Whittier, Alaska, is an isolated town in which almost all the population lives in one 14-story building, was built as an army barracks. Margaret and Dom Varlamos were looking for a business opportunity in 1997, and found the Swiftwater Seafood Cafe for sale in Whittier, which in 2020 had a population of 272 people. The only way to reach Whittier was by boat, plane, or train. It couldn't be all that hard to feed a couple of hundred people, right? The Varlamos' freshly made fish and chips were a hit with the community. Then in 2000, the railroad tunnel was opened to automobile traffic, and tourists started to arrive. Word got around the state, and the cafe had lines out the door. This video tells their story, plus that of the town and what it's like to live with all your neighbors. (via Nag on the Lake)
2 comments:
I was there before the tunnel was opened to vehicles. Came down from Valdez on the ferry and the choices were continue on the ferry or load your vehicle on the train through the tunnel to leave town.
Had to drive up a ramp onto a flatcar. They put fillers between flatcars so you would drive from flatcar to flatcar until you reached a parked vehicle until the train was full. Then they removed the fillers and chocked 1 wheel on my van for the trip out of town. Everyone traveled in their own vehicle.
I visited Alaska in 1990. I went through Whittier, coming down from Anchorage on a tour bus that rolled onto a flatcar at the Portage site. (Portage was destroyed in the 1964 quake.) Did not pay attention to the town, as I was headed for a one-day boat tour of the glaciers around Prince William Sound. I don't recall where/what I ate that day, but I do remember having great-tasting salmon at the State Fair in Palmer a few days earlier. And yes, the harbor and surroundings are beautiful. Would love to go back again, more so now that I hear about Swiftwater Seafood Cafe. I'll pay for lunch there if anyone wants to take me! :-)
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