The Black Lodge

“How do you make a murder mystery into a restaurant?” asks Claire Wyrostok. Claire, owner of the Twin Peaks-inspired bar The Black Lodge, has answered her question as well as anyone on the Pacific Northwest. In 2013, Claire and co-founder Matt Krysko took a long-vacant space on Kingsway and transformed it into a cozy cabin-like space. Their friend Shane built a cabin feature for the bar, and Matt’s cousin made tables out of a massive cottonwood tree in his backyard. Claire, whose parents lived in Inuvik for two decades, brought in vintage Canadiana to decorate the walls and bar.

They originally named the bar The Cabin, but the City said the name was a no go, so they took the name The Black Lodge and started rolling with the Twin Peaks theme.

Right away, having dinner and a drink at The Black Lodge became a sort of pilgrimage for the show’s fans. “People will travel all across the United States to Snoqualmie Falls [featured in the show’s opening credits], and then they’ll come up to see us, which is the most flattering and amazing thing,” says Claire. Due to popular demand, they introduced cherry pie to the menu a few months after The Black Lodge opened.