Owner Matt Walsh, who has a Matty's in Brainerd and Lake Shore, is opening a restaurant in downtown Walker in November.
The restaurant is going into the Old Wharf on Minnesota Avenue, just a couple of blocks from Leech Lake. Visitors to Walker may remember the building for roof line with its prominent pelican perched on a piling.
Walsh said people have wondered what will happen to the huge pelican. No worries there.
"We are going to put a Matty's twist on it, but it is staying," Walsh said of the pelican. "We might actually have to turn it into a Matty's mascot."
Walsh said he was in Walker for the Chase on the Lake construction project and by chance asked the owner of The Wharf about selling. The owner was willing.
The Chase on the Lake, the $30 million construction project to resurrect the historic hotel building, had Nor-Son working a project described as bringing back the charm of the 1940s with contemporary high-end amenities. The hotel, which opened in 1922, was damaged in a major fire in 1997.
Walsh said with everything going on in Walker, its position as the county seat with DNR headquarters and good business and tourist traffic, it seemed a good spot to expand.
"The people have been so nice it's unbelievable," Walsh said. "It's still a small-town feel up there."
Matty's of Walker will seat about 80 and expectations are to hire about 10 people. Work on the building will update it and put in new equipment. Walsh said any renovation is more cosmetic than construction. But he's excited about the location, with its setting right in the city amid other family-owned businesses.
"We think it's really going to be a good fit for us," he said.
As for the restaurant business, Walsh said his Lake Shore and Brainerd sites are doing well, although he's seen a dip with the economy.
"But it does seem to be loosening up," Walsh said. "I think the fear is going. People are starting to figure out 'we're going to be OK.'"
RENEE RICHARDSON may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.
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