As soon as summer 2022, Bethel could get another restaurant serving alcohol. The investment group behind Uncommon Pizza, a restaurant in suburban Pennsylvania, has picked Bethel, Alaska for its second location.
Grant Keener has traveled to Bethel from Pennsylvania many times over the years. Mushing and friends kept drawing him back, but there was one thing he felt like he missed during his trips to Bethel.
“We realized pretty quickly that the Bethel community seemed hungry for a restaurant such as we offer: a casual dining place with good food that’s family friendly, where people can go and have a good pizza or have a beer, have a glass of wine, relax,” said Keener.
Keener and his investment group co-own a restaurant in Pennsylvania that he says fits this bill. So his group pushed to open a location in Bethel.
Uncommon Pizza would be the second restaurant in Bethel serving alcohol. The Bethel Planning Commission already approved Uncommon Pizza’s conditional use permit. Now the restaurant is pursuing a liquor license with the state. Keener said that process should take about six months.
The other restaurant that serves alcohol in Bethel is Fili’s. Fili’s received its liquor license about five years ago, just a few years before Bethel went into damp status in 2019. It was the first restaurant to sell alcohol in Bethel in over 40 years.
Fili’s sale of beer and wine has not been without controversy. For several months during the early part of the pandemic, customers could order alcohol via curbside pick up and delivery. But the city council shut down the service, saying that it violated the voters’ decision to have a damp town.
The city’s damp status does not limit the number of conditional use permits that can be granted to restaurants in Bethel.
Keener said that he’s aware of the controversy surrounding Fili’s alcohol delivery service.
“We're confident that we're going to be able to bring family friendly, responsible service to Bethel. We will not be serving hard alcohol. We’ll be beer and wine only, and we do not have any plans to offer delivery of alcohol,” said Keener.
Keener said that the pizza restaurant will be offering food delivery, however. You can get a feel for what they might serve by clicking here.
One menu item they’ll definitely be bringing with them to Bethel?
“We have a buffalo chicken pizza that is one of our signature dishes. It's a wonderful breaded chicken tender with a homemade blue cheese base,” said Keener.
Keener said that the Bethel location will include the most popular items from Pennsylvania. But because of Alaska’s supply chain issues, the menu will likely be a little smaller. He says prices will be comparable to other restaurants in Bethel.
Keener said that he anticipates that Uncommon Pizza will be open by mid-summer 2022. It’s slated to open at 401 Chief Eddie Hoffman Drive, right across from the fire station.
