49th State Restaurant and Brewery

Once upon a time in Alaska, at the 49th State Restaurant and Brewery in Healy, there was a man named Griz.

Griz was the utmost craziest and most loving and wild maintenance man the world had almost ever seen. The fact that he was not in the wild trapping or surviving off the land was the first and most amazing part of this story. Because men like Griz are very rare indeed.

Every once in awhile you will find a character like this man Griz. His presence was legendary. His father was a trapper and taught Griz and his brother to live off the land. They would regularly travel 50+ miles on a trap line to subsist in the subarctic Alaska wilderness, growing their homestead and their family day by day.

When Griz grew up and had a family of his own, he had to get a real job so he started working for the fine entrepreneurial gentlemen that owned the 49th State Brewery and Restaurant, in Healy, Alaska, just north of the entrance to the world renowned Denali National Park.

In the year 2022 during the renovation of the 49th State restaurant in Healy, Cowboy Handyman Howard Earles had the privilege of working with this famous Griz for their final season during which time they assisted contractors in making all major overhauls, as well as harvesting the birch used in the famous birch bar wall at the new bar.

It’s memories like this that make Alaskans so tight as family.

If you’ve never been to the 49th State Restaurant and Brewery in Healy, Alaska, we highly recommend it. Get there at least 1 hour before you want to eat, if not 1.5 hours (so popular!) And make sure to give it 5-star review.

For more stories about Griz and Howie leave a thumbs up.

This story is to be continued. To receive updates on our stories and more, join our mailing list here: