At the new MacKenzie River Pizza, Grill & Pub in north Kalispell, the furnishings are as noteworthy as the menu.

Vinoture, a Whitefish company that makes furniture from oak wine barrels and other reclaimed lumber, has outfitted the new restaurant with its signature wine-barrel chairs. It also crafted many of the tabletops with lumber from beetle-killed trees.

A stand of birch trees separates one of the dining areas while sprigs of natural grasses serve as other dividers to give the new eatery an outdoor vibe. In the pub area, a lighted blue strip along the bar aims to give it the feel of a flowing river.

Owned and managed by the Whitefish-based Glacier Restaurant Group, the new restaurant, which opened May 1, is a prototype of a new building design that showcases sustainability and a smaller footprint, according to Erica Coffman, director of marketing for Glacier Restaurant Group.

“The offerings consist of everything the brand has crafted and improved upon since the beginning in 1993,” she said, explaining the company always has sought to make its restaurants sustainable, with LED lights, energy-efficient elements and a focus on recycling. “This just takes it to the next level.”

MacKenzie River Pizza has earned Montana’s Eco Star award for sustainability seven times within the last decade.

The grill and pub concept is not new to MacKenzie River. When the company began expanding outside Montana, it began featuring restaurants with the grill and pub element in addition to a tried-and-true menu of pizza, sandwiches and salads.

The Billings Heights MacKenzie River Pizza was converted to include the grill and pub, making the new Kalispell restaurant the only other one of its kind in Montana.

The menu includes all of the pizza favorites, but is expanded to offer five varieties of flatbread entrees, including pear and blue cheese, Rangoon, portabella citrus, sausage and sage and Jamaican jerk chicken.

“They’re unique, with pretty bold flavors,” Coffman said.

A selection of gourmet burgers — another grill and pub feature — has “been quite a hit,” she said.

Another addition involves homestyle entrees offering a variety of comfort foods. Dishes such as meatloaf, fish and chips and a locally produced Redneck brand banger sausage coupled with mash are popular choices.

MacKenzie River’s pub showcases a variety of local and regional craft brews, wines and specialty spirits. The pub will have a regular happy hour, daily specials and has plenty of big-screen TVs to watch sporting events.

The new restaurant employs 75 people.

“We’ve had a lot of traffic,” Coffman said. “It’s been well-received so far.”

Glacier Restaurant Group, formed in 2007 by nationally acclaimed businessman and philanthropist Bill Foley, now includes 21 MacKenzie River Pizza restaurants (of which seven are franchise businesses) and three Ciao Mambo restaurants, plus Craggy Range Bar & Grill and Latitude 48, both in Whitefish.

It’s the largest restaurant company based in Montana.

Several wines from Foley Family Wines, also founded by Foley, are on the wine list. And some of the chairs are made with oak barrels from Foley’s vineyards.

MacKenzie River Pizza, Grill & Pub is located at 45 Treeline Road near Cabela’s. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Call 756-3030, go online to www.mackenzieriverpizza.com or follow the restaurant on Facebook.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.