Under Newe Ownership: Ye Olde Grill Feeds Fair with Flair

Ye Olde Grill no longer has a physical space. It’s been a catering and events service for nearly two decades.

When Hulquist started working in food service as a teenager, one of her first jobs was at Chris’ Mixed Grill on Lake Otis Parkway. Chris Carpentier sold that restaurant around 2005 (the location is now Barbie’s Café), but by that time he was already a fixture at the Three Barons Renaissance Fair. He also catered sports events and fundraisers, and he grilled meats at the Girdwood Forest Fair.

Carpentier was around for the start of this year’s renaissance fair, but he was gone for the second of its two weekends, traveling out of state for his son’s wedding.

The grill is now in Hulquist’s hands. She and her husband (also named Chris) officially purchased the business last month. Carpentier floated the idea of a sale last year. “He started talking about retirement, and we started talking about our energy, ready to kick up, getting into this business. It seemed pretty perfect,” Hulquist says.

A Family of Flair

Carpentier remained involved, sharing all his to-do lists. “I’m so amazed at how much Chris did on his own, and we’re so thankful that he’s been supporting us,” Hulquist says. “Chris had projections here, and I’m astonished at how close he is with his projections, but that comes with over thirty years doing this.”

Because of the transition, Hulquist has booked only Three Barons for the summer, but she’s considering whether Forest Fair is feasible. She adds that some other invitations for catering arose from contacts during the renaissance fair. Her goal is to carry forward Carpentier’s business.

“He has such a great system going and an awesome menu. We don’t have interest in changing too much, but we also have flair of things that we love to cook, so we’ll be adding those through our catering,” Hulquist says. One bit of flair is a new rib rub, a recipe from her husband’s late father; she suggests the business might try marketing that ingredient separately.

Meanwhile, her two daughters are excited about the family business, drawing new logos for the grill.

Herculean Effort

On the second Saturday of the fair, a delegation of state legislators visited the Field of Honor to present a special citation. “Hark! The members of the Thirty-Third Alaska State Legislature doth bestow this great honor upon Three Barons Renaissance Fair, Inc., a duly registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded to advance the arts in a most wondrous Alaskan setting,” the citation read.

The measure co-sponsored by Senator Forrest Dunbar, Senator James Kaufman, and Representative Andrew Gray was one of more than a dozen approved by the Alaska House and Senate on May 3. Citations that day also honored The Writer’s Block Bookstore & Café and 49th State Brewing Company, among others. But the language of the renaissance fair citation, on the occasion of its 30th anniversary, was prepared with flourish: “It shan’t go unnoticed how the execution of this grand event each summer requireth Herculean effort and great organization, and the community hath grown richer for it.”

By the time the fair closed at 8 p.m. that Saturday, Ye Olde Grill still had a line of customers waiting for orders. “We do our best to get those legs out, but it seems like every day we run into a little bit of a wait. We want to make sure the legs are perfect, coming off the grill,” Hulquist says, “but sometimes that means you’re waiting in line and then you’re waiting for your leg.”

Saturday was especially busy. The fair’s site manager Kevin McClear noted that the combined population of patrons, vendors, and performers was comparable to the entire city of Kodiak, or nearly 6,000 people, all packed within 10 acres.

Blazing New Trails

The Three Barons Renaissance Fair is moving to a 20-acre site next year. Its landlord, the Alaska Sled Dog Racing Association (ASDRA), is developing a new track along Doctor Martin Luther King Junior Avenue, across from the state crime lab. ASDRA has laid out a gravel pad suitable for food trucks and scratched out loops of trails in its woods. The association is considering summertime dog sled rides to generate revenue to support the larger property. As a fairground, though, the area needs further development.

And there’s no telling exactly where Ye Olde Grill will end up. For years, turkey legs have been sold next door to the Crooked Toad Tavern, a pirate-themed pop-up bar where patrons could sit and eat. The grill paid between $300 and $400 for the booth space at that convenient location. Next year, no one can say where the tavern or the food concourse will be.

“I’m definitely nervous about that,” Hulquist says. “This setup works pretty well, and we’re all pretty comfortable with it. With change, there’s always positives, so I’m hoping it works out.”

One prediction Hulquist can count on: she was correct early Sunday that she would sell out before the fair closed. By 6 p.m., patrons had devoured her entire supply of turkey legs.