Schaefer’s Chef stays at Mountain Lake Lodge to open his own restaurant “Pesca”

Schaefer’s Restaurant is moving to Eagle Bend Golf Course this summer and Chef Jeans Matheros is staying and opening his own seafood restaurant inside the Mountain Lake Lodge.

It wasn’t too long ago that Matheros was taking a chance on moving to Montana with his family after being laid-off due to COVID-19 closures at the beginning of the pandemic. He found success as the Head Chef at Schaefer’s and is moving into new territory once again as he begins to open his new seafood restaurant: Pesca.

“I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to try, all the publicity I’ve been getting and everything that’s been going on for me, and try to maybe start my own business. I started talking to our front of house manager, Jonathan, and asked him if he would be interested in trying to open up a restaurant. He said he would be, so we got together and talked some things out and we’re going to do it. Between both of us we have about 30 years of restaurant experience, I think it’s a good time to start a restaurant,” Matheros said.

He will lease the spaces from Mountain Lake Lodge, which includes the upstairs restaurant space where Schaefer’s was located and Riley’s Pub located downstairs. Matheros has been running both spaces as Head Chef, but now he has complete creative freedom over what the eateries will look like and taste like. For Pesca, he’s chosen to pursue seafood.

“I haven’t been able to find a good seafood joint...from Polson to Whitefish, I think it will be a good niche for us. Since my time working here at Schaefer’s, my specials have been mostly seafood and people seem to really, really love it. Obviously Schaefer’s has always been a steakhouse type place, but there’s so many steakhouses around here. One thing that’s missing is seafood and I want to bring that here, especially with that lake view in the background,” Matheros said.

Steak lovers fear not, there will still be turf to go with the surf as well other non-seafood options. But Matheros said he is committed to providing a good quality seafood experience. He said they get their seafood from a supplier in Seattle, who usually sources their products from Alaska. But he’s looking for a supplier in the Valley and making an effort to keep his ingredients as local as possible— sourcing greens and herbs from a farmer right down the street and eventually planning to put a small greenhouse next to the lodge. He said he also has a dish in mind that will use locally caught lake trout.

“I think it’s going to be one of our more popular items, I’ve been working on that recipe and got it pretty much 90% down, we were working on it last night. I just have to come up with a sauce that’s going to work with that— it’s going to be super, super good,” Matheros said.

Other menu items will include king salmon with nappa cabbage & mushroom stir fry, carrot-ginger puree, miso and chive butter, honey chipotle glazed steelhead with cilantro-lime rice, bacon and garlic braised kale, and pasta dishes like the prawns and langostino, featuring garlic mojo, squid ink fettuccine, cilantro and crispy prosciutto. Matheros said he will continue to lean into the Hispanic influences he was raised with and the Japanese cuisine he learned in culinary school.

“Seafood really falls into my style of Japanese and Hispanic cooking, there’s a lot of great seafood that comes out of those styles…we have a starter that is clams cooked with pistachio pesto, white wine, butter, topped with cilantro and served with fry bread…so I want to include all of those influences that I’ve gotten here from Montana too,” Matheros said.

Mountain Lake Lodge Owner Kim Abrahamson said they are excited to see what Matheros will do with the restaurants.

“We’re really excited, it will be fun. I think the town needs more restaurants. So it’s not like one is taking away from another one, and now Jeans is getting the opportunity to use all of his creativity and bring something new. Before I think he was just trying to do what they asked him to, a little here and a little there, and now it’s more free reign,”

She said even though Matheros will be making some changes, their mainstay Riley’s Pub located in the downstairs of the Lodge will still be there for people to enjoy. Matheros said he wants to use the pub to cater to people who are looking for something more on-the-go.

“It will be a little bit different of a concept and I think it will be a little more fun for our crowd. We want to cater to people who want to go out on the lake, who want to go out and hike— they just want to come in and grab something and go on a picnic. So it will be a little more grab-and-go, more like a Subway or Pizza Hut. We will still have pizza, like a neapolitan style pizza…and some gourmet sandwiches and salads,” Matheros said.

He said he’s looking at a “build your own” concept that could include sandwiches, burgers and pizzas for the pub.

Pesca is looking to open soon for another busy tourist season on Flathead Lake, and with lingering staff from Schaefer’s and a ready-to-go restaurant, Matheros is feeling eager to begin.

“It’s pretty much turnkey. Anything that was part of the restaurant, stays with the restaurant. So we’re ready to go as soon as we can,” Matheros said. “It’s very exciting, I’ve never been given this type of opportunity before and it’s very exciting and scary, but I’ve never felt more ready to do it than I am now, I feel like I have enough skills and I just feel like I’m ready,”

Pesca is planning on being closed for two weeks prior to opening so staff can learn the menu. The restaurant will be open to the public on April 13, prior to Easter weekend. Anyone interested in making reservations can book through their new website at pescamontana.com. Pesca’s menu is also listed on the website.