BIGFORK – A new bar and restaurant in Bigfork is serving up locally-sourced food and spirits.
The new business opened in mid-June after The Flathead Lake Brewing Company vacated the space earlier this year. General manager Dax VanFossen says the name Bonfire was chosen for the restaurant.
"So Bonfire for us is part of our motto where we say, "Eat, drink, gather." And a bonfire, what else do people gather around? You know people stand around a Bonfire and they talk about their feelings and they talk about what a great time they’re having and you use that bonfire to enjoy the splendor of Montana,” said VanFossen.
VanFossen says it was important for the new owners who also own The Raven a restaurant just a few feet up the road to promote the business as a gathering place with a sense of community.
The Bonfire’s menu is a spinoff of classic American style cuisine with a slight twist and features bison short ribs and baked four layer portobello mushroom caps, according to VanFossen.
Meanwhile, the cocktail bar features locally grown Montana spirits and even some you can’t find in other parts of the Flathead Valley. VanFossen says the restaurant sources mostly everything on the menu from other Montana businesses.
"Yellowstone Grassfed Beef Company is where we’re getting our beef for our beef brisket which is delicious. We have Bonsai from Whitefish on tap, Bonsai Brewing does this awesome cheese fries,” said VanFossen. “We’re using their Due North IRA. Flathead Lake Brewing Company we carry two of their beers but we’re also carrying Flathead Valley Community College Citra IPA and we’re the only place in the Valley that is carrying that."
The Bonfire will be open just for dinner from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Sunday for now. But down the road, VanFossen says the restaurant plans to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.
