Step Back in Time

From the moment you walk into The Pump House in Fairbanks, AK, you take a step back in time. The restaurant has been here since 1933, and has seen many changes over the years. Antiques, some of them more than 150 years old, are displayed throughout the building, including an antique 1930 National Shuffleboard. Step up to the solid mahogany bar, built in Kansas City then shipped and reassembled onsite by Mr. Lee Dunn. Place an order from “The World's Most Northern Oyster Bar,” where succulent oysters are flown in fresh from Seattle on Alaska Airlines.

The most unique item of all though, says Owner Bill Bubbel, is the “historic Brunswick Union League pool table”, built in 1896. The table was shipped from New England, went around Cape Horn up the west coast to Alaska, and then on to the mouth of Yukon River, where it was off-loaded onto a sternwheeler (paddlewheel) and traveled 2,200 miles up the Yukon to its home in Dawson City during the gold strike of 1898. After the strike petered out, the pool table worked its way south to the strike in Eagle, Alaska, then on to the next strike in Circle, Alaska, and finally on to the last strike in Rampart, on the Yukon, where it resided in Trader Ike’s trading post until 1977, when Ike died and it was purchased by Bubbel.

History abounds in The Pump House and as it grew over the years, communication became a key issue. With two large dining rooms, the Senator Saloon, Banquet Room, Antique Game Room, and a huge outside deck, getting in touch with servers when food was ready became a challenge. That is until The Pump House brought in a restaurant paging system from HME Wireless.

HME Wireless server paging systems guarantee that customers receive their food hot every time. The summer is especially busy during summer tourist season, and Bubbel says that the restaurant paging system has been critical to the success of the whole operation. Servers can stay out on the floor taking care of guests, knowing that the second an order is ready they will be contacted instantly by the kitchen via restaurant pager.

"We had a Jtech system for a few years," said Bubbel. "But since upgrading to HME Wireless restaurant paging we have never looked back. The big issue way up here is service and support. We need products that will last because of the expense of service, so paying for quality is well worth it."

Adds Bubbel, "What could be more fun than watching the Riverboat Discovery head upstream, or floatplanes dropping softly onto the Chena River right in front of you. All while enjoying fine dining with wonderful prime aged beef, Alaska seafood and a premium wine list or cold micro-brew. In summer we use herbs from the chef’s garden just outside the restaurant. Fresh salmon is delivered by floatplane right to the dock. Food doesn’t get any fresher than this. And with HME Wireless server pagers, our staff has all the confidence getting it to the guests on time, every time."

So if you ever have a chance to visit Fairbanks, Alaska, The Pump House is a MUST STOP: Great food, great atmosphere, and history for all to enjoy.

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