Progress 2021: Wasilla restaurants adapting to pandemic

Both new and established restaurants across the Valley had to adapt to the pandemic in whatever way that works for them. Whether it’s adding new services, limiting scale, or simply taking it day by day, local eateries are making their way through a unique and challenging time.

Settlers Bay Lodge has been known as one of the prominent destinations for fine dining and large scale events in the Valley for the last four decades. Despite the lengthy history, the lodge wasn’t spared from the challenges caused by COVID.

“It’s such a blur because things transitioned so quickly and there were a lot of reactionary decisions… to try to just stay ahead of things and stay open,” Settlers Bay Lodge owner Joshua Broda said.

The pandemic ultimately demanded hard sacrifices and creative planning, according to Broda. He said that letting go of 15 employees during the onset was the most difficult sacrifice to make. He noted that they were able to get most of those employees back.

“The hardest thing for me was to lay off 15 employees and tell them they no longer have a job… That was a hard pill to swallow for single parents, and moms and whoever to be out of work,” Broda said.

During the early months of the pandemic, Broda and his staff were operating with a bare bones crew. He said they created a new lunch menu, something never done before in all the lodge’s history.

The lodge had solely been offering curbside service until the indoor dining bans were lifted, according to Broda. He said the takeout option is still highly utilized, but their overall revenue is not even close to where they were before the pandemic. He said they took a huge hit in the summer due to the loss of tourism.

“I know we're not the only ones affected,” Broda said.

Broda said they lost a lot of banquets and public events to the pandemic. He said the lodge was built to hold wedding ceremonies and other large gatherings, but a majority of the building will remain quiet until they can return to what they're used to.

“I'm just grateful we're still open,” Broda said. “The sense from the guests and the community I’m getting I guess in regards to restaurants in general, I think people are ready to come back out. They’re ready to get back to normal.”

The Chicken Coop is one of the newest additions to the Valley’s restaurant industry. It officially opened in November of 2020, right in the midst of the pandemic. Despite the surrounding circumstances, owner Randy Jordan said that his takeout restaurant has been faring rather well since he started.

“Nothing’s really changed and business has been real good," Jordan said.

Chicken Coop customers can have their meals delivered or have them delivered to their vehicles in the parking lot. Jordan said that overall, minimizing contact like this has proven to be an effective way to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

“The customers are pretty understanding,” Jordan said.

Jordan said that he added an online ordering system that’s already seen a lot of activity in the short time they’ve been operating.

“That's working out real well. I'm real happy with how that's working out,” Jordan said.

Jordan said that he’s not worried about the uncertainty and other stresses from the pandemic. He said that he’s encouraged by their progress, and thinks their year long acclimation to the situation has prepared their business to stand the test of time.

“I’m pretty much used to it now… It's just a learning curve… We’re just gonna have to maintain everything we’ve learned from this pandemic and just carry on with it, regardless if it's gone away or not, just trying to maintain that level of cleanliness... So far it's been working, and we've been successful. So, no worries there,” Jordan said. “I'm real happy the way it’s working, pretty successful during one the hardest times to actually open.”

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