Cambria Goodwin and partner Eric Forster are moving their restaurant and bakery operation from Dalton City to Fort Seward, and transforming what used to be a Mexican cantina into a locale specializing in “Alaska fusion” cuisine.
Goodwin bought the Soap Suds Alley building formerly known as Mosey’s Cantina and intends to open its doors as The Pilotlight by March or April.
The rotating menu will feature “eclectic world cuisine” with an Alaskan edge: locally-sourced produce and seafood will be key drivers of the menu, Goodwin said.
“I don’t want to be a Mexican restaurant. I don’t want to be an Italian restaurant. I want boat-to-table, farm-to-table Haines food,” she said.
Goodwin started running The Pilotlight out of Dalton City last May. She shared the Klondike Saloon, using the space in the morning for breakfast and lunch.
“We wanted to be able to offer dinner and expand the bread production. It was super great working with (Klondike owner) Steve (Anderson) and it was a great opportunity, but I just wanted to do more than the space could offer,” Goodwin said.
Local, healthy, seasonal options will be Goodwin’s focus, though she assured fans of Mexican food they will still be able to get tacos; double-decker rockfish tacos, to be exact.
“We just want people to be able to get healthy, local food but still have it be comfort food,” she said. “It’s not hippie-dippy food, but it’s not chemically, pesticide-filled food.”
Goodwin will be working with Sally Boisvert, owner of Four Winds Farm, to source local produce for her dishes. Boisvert grows about 40 different crops at her farm at Mosquito Lake.
“I’m really excited that a restaurant owner approached me to have a specific focus on local food because I think it will be exciting for people to have new and changing foods for the season and for tourists to get a taste of what is grown here,” Boisvert said.
With so few restaurant choices in Haines, having a place that rotates its menu based on seasonal availability of produce and proteins should be an interesting way for people to frequent the same establishment but still get a relatively new experience each time, Boisvert said.
Goodwin said she and partner Forster have been working on transforming the interior of Mosey’s –“trying to make it less Mexican fiesta and more Pilotlight” – but major renovations will come later, she said.
Goodwin hasn’t decided whether the restaurant will be seasonal or year-round. She is planning a six-day operation, including a weekend brunch.
She also is trying to secure a beer and wine license, though she has no interest in the restaurant being an alcohol-centric space. “I want it to be a family-friendly establishment,” she said. “I just want people to be able to have a beer with your tacos.”