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Whether he was greeting a regular local customer, remembering the favorite drink of a returning once-a-year guest, or playing name that tune with Twins legend Kent Hrbek, Bob Hendrickson was home behind the bar at the Grand Ely Lodge.
But after nearly 30 years, both time and the physical demands of the job are bringing a storied career - at least on a full-time basis to a close.
Hendrickson has retired from his post as the only food and beverage director in the history of the Ely resort, coming on board months before it opened in 1996 as the Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort.
Ever since, Hendrickson has made his mark, overseeing a staff as large as 50 as well as hundreds of workers overall during his three decades, and putting his stamp on a restaurant and bar that remains an attraction to resort guests, summer visitors and year-round residents.
“He gave us 29 years of remarkable service,” said Mary Zupancich, general manager at the business known locally as the “GEL.” “There are not enough words to describe what he’s done here as everybody in the community knows. He brought his ‘A’ game every day.”
Hendrickson, who was saluted by GEL management Thursday at a public retirement gathering, has been synonymous with the resort since its opening.
He got his start locally in the early- 1980s, working as a bartender at both First and Main and the Ely Bowling Center before moving to Louisiana.
There, he spent a dozen years in the food and beverage business, including about four years managing a restaurant in New Orleans before he was pulled back to his hometown.
The Holiday Inn project hit a brief snag in 1995 and Hendrickson was working both at Cranberry’s and the Ely Bowling Center when he encountered resort general manager Denise Jordan and owner Gary Loge.
“I called and set up an interview and the rest was history,” said Hendrickson.
The project soon got back on track and the Holiday Inn opened in May, 1996, with Henderson in charge of not only the restaurant but the adjoining Antlers Lounge.
“I was basically in charge of the front of the house, the bar, the restaurant and I originally did all of the banquet stuff, too,” Hendrickson recalled.
Although it’s a 61-room hotel, the GEL, like the Holiday Inn before it, is a popular food and beverage destination for Ely area residents.
That was by design, Hendrickson said.
“It was envisioned,” said Hendrickson. “You look back at the original crew with me and Denise, and then Nichole Boitz in sales and catering and Jo Pat Curtis as head cook, we knew we had a pretty facility there on the shores of Shagawa Lake and the goal was in order to sustain itself and really be successful, we shot to get the local business.”
It didn’t take long for the resort to carve its own niche on Ely’s restaurant and bar scene, and the GEL has become a mainstay in a landscape that has changed dramatically over three decades, with numerous businesses closing and a handful of new restaurants joining the fray.
“We emphasized good service at a reasonable price and consistent food,” said Hendrickson. “We knew the local business was going to be big part, and we shot out to get groups like the Rotary, Kiwanis, now the Tuesday lunch group. We did a lot of donating rooms and figured if they come here and enjoy the experience they’ll come back or even have food that day.”
In addition to hiring and guiding employees, scheduling and keeping an eye on “making the money,” Hendrickson also worked several shifts each week behind the bar.
Over time, whether it was a one-time, one-hour visit, or over months and years with regulars and returning visitors, Hendrickson developed a rapport with customers.
“It’s kind of a unique place to work,” said Hendrickson. “You’re not seeing the same people every day, but there are people that come in that you remember whether they’re locals or summer guests. There are a number of people who go back 20 years or more. Either they come back here to stay or a lot are summer residents who come into the lodge. There is a lot of repeat business.”
Some made a point of recognizing or even asking GEL management about Hendrickson.
“There are guests who from 30 years ago who come back and ask ‘Is Bob still here?’” said Zupancich. “What he’s built here is amazing. Everybody knows the GEL and that’s in part because of Bob.”
Just a year ago, the Ely Chamber of Commerce recognized Hendrickson with its Customer Service Award, saluting the longtime food and beverage director and bartender for his devotion to the GEL’s guests.
“I can’t think of anyone more deserving,” said Zupancich.
During his career, Hendrickson developed a reputation for remembering customers’ orders, sometimes at tables with eight or more customers and without using a pen to write things down.
