Annie Creek Restaurant set to open at Crater Lake

Mail Tribune
Medford, Oregon
May 25, 2006
By JAMIE MILLER

A new full-service restaurant will open in Crater Lake National Park in time to feed hungry tourists visiting the unique attraction this summer.

Annie Creek Restaurant, in Mazama Village, is part of a concession improvement program at Crater Lake National Park.

Craig Peterson, project supervisor and facility engineer, said the restaurant will refocus some services away from the lake's rim. The goal is to alleviate heavy traffic on Rim Drive as well as provide park visitors with another full-service restaurant.

The $3.7 million restaurant features a gift shop and 10,443 square feet of space. With the capacity to seat 98 inside and 36 outside, the restaurant is expected to serve 300 to 700 people per day during the park's busy summer months.

The restaurant offers buffet-style dining with a selec-tion of pizzas, pastas, salads, soups and desserts; wine and beer also will be served.

The National Park Service contracted Xanterra Parks and Resorts to manage the Annie Creek Restaurant project. The planning stage began in 2002. Xanterra, a company that manages concessions at Crater Lake and other national parks, will oversee the restaurant's daily operations.

Peterson, a Xanterra employee, said the restaurant's design is intended to earn the LEED Certification Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The restaurant was constructed using a variety of environmentally sustainable construction techniques, like preserving trees that otherwise would have been removed and reducing the construction footprint. The building will be powered by 100 percent renewable energy purchases and has fixtures to help reduce water consumption by up to 40 percent.

Peterson said construction crews are just now putting finishing touches on the project and the restaurant will undergo a final building inspection this week.

Annie Creek Restaurant is scheduled to open for lunch and dinner on June 2. The restaurant will serve three meals a day the remainder of the season, with operating hours to be determined.

Annie Creek Restaurant is in Mazama Village, at the intersection of State Highway 62 and Munson Valley Road. The village is surrounded by a lodgepole pine forest and is just a few miles from Crater Lake. The restaurant is near Annie Creek, which was named after Annie Gaines, the first woman to descend the rim of Mount Mazama to the lake's shore.

Besides the new restaurant, Mazama Village includes a campground, cabins, service station, store and laundry. The campground at Mazama Village opens June 16, but doesn't take reservations. The village is just seven miles from Crater Lake Lodge, which opened Wednesday.