and has been offering free food to forest firefighters for the past few weeks. The menu when Happy Bison moves in will feature their popular Carolina pulled pork, pastrami beef brisket and bison burgers and brats. The Bowles’ hope to offer their award-winning Chili Verde as a soup of the day, and bring more southern menu items to the people of Palmer. Bowles said they hope to bring in another burger option, a kids menu, and get creative with their dishes on Friday and Saturday nights. Bowles is considering doing a southern shrimp and grits dish with a twist, featuring reindeer sausage, but the menu has not yet been finalized. The Bowles’ are excited not only to continue to foster some of the relationships they’ve built with customers over their two years operating the food truck but to offer an upscale dining option on the weekends. Amanda Bowles was excited to show the restaurant space off to her husband.

“I knew he’d fall in love with it. Creaky wood floors, antique chairs, wood paneling, antique kitchen stuff,” Bowles said. “It just screams southern restaurant, old southern restaurant, comfort, cozy, and quiet.”

While food truck gatherings help promote the products Happy Bison offers, the Bowles’ are more prone to stay local to serve their BBQ. With the scarcity of BBQ options, the Bowles’ have become a must stop location for BBQ lovers when they park at Friday Fling or on Cobb Street. Amanda admits to enjoying the “carnie life,” and says that her and her husband have a standing trade deal with the lemonade stand that usually sets up next to them. Amanda Bowles laughed about the small-town feel of Palmer, noting that her husband had a conversation with a customer that grew up in the area around the same time and was hungry for some Carolina style BBQ.

“Food just brings you together,” Bowles said.

While selling food is the objective, bragging rights is something cooks are eager to take home. Amanda Bowles marveled at the helpful nature of the competitors when she and her husband attended their first competition.

“It gets pretty intense, it really does, but the one thing that we love about the BBQ competitions is everybody is wiling to help each other out,” Bowles said. “They totally open up to you and they actually love getting new people in there.”

Bowles said that Happy Bison would offer local beer options once they continue to finalize their menu. When the doors of the Colony Inn open with Happy Bison inside, BBQ lovers in Palmer will be able to get a plate full of southeast meets northwest.