Couple keeps historic touch at Beaver Bay’s Camp 61

• Camp 61

Todd and Carol Krynski had their eye on the Beaver Bay property that is now home to their Camp 61 Bunkhouse, Restaurant, Coffee & Gifts for many years. Photo by Brittany Berrens.

Talk about it

A rundown building in Beaver Bay is given new life, thanks to a little elbow grease and the vision of a North Shore couple.

The former Inn at Beaver Bay on Highway 61 is now known as Camp 61 Bunk-house, Restaurant, Coffee and Gifts. It opened this summer with eight renovated rooms and a spruced up restaurant and bar – just in time for this year’s Grandma’s Marathon.

Owners Todd and Carol Krynski said they had been eyeing up the building for around 20 years. At times, they thought about purchasing the restaurant and inn with their parents, but the timing just wasn’t right. “It always was in the back of our minds,” Carol said.

Last November, the Krynskis finally made their move. The couple closed on the business, and remodeling efforts began shortly thereafter. Nothing structural was changed about the building, and the couple took great care to make sure that many of the original elements, such as the wood paneling in the restaurant from 1936, were incorporated into the new design.

That new design is partly an homage to Carol’s family history in the logging industry.

A large photo in the restaurant area shows her grandfather as a child with a group of men from his father’s logging camp, and a plethora of antique logging tools hang on the walls throughout the building.

Even the business’s name makes reference to the logging roots. Years ago, logging camps were moved from forest to forest. Each time they would move, the camp was renamed to reflect how many times it was relocated. Carol said after hours of brainstorming names, “Camp 61” came out as a perfect fit. The “camp” portion reflects upon logging history, while the number 61 is fitting for the business’s location on the North Shore backbone of Highway 61.

The Krynskis say business has been good so far and visitors have come from as far away as Poland and Norway to stay in the bunkhouse. While the couple has seen a lot of out-of-town visitors, they said there is a good mix of locals who have come to check out the revamped restaurant.

Todd and Carol are working out bumps along the way, as with any new business. They said they’re confident that their backgrounds in business ownership, restaurants, and hospitality will help Camp 61 succeed.

Todd, who has worked in a restaurant ever since he was a teenager, is experimenting with new recipes in the restaurant to make sure that every time people come back there is something different on the menu. “You have to always be working for ways to improve,” he said.

Fresh fish from Lake Superior is brought in every day and Todd said he works closely with meat venders to ensure that guests get the best cuts of meat. Pulled pork and ribs have been popular items on the menu, along with the fish dishes.

And the Krynskis are hoping to enhance more than just the restaurant menu. With the biggest hurdle of remodeling and opening the business complete, the two have ideas of constructing an additional building with more rooms.

Tags: two harbors, beaver bay, camp 61, community, news, business