“A new eating place known as the Yukon was opened Saturday at 4860 State by two war veterans, Robert J. Gilson, 813 South 12th and Anthony P. Furlo, 32166 Fulton.
The restaurant has a rustic setting in a new log cabin building. It is decorated with illuminated photographic transparencies showing winter scenes in Michigan and elsewhere.
Gilson saw army service during the war in the European Theater, and Furlo was with the navy in the Pacific Theater.
-The Saginaw News, February 15, 1948.
Today, 4860 State in Saginaw Township is the site of an auto parts store. However, for nearly three decades it was the address of The Yukon restaurant – a dining venue with two distinct chapters.
The original Yukon opened on Saturday, February 14, 1948 – Valentine’s Day. Advertised as “The Most Picturesque Dining Spot in Michigan,” the restaurant, a log-cabin-like construction, had a distinctly Northwoods ambience. Today, the restaurant’s claim: “Sincerely a traveler’s delight,” may seem a strange moniker for an eatery on State. However, the road was part of U.S. 10, and in a post-war but pre-expressway world, it was on the route to Lake Michigan, car ferries and Seattle.
While State may have been part of U.S. 10, it was still very much a rural road, and the Yukon was in the country. Saginaw’s growth had been inching into Saginaw Township since the 1920s. Urban expansion had been halted by the Great Depression and World War II. Just east of the site of the Yukon, was Green Acres Golf Course. Beyond that were farms. By the time ground was broken in 1959 for Green Acres Plaza on the site of the former golf course, the Yukon’s neighborhood was in the process of a profound transformation. State would be lined with business and the surrounding farms would become subdivisions. By 1966 State was promoted as “Saginaw’s Miracle Mile.”
On January 12, 1966, a fire starting in the kitchen destroyed the 1948 building. As the fire spread through the structure, roughly 200 people were safely evacuated – this included about 50 members of the Saginaw Chapter of the National Secretaries Association.
By the time of the blaze, Henry Mattheis operated the establishment. He soon announced rebuilding plans:
“‘The new Yukon will duplicate as nearly as possible the structure and decorative features of the old one,’ he said ‘there will be, however, some structural and decorative improvements, and the latest in kitchen and dining facilities.’” The Saginaw News, January 22, 1966.
Rebuilding was brisk and on June 2, The Saginaw News reported:
“there will be an authentic northland touch to the Yukon when it reopens June 15 after the disastrous January fire.
Henry G. Mattheis . . . manager, returned Monday night from a hunting-fishing trip into Ontario. He brought back a small black bear, shot early the last day. It will be mounted and become part of the Yukon motif.”
While the atmosphere of the new Yukon paid homage to the original, it was more elaborate. Dining rooms were connected by a wooden tunnel – toward the center was a taxidermy of a bear – carefully posed and protected in a glass case. The Alaskan theme was reinforced by the names of the spaces: the Malamute Saloon, the Gold Room, The Saddle and Sirloin -accommodating parties of up to 125 and the Caribou Rooms – parties up to 75.
The rebuilt Yukon was destroyed by fire on December 22, 1975. The paper set the loss at $500,000 – a total loss.
“…[T]he fire was fueled by open arrangement of the dining areas and especially from extensive use of wood paneling and fixtures.
A long tunnel separating the dining rooms was collapsed by flames and heavy equipment which fell as the roof caved-in.
Bodeda [Bob Bodeda, manager] said the huge stuffed bear, the restaurant’s hallmark, was saved from the flames and damaged only slightly by water.” The Saginaw News, December 23, 1975.
A new restaurant was soon built on the site. This was followed by others. Each closed and eventually, the site became the home of an auto parts store.
The Recipe: A Tribute Recipe – A Presentation of Smoked Salmon with Crème Fraiche Sauce
Full Disclosure: Sadly, we do not have a recipe from either iteration of the Yukon. Nor do we have a menu. As 49 years have passed since we dined at the Yukon, our memory of exactly what was served is imprecise. That said, we distinctly remember the liver pate – wonderful. And we remember a brunch with smoked salmon served with what we think was a dill sauce. As the CTK, is inexperienced in the art of pate creation, we will prove our take on the presentation for a brunch centerpiece - smoked salmon.
Smoked Salmon – The one staring up from the 1975 Yukon brunch buffet was an entire salmon, carefully garnished. The CTK chose a commercially available wild-caught salmon filet. We placed it on a bed of cucumber slices. It wasn’t jaw-droppingly impressive, but it worked.
The Sauce – Again this is not an actual recipe from the Yukon but evokes the spirit of the venue and the 1970s.
Ingredients:
About 1 Cup of Crème Fraiche
Dijon Mustard to taste
About 4 – 6 Tablespoons – or even more – finely chopped fresh dill
Several grinds of black pepper
Procedure: Mix ingredients together and taste. Adjust until it is to your taste.
Serve with party-type mini rye bread
NOTES:
This is a quickly prepared sauce often used by the CTK staff as a topping for smoked salmon tea sandwiches. And – as you may have guessed from the recipe – it rarely tastes the same. However, it is always wonderful – can anything not taste great that includes crème fraiche?
Addendum:
After completing this piece, we discovered a restaurant review of the Yukon. Although it provided no recipes and gave more information about the décor than we are able to share, it did confirm our remembered assessment of the liver pate:
“The appetizers at the Yukon bow to popular taste; beans, picked apples, celery stalks, cottage cheese, and carrot sticks. But the liver pate accompanying and the freshly prepared garlic toast (a pox on houses which prepare this item months ahead and serve it rancid with age!) atones with zest for any lack of innovation.” James W. Henderson, “Dining Out: Décor, service make Yukon big,” The Saginaw News, August 3, 1969.