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Ken Smith/Turnagain Times The wine tower at Seven Glaciers restaurant is a working piece of art over ten feet tall, storing a wide selection of red wines. |
By Ken Smith
Turnagain Times
Since Alyeska Resort owner John Byrne took over two years ago, the hotel and mountain have been undergoing methodical changes—for the better. Millions of dollars have been spent on well publicized hotel renovations and mountain upgrades like new chair lifts and a high tech ski pass system.
However, one change that quietly took place was the redesigning of the Seven Glaciers restaurant, which was completed in time for the New Year.
It took more than 10 months of planning, but when finally completed, Seven Glaciers underwent a transformation from a fine dining restaurant to a world class four diamond restaurant.
Located in the aerial tram building atop Mt. Alyeska, the challenge for designers was to work within the framework of one of the truly exceptional buildings in the state, which first opened its doors in 1994.
It was a daunting and intimidating task, said Marco Zacarro of Girdwood based Z-Architects, the firm hired to plan and redesign Seven Glaciers.
“When I told my architect friends that I was doing the job in Seven Glaciers, they were concerned because you could easily destroy what was there,” he said.
But, in the end, Zacarro and his team of designers, along with Byrne, met the challenge.
The triumph of the new design of the restaurant is in the attention to detail. Everything in the restaurant, from the new carpet to the swirl patterned glass surrounding the seating areas, the artwork of Andy Warhol that line the walls of the main dining area, the newly designed server stations, the fine black leather seats, and lighting, all was meticulously chosen to enhance the fine dining experience and establish a sense of privacy and intimacy.
All of the restaurant’s design features were predicated on a flowing, cohesive floor plan, accented by the main focal point of the restaurant—the intricate and artistic wine tower.
“The wine tower is the focus,” said Larry Daniels, the former mountain General Manager, who now works in Real Estate, Planning and Development for the resort. “It’s the first thing you see when you come through the doors.”
“And everything is expanded from there,” added Zacarro.
The tower is truly a work of functioning art. The appearance is supposed to evoke the look of a floating cube of glass filled with wine bottles. Technically, the lighting along the base and perimeter of the tower, draws out the structure creating a stand alone feeling with a swirling stainless steel rack design in the center, surrounded by multiple rows of individual stainless steel wine racks.
A glass door on the right side of the tower allows easy access into this one of a kind wine tower that houses a world-class selection of red wines.
The glass used in the tower was chosen specifically to withstand an earthquake and the stress from avalanche control cannons going off at the top of the mountain.
Not be overlooked is the Eurocave wine storage cabinet for the special selection of white and sparkling wines.
Seven Glaciers has been a perennial Wine Spectator winner since 1996, but it mainly offered an American wine list.
“Now we’ve gone international,” said David Merrigan, who has been the head bartender for 16 years. “We’re starting to serve the first growth French Bordeaux’s.”
These rare to find French wines start in price at around $400 to well over $600 per bottle.
“They’re fairly new on our list,” said Merrigan, “but we do have some people that are drinking them. It is a great value because we’re only putting a small mark-up. There are wines that, quite frankly, you don’t see anywhere. You can’t find them out at the liquor store.”
The Eurocave can be seen as you walk into the main dining area. Sliding racks allow for easy access, and the wines are stored at the ideal temperature of between 41 and 43 degrees.
Both the wine tower and Eurocave are both highly visible and accessible to make the selection interactive and get the wine closer the patrons. Between the reds and whites, the wine collection at Seven Glaciers easily exceeds more than 2,500 bottles.
As patrons enter the restaurant, they walk past the wine tower to the host counter, which has an illuminating LED swirl patterned glass front panel that changes color. The swirl pattern of the glass is prevalent throughout the restaurant. The idea of the pattern is to simulate the motion of a skier descending the mountain, which is also thematic with the Seven Glaciers logo.
Patrons are then taken into the main dining area. Tables are comfortably spaced on the main floor, and newly upholstered booths were raised 8 inches to allow patrons stunning views of Turnagain Arm through the large 7-foot windows.
Even the bar has been redesigned with new granite counters, and where stacked bar glasses were once located, impeding the view outside, new glass shelves were constructed. The glacier blue shelves reflect the outside light coming through the large windows that look out onto the North Face. The shelves create a glassy horizon and a clear line of sight for bar patrons.
Of course, the newly designed restaurant is only fully realized when all of the pieces are put into place. Mike Kenny, who lives in Girdwood, was the foreman on the job, working for the contractor M.C.N. out of Anchorage. The level of detail and intricacies of all aspects of the reconstruction of Seven Glaciers was carried out under the meticulous craftsmanship of Kenny and his crew.
Finally, no restaurant is complete or successful without a quality menu. The Seven Glaciers head chef is Tanner Exposito. He came up from Texas and has been working at Seven Glaciers for two years.
“I’ve cooked a lot of southwestern cuisine because I worked close to New Mexico,” he said. “I’ve brought a lot of spices up here. I didn’t think Alaskans could handle some of the spicier dishes, but they seem to like it. In the summer, they’re not as adventurous as in the wintertime.”
Some of the entrees include game dishes like venison and elk, as well as traditional Alaskan dishes like King crab and halibut.
He also had all new plates ordered, allowing for more creative dish presentations.
“With all the different plates, it makes it a lot of fun when you have a lot of sauces,” he said. “It makes it nicer on the palate. If somebody’s having four different sauces, every one should come out on a different plate.”
Seven Glaciers is open for lunch Fri-Sun. noon to 5:30 p.m. Dinner is served from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.