Note: The interviews for this story were conducted in late 2020.
In a typical summer, Talkeetna sees more than a quarter-million visitors, who pack Main Street with pedestrians, RVs, and occasional buses. Some locals have a love-hate relationship with tourism because it takes over the town, but also provides the economic engine. Last year, none of that happened.
Two of Main Street’s usual tourist hotspots are right across from each other. The Talkeetna Roadhouse and Mountain High Pizza Pie are often at capacity for both indoor and outdoor seating, but the COVID-19 pandemic changed all that, and neither business knows exactly what to expect going forward.
Trisha Costello has owned the Talkeetna Roadhouse since the nineties. Normally, her dining area is filled with people from various families and travel groups seated together at long tables. While a fun quirk in typical years, in the time of COVID, that type of seating arrangement is just not feasible. The Talkeetna Roadhouse has not served any meals since March except to guests who are staying there. While the year has been very difficult, Costello has used the opportunity to take stock of what the town has become in the last twenty years.
“Honestly, I look at this as a big chance to go, ‘OK, is this what we really want?’ And if it is what we want, don’t you think we should have more public bathrooms? And what about housing? Honestly, I would be lying to you if I said there wasn’t something about this summer that was just a breath of fresh air.”
In a typical summer, the Roadhouse would employ upward of forty people. In 2020, it was just Costello, herself. During days of cleaning rooms on her own, she has thought about the wellbeing of Talkeetna’s economy, and what future disruptions to tourism might mean.
“Any community that puts all its eggs in one basket is probably not smart, so what part of tourism is really going to be sustainable for us? And how is that going to create a good livelihood for people in the community?”
When I spoke to Costello, there were hopes for an end to COVID-19, but a vaccine had not yet emerged. Even if the pandemic is more under control by this summer, the business may not look the same as it once did.
“See if we can do something on the porch with a counter to the front. I think I would have more time to build something like that. And who knows—maybe do something where we can maybe serve breakfast on the weekends? Scale it down a little bit.”
Across the street from the Talkeetna Roadhouse is Mountain High Pizza Pie. While changes have also been made there as a result of COVID-19, they are still serving lunch and dinner, and, for the first time ever, Talkeetna residents can have a pizza delivered.
Hannah Daltorio has worked at Mountain High for about five years. She says changes and innovations during the pandemic represent a sort of silver lining.
“While we were adapting, started the online ordering and delivering, which are things we’ve kind-of always wanted to do, but were just a bit too busy or overwhelmed with other stuff going on.”
Mountain High has also scaled back the number of people working for the last year. Instead of hiring seasonal workers as usual, only the core group of locals has stayed on. Daltorio says the year-round crew has maintained a good work atmosphere.
“We know each other at this point, and I think we all work really well together. So, it was very strange not having seasonal workers, but we all had each other.”
Daltorio credits some of that positive atmosphere to owner Todd Basilone, who she says has taken multiple steps to protect employees, including keeping indoor dining closed and installing a plexiglass barrier with speakers for staff to communicate with customers. Mountain High also installed a handwashing station facing Main Street for the public to use throughout the summer.
While Talkeetna has been significantly quieter for nearly a year, Daltorio echoes some of Trisha Costello’s sentiments about the change of pace.
Hannah Quieter.mp3 (14s) “We got a lot of local Alaskans, which is a nice change of pace. We all like all the tourists and having crazy busy summers, but it was nice just having local Alaskans for the most part. We didn’t have as many out-of-state or out-of-country visitors….”
What 2021’s tourism season looks like in Talkeetna depends largely on the ability and willingness of travelers to come back to the area. Recently the Canadian government’s decision to continue to ban large cruise ships has thrown in a new level of uncertainty for what’s to come.
