Inside Alaska Business
Trident Seafoods
Shoreside processing plants in Kodiak, False Pass, Ketchikan, and Petersburg are up for sale as Trident Seafoods restructures. The company may also retire the South Naknek Diamond NN cannery and support facilities in Chignik. Citing a combination of declining demand, excess supply, and foreign competition squeezing financial margins, Trident Seafoods is also assessing its company-owned vessel business model. Restructuring goes beyond Alaska: the company is also reducing Seattle headquarters staff by about 10 percent.
Three Bears Alaska
A landmark storefront in Dutch Harbor is part of the ever-growing Three Bears Alaska supermarket chain. The parent company of Alaska Ship Supply sold its general store and the Captains Bay convenience store in December, bringing the Wasilla-based retailer into the Unalaska market. Three Bears Alaska President and CEO David Weisz says the company has many ideas to enhance service in Unalaska.
Sudzy Salmon
The first Sudzy Salmon car wash in the Anchorage Bowl is opening this month. The chain opened about five years ago, running three sites in Eagle River, Palmer, and Wasilla. The new one, along C Street where the Sea Galley restaurant burned down in 2019, is a partnership with Missouri-based Express Carwash, using a conveyor-belt approach that only one other car wash in Anchorage, Pink Elephant, uses. Also anticipated later this year: Tommy’s Express Car Wash is coming to South Anchorage, and CYBER Express Wash has three locations planned.
Alaska Pediatric Specialties
Alaska Pediatric Surgery and Alaska Pediatric Oncology rebranded as Alaska Pediatric Specialties to reflect their united mission. The pediatric surgical team maintains clinics in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Wasilla, and other locations. The pediatric oncology team is committed to caring for children with cancer and blood disorders, with access to state-of-the-art treatment equipment through the Children’s Oncology Group network.
Alaska Farmers Co-Op
A million-dollar investment from the Alaska Division of Agriculture lets the Alaska Farmers Co-Op in Delta Junction start the state’s first Feed Grain Reserve Program. In 2022, when feed for Alaska livestock was in short supply, the division helped farmers offset the costs of imported grain. For a long-term solution, the reserve will buy Alaska-grown grain and store it in the Co-Op’s bins. Scott Mugrage, president of the nonprofit Alaska Farm Bureau, says the reserve will be an easy place for growers to sell their crop.
Costco
The old Sam’s Club warehouse store at the Tikahtnu Commons shopping center in East Anchorage returns to life this month as a Costco Business Center. The spin-off of the Washington-based retail chain specializes in merchandise useful for business operators, such as restaurant, office, and janitorial supplies and equipment. The company says only about 30 percent of the inventory overlaps with items stocked at its Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau stores, including foods, beverages, and appliances. The Costco Business Center is open to all member shoppers, and delivery is available to commercially zoned businesses in Anchorage. The space became vacant in 2018 when Walmart closed all three Sam’s Club locations in Alaska.
Lumberchaun Axe Throwing
The blade-tossing craze spreads to Skagway in time for the next wave of cruise ship tourists. Kassandra Reed and Patrick Barker are launching Lumberchaun Axe Throwing in April after first trying the game at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer. They set up ten lanes, each enclosed with chain-link cages, and for $42 per person, groups of up to four (ages 6 and up) can test their hand-eye-axe coordination. Bookings run seasonally through September.
AK Big Sipper
Italian ices. Mac & cheese bombs. Possibilities for new menu items are opening up for AK Big Sipper since the restaurant won a $4,000 prize from the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce. Co-owners Audrey and Don Slats set up shop late last summer, serving waffle-wrapped sausage, pickle-flavored fries, and “dirty sodas” mixed with cream and syrup. The prize money lets the restaurant invest in an ice cream machine to serve milkshakes and frozen custard.
Anchorage Chamber of Commerce
For excellence in business and community service, the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce presented its 2023 Gold Pan Awards to five winners. Alaska Chip Company won for Entrepreneurial Excellence. LifeMed Alaska won for Business Excellence. Alaska Military Youth Academy and Wilderness Adventures for Kids Everywhere won Distinguished Community Service prizes, large and small organization, respectively. The nonprofit honored for going Above and Beyond was Hospice of Anchorage. The 2023 Chairman’s Award went to former Chamber president and CEO Bruce Bustamante, and Volunteer of the Year went to Logan Burt for chairing the Young Professionals Group.