Eat, drink, gather: New restaurant coming to Woods Bay

Woods Bay will soon have a new culinary option in town.

Bonfire, a new bar and restaurant, plans to open in mid-June in the building that previously was home to Flathead Lake Brewing Company. The brewery vacated the space earlier this year.

As owners of The Raven, Lisa Cloutier said she and her husband Brian Andersen enjoyed a great relationship with Flathead Lake Brewing Company when it was located across Montana 35 for so many years.

The couple had toyed with the idea of starting another restaurant for some time, and when the prime real estate became available, they knew it made a lot of sense for their needs. They’ve spent the months since carefully curating a brand, menu and overall feel that they believe will fit in seamlessly with the Woods Bay experience.

“We chose the name Bonfire because what’s more Montana than that?” said the restaurant’s general manager Dax VanFossen.

Converting the brewery into a restaurant made for some unique design challenges, VanFossen said.

For one, Flathead Lake Brewing Company transported some memorabilia to its Bigfork location, including the bar. A segment of wall also had to be cut out to remove the massive brewing tanks. That room has been converted to a creative seating space dubbed the “living room.” The room of community tables has a seating capacity of 48 people, and the whole restaurant can seat over 120.

“It’s been fun,” VanFossen said of the design process. “This has been a fun thing to do.”

VanFossen said Andersen even helped construct the building when he was a contractor earlier in life, so redesigning the space has been a dose of déjà vu.

The wall behind the bar is covered in wood that has been burned to a black charcoal, which is a method Cloutier and Andersen saw used in Japan while traveling.

Mounted on that charcoal backdrop is the company’s new logo — a silhouette of a flame over a crossed knife and fork with the restaurant’s name and motto “eat, drink, gather.”

The logo was designed and created by Bigfork-area companies QuelDesign and Meissenburg Designs.

VanFossen said Cloutier and Andersen are hoping their focus on cultivating a distinct character with an emphasis on quality food and drinks will lead to as much success in this business as they’ve enjoyed at The Raven.

“She got The Raven started over 20 years ago,” VanFossen said.

Seeing the space revived into another quality establishment bodes well for the future of the whole area, he said. With The Raven and Bonfire under the same ownership, customers will be able to park wherever they can find space between either restaurant. Parking has always been a conundrum in the narrow community, but VanFossen thinks sharing resources will go a long way toward easing those tensions.

“Woods Bay is going to be busy,” VanFossen said.

Bonfire has a full liquor license, and plans to have about five taps with an emphasis on beer that is harder to find in other parts of the valley. The restaurant plans on always carrying one beer from the Flathead Valley Community College brewing program and another from Bonsai Brewing Project in Whitefish.

They will have a cocktail list heavy on Whistling Andy’s spirits, and a food menu that screams Montana with some dishes and something entirely different with others.

For instance, they will serve locally made Redneck sausage, smoke all their other meats in-house and offer local trout, but also will have an option of octopus skewers. Head chef Chelsea Lipscomb calls it a variety of “high-class American fusion.”

A soft opening is currently planned for the week of June 19, Cloutier said. It will be open seven days a week, year-round.

More information can also be found on the Montana Bonfire Facebook page.

Reporter Peregrine Frissell can be reached at (406) 758-4438 or pfrissell@dailyinterlake.com.