“I just kind of learned that on my own,” said Hendrickson. “It was one day, probably about 20 years ago, and I didn’t have time to use a notepad and we had a group of 10 on the deck. I brought (the drinks) to the right people and they asked how I remembered and I said it was easier than reading my own writing.”
Over the span of three decades, Hendrickson’s job allowed him to rub shoulders with some notable personalities, particularly from the world of sports.
Former Vikings head coach Bud Grant and NFL Hall of Famer Jim Marshall have had drinks at the GEL, as have former Twins including Dan Gladden and Eduardo Escobar. Hendrickson also recalled an evening when he played name that tune with none other than Hrbek, who has made numerous stops at the GEL through the years.
Hendrickson also stopped short of confirming a rumor about the stay of perhaps the most famous GEL guest - technology mogul and billionaire Bill Gates, “That’s what I’ve been told,” Hendrickson said about Gates’ alleged - and wildly secretive - visit to Ely.
Hendrickson lauded resort ownership for continuing to make upgrades and updates to the GEL facilities, and during his tenure, the food and beverage area expanded outside the confines of the Evergreen Restaurant and Antlers Lounge. On busy evenings, it’s not uncommon to see several tables occupied in the lobby area for overflow bar and restaurant customers.
Three decades did not come without challenges for Hendrickson.
The facility transitioned from the Holiday Inn to the Grand Ely Lodge during the 2000s, and nothing could prepare Hendrickson and his staff for what would come in March, 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic brought business to a near standstill.
For nearly three months from March to June, and then another six weeks from November to early-January, restaurants around the state were closed to indoor dining because of the pandemic.
“That was the worst,” said Hendrickson. “There was the stress and not knowing what was going on. It was eerie. We worked with a skeleton crew to keep it going with takeout, and then compounding it was the opening of the economy after that. It was hard to get people to come back to work and you had a lot of places that were closed.”
Hendrickson noted an Ely Echo article about “restaurant roulette,” with summer visitors competing with tourists for coveted tables at restaurants that were open during the pandemic.
“I felt sorry for people,” said Hendrickson. “They’d come in and couldn’t wait for a table and some people would come back three times. Covid and a couple years after it were tough.”
Another challenge that Hendrickson has wrestled with is a shrinking labor pool.
“ The industry has changed,” he said. “It’s more difficult finding people to work now, even with less places in town.”
Zupancich added, “In my time as general manager, with what we’ve gone through with many renovations, a few catastrophic events, Covid and then more Covid, he was a key component in keeping this place going. We couldn’t have done it without him.”
Hendrickson said he also has developed a friendship with restaurant and bar owners in town, noting “We’re all in this together... In order to have a resort on a lake you have to have a main street.”
Having reached age 65, Hendrickson has eyed retirement and recently opted to make it official.
“I’m just getting old,” he joked. “When you think about it, you get to a certain age and physically it’s hard. It’s hard to be on your feet 10 hours a day. My legs are killing me but I still enjoy it.”
That’s one reason why Hendrickson’s retirement isn’t full-blown.
While he has given up his management post, which will be assumed by longtime GEL employee Katie Lakner, Hendrickson has committed to remaining on board as a part-time bartender.
“I want to stick around and help two or three days a week as long as I can still do it,” he said.
Zupancich said she and GEL staff are “elated” that Hendrickson is staying on.
“In our personal conversations I don’t think he wanted to be totally done,” said Zupancich. “He loves it here and it shows. It keeps the business in his daily life and having that extra something to do.”
Asked what he’ll miss most about full-time employment and Hendrickson was quick to respond.
“It’s the people,” said “Both the people I work with and the customers. The people I work with become part of your family. You spend holidays with them.”
Hendrickson said retirement will allow him to spend more time at his favorite spot on Burntside Lake.
“When I was younger I had the energy to go before or after work, but now it’s one or the other,” he said.
Other plans for retirement include “still bartending - I would miss the people.”
Looking back, Hendrickson said he had simple advice: “Enjoy what you do. I think the people that worked for me - I just tried to work alongside them and let them know where they can get better and to just lead by example.”
