Whitefish’s Last Chair Kitchen and Bar, a restaurant at Lakeshore Drive and Reservoir Road, will undergo a phased transformation, into a casual, fun-focused eatery called Grouchy Grizzly.  

The restaurant was purchased by Barrett Rinzler, an experienced Arizona-based restauranter who’s part of a hospitality group. 

Rinzler has been frequenting Whitefish for about 20 years and is a part-time resident. He is excited for an opportunity to finally dip his toes into the Whitefish culinary scene. 

“I like the opportunity, want to do something fun and casual, and want to create a cool place for people to hang out, and drink good beer and wine, since we won’t have a full liquor license,” Rinzler said.  

“It’s going to be a whimsical, tongue-in-cheek, don’t take yourself too seriously kind of place.” 

Rinzler said his philosophy to running restaurants is to think like a customer.  

“To think, what’s missing? What would I like that I can’t find in a certain area?” he said.  

Hence the choice to go casual — not that there aren’t great places in Whitefish already, but that there could be something more experiential, he said.  

The growth into the full concept of the restaurant will come in phases.  

The first phase, which they hope to finish before opening this summer before July 4, will focus on renovating the interior and implementing a new menu. They’ll look to put in an outdoor turf area, with games, firepits and comfy chairs.  

The second phase will come in the fall or later and will include a new outdoor bar, with an extensive patio cover. They’ll need to redo the parking lot, which is in rough shape, and are thinking of ditching the Lakeshore entryway.  

The new menu will have lots of easy, comfortable items. Appetizers, sliders, salads, burgers, sandwiches, fish and chips, and lots of handhelds will be the core. There will also be larger items like trout and ribs, plus nightly specials like steak and pasta.  

The idea is to have high quality, scratch made food that’s more approachable.  

As a bonus, the menu will have a “big griz challenge” — a burger with eight quarter pound patties, cheese, all the fixings and fries. Eat it in five minutes and it’s free.  

It will be part self-service, with QR codes to order. 

Last Chair Kitchen and Bar’s service ends April 10. Some staff will be retained, some will move on.  

Grouchy Grizzly will have a soft launch in Whitefish by opening a food truck next month. Keep an eye out for the truck at the brick-and-mortar location, at Thirty Eight, the Farmer’s Market and other events. 

Editor Kelsey Evans can be reached at 406-862-3505 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at whitefishpilot.com/support.