The Chugiak Cafe: A family restaurant run the old way

CHUGIAK — Whether you’re a homesteader or a transplant, the Chugiak Café has become a cornerstone of Chugiak living, being a favorite spot for breakfast and brunch. Over the past few years they’ve expanded far beyond their humble beginning.

Trig Bjorklund is the owner and establisher of the restaurant, and a longtime Chugiak resident. “We didn’t expect this,” he said of the café’s popularity. Just three years ago they had a dining space of four tables. They’ve since expanded the business to include two additional dining rooms and a coffee roasting room where people can order coffee and wait for their table.

“People used to just come in and pick a table,” said Rachel Bjorklund, Trig’s daughter-in-law and the Café’s first cook and general manager. “Now they have to wait for a table.”

Fortunately for the people waiting, there’s a new coffee roasting room featuring a fully functioning antique coffee roaster that’s over 100 years old, and a place to enjoy their fresh roasted coffee. Trig is a master coffee roaster and aficionado, and they’re fresh roasted coffee has been coming into high demand across Alaska.

The building itself, located at 18575 on the Old Glenn, has an interesting history, beginning life as a World War II barracks. It was transported to its current location and turned into a church, and then it was the post office for many years before it was turned into rental space for small businesses. Trig bought the building about 20 years ago, and has seen most renters move on.

“My lifelong dream is to have a small café that you can sit down and eat in,” said Trig, although the Chugiak Café isn’t so small anymore.

Even so, Trig and Rachel have maintained the basic tenets on which the Café was founded: real, whole food made from scratch, fresh coffee, and vintage, Alaskan décor. They put a lot of effort into getting their ingredients and are always looking for ways to improve their menu, which features fresh, organic eggs and milk, plenty of butter, and locally grown foods whenever possible.

“We didn’t serve anything new, it was an old concept,” said Trig. “Cooking food, from scratch, by hand, using local product. No pre-cooked food.”

The Café began with a retired couple leasing the space, but Trig said, “they couldn’t make a go of it.” The space then sat vacant for a time, where Trig used it to make coffee for friends and family. He was working as a pilot for the airlines during this time, and couldn’t find a good cup of coffee close to home at 2am. In 2012, Trig’s daughter was talking about getting a job at a coffee stand in Anchorage to help pay for her horse boarding. This was not long after a young barista had gone missing in Anchorage.

“Hell no,” said Trig. “Let’s just fire this place up.”

And Rachel was, reluctantly at first, brought onto the project. The Café immediately surpassed expectations, just opening up on the weekends to accommodate the young women’s school schedules.

“I was under the impression this would be the kind of place where I could work on homework,” said Rachel, laughing, “and now you barely have time to get a drink of water.”

Rachel is currently going to school to get her teaching certificate.

“When I was a kid, the first thing I wanted to be was a princess. Second, a teacher,” she said. “I’ll always have my hand in something at the Café,” she said when asked what she’ll do when she graduates, “This is, after all, a family business and I’ll have my summers free.” This is great news for Chugiak Café patrons, as Rachel has attended culinary school and is called “The Egg Whisperer” by the Café staff.

Something Trig and Rachel want patrons to understand is that the Chugiak Café isn’t like most other restaurants.

“It takes time to get a table, it takes time to get your food,” said Rachel. “Everything takes time.”

All the food is made from scratch in the order it’s placed, so if it’s a typical busy morning at the café, cozy up with your coffee and enjoy the vintage décor collection that has been a lifelong endeavor for Trig.

“It’s become a gathering place,” said Rachel. “Neighbors meet here and become friends.”

The Chugiak Café’s expanded summer hours just ended as Rachel and some of the other staff have returned to school, but they’ll be open for breakfast Friday through Sunday all winter long.