Lodge becomes resort again on Wasilla Lake

WASILLA — After a brief stint under a new name and different ownership, the more familiar Mat-Su Resort has reopened with some new offerings.

Last summer, the complex of rooms, a restaurant and three bars on the north shore of Wasilla Lake changed hands when it was purchased by a partnership from Anchorage. The name changed to the Mat-Su Lodge, and the team tried to instill a more family friendly atmosphere with fine dining and country music.

The new owners also shut down the dance club called The Zoo, the site of a 2007 shooting incident that hospitalized one man.

Now, the property is back in the hands of the owners who ran the Mat-Su Resort, John Emmi and Steve Bargabos, said the new general manager, Red Secoy.

The establishmen is now called Mat-Su Resort again, but Secoy said there will be some changes coming online to enhance its offerings.

The main bar will remain largely the same, Secoy said, but music will cater to the 30- to 50-year-old crowds. It will largely be classic rock with live, local bands used whenever possible.

The bar in the restaurant upstairs is being converted into a wine and martini bar stocked with top-shelf liquors, Secoy said. The menu at the restaurant will include gourmet pizzas and tapas dishes. This conversion should be done in two weeks.

The hip-hop dance club downstairs has already been reopened under the name 40-Below. With 25 years in the bar industry, Secoy said he should be able run the club without incident.

“I’m not worried about that, not the way I run it,” Secoy said.

Secoy said The Zoo was open from midnight until 5 a.m. This attracted the problems. Now, 40-Below will open at 11 p.m. and close at 3 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 11 p.m. during the week.

“We’re going to turn the music off at 3 and let it filter out,” Secoy said. “It’s a manageable club if you do it right.”

Secoy said the resort is having a deck opening party to celebrate its rebirth and the coming of spring on May 1.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.