Boathouse additions and renovations

The Boathouse Brewpub and Restaurant has undergone many renovations over the last two years, reinventing itself in the process.

Owner and cook, Brian Tome, reflected on the changes his restaurant has made and gave some insight on moves they might make in the future.

“We have really reinvented the restaurant,” said Tome. “It’s been fun, but it’s been a lot. It’s almost too much some days. I’m probably going to take the year off from more renovations.”

Perhaps the biggest project undertaken by Tome at the Boathouse was the renovation of the upstairs space, from apartments into the “Lookout Lounge.”

The Lookout Lounge is, in essence, more seating space for the restaurant but has its own bar, adding to its ability to host big groups and receptions.

“There used to be six apartments up there. They were dilapidated and not in the best shape,” said Tome. “We thought about redoing them, but I decided I didn’t want to be a landlord, and I thought, ‘why not gut the whole thing and make another level to the restaurant.’” The project was a pipe dream at first. The opportunity presented itself during Covid-19 when the Boathouse had to shut down operations, however.

“During Covid, we were like ‘Well, we’ve got nothing else to do, so why don’t we just do it?’” said Tome. “Me and three guys just grabbed sledgehammers and went up there and had a little bit of fun. Busting walls is super enjoyable.”

The upper floor has allowed the Boathouse to seat around twice as many people as just the lower floor.

The Lookout Lounge has also been a hit for people looking to rent out space in town, including weddings, parties and trivia nights.

“We have been very successful renting the space out,” he said. “One of the big ones that we’ve been doing up there is banquets for kids, which we don’t charge for, but are happy to do.”

Unique to the upstairs of the Boathouse is the noticeable lack of big flatscreen TVs.

“There’s no TVs up there by design,” he said. “You can just be with yourselves and actually have a conversation across the table with your friends.”

Along with the newly renovated upstairs area in the Boathouse, they also moved their kitchen to a new space in 2023 to have more space and to add amenities.

“We took everything out of our old kitchen and moved it to the far side of the restaurant,” he said. “This gave us more space to work with and better workflow.”

Tome takes pride in his kitchen and said the Boathouse’s kitchen is “the cleanest kitchen on the Iron Range.”

Whenever Tome or the staff have spare time, he said they are cleaning, whether it be a stove top or a wall.

“Cleanliness is next to Godliness,” he said. “When I have inspectors, or anyone come into the kitchen, they are always amazed at how clean it is. We are always cleaning.”

Along with the kitchen, Tome installed a gift shop with all kinds of merchandise this year.

“People like buying that kind of stuff, so why not build it?” he said. “We had that space and said, ‘Why not?’” One issue Tome has encountered over the last few years is finding staff to work in the kitchen.

Tome said he hasn’t struggled as much to find waitstaff, as high schoolers are eager to work at the Boathouse.

“We’ve got pretty much the whole high school that wants to work here and wait tables, which is great,” he said. “They can’t serve beers though, since they’re not 18, and they don’t want to cook. Nobody wants to flip burgers anymore in a high-volume environment.”

From May to October of 2023, the Boathouse served 22,000 burger patties.

“That’s a lot of cows,” said Tome.

Fortunately, Tome is an experienced chef and doesn’t mind doing a lot of the cooking himself.

He began his career as a dishwater for Minglewood Café and eventually went to culinary school. He became part owner of the Boathouse in 2020.

“I’ve always wanted to own a restaurant. It has been a dream of mine for a long time,” he said. “I don’t mind cooking. When things get thick, and we have a lot of orders coming in, we have a playlist we go to that gets us in the groove. Once you get in the zone cooking and flipping burgers, it can be fun in its own way.”

Tome’s favorite menu item to cook is the Boathouse dip but also loves preparing their homemade corned beef.

“My favorite menu item to make is the Boathouse dip,” he said. “Something about those banana peppers and those green onions, sautéing up together that, and the aroma coming off of the flat top, and then mixing in the meat… you can’t beat it.”

When the pandemic hit, Tome was nervous about whether or not he made the right decision, but the lockdowns allowed Tome to renovate the restaurant and do things he wouldn’t have been able to if the Boathouse remained open, so in hindsight, he was grateful.

“In 2021, when everything opened, it was a bombshell. We crushed it,” he said. ”I don’t know anybody who can’t say they didn’t have a bombshell year in 21.”

During the mild winter this year, the Boathouse struggled along with every other restaurant and business in Ely but adapted by trying new things and putting on specials.

“We’ve been trying to do specials and trying to have some fun,” he said. “The wintertime, especially this winter, gets pretty boring, but we make it work.”

Tome said he is very grateful to the community for their support and enjoys living and owning a business in Ely.

In the coming years, Tome said they may try and expand further, and possibly try and buy the Steger Mukluks building next door in order to put their brewery there so they could then legally do wholesale of their beer.

For now, however, Tome plans on laying low and enjoying the renovations he has overseen over the last few years.

“It’s time for a break,” he said.