Birch & Alder — Restaurant in Alaska

Update: I never said I was a doctor, that’s kind of creepy so I’m changing my review to 1 star. Just out of curiosity I went back after my initial review and there were six cars in line ahead of me, it took 33 minutes before my order was complete so I think you’re really closer to 5 minutes per order. During that time multiple cars behind me drove away because they didn’t want to wait. There was also a constant stream of people parking and trying to find the door to go inside. I still stand by what I said initially and I’m not sure why you chose to dig in your heels but I guess that’s your prerogative.

Original review: Great food and coffee but I will never understand the Alaskan obsession with single-window drive-through coffee shops. One person at a time reading the menu, deciding what they want, ordering, paying, waiting for their order before finally driving away while a line of cars grows behind them. Most people stopping here are on their way to a day of skiing, the last thing you want is to spend a half hour of it sitting in line. Have been let down many times when I was looking forward to getting coffee here but couldn't stomach the idea of waiting. If the owners read this, please consider expanding to include an inside seating area so people can look at the menu before ordering, baristas can work on multiple orders simultaneously, etc! Would love to support this business if it were a little more efficient.

Owner’s initial response: Hi Dr. Tim, Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We are the owners and take the time to read every review as well as make every bagel that goes out our window. We hear you loud and clear and do plan to open our doors for dine-in as well as provide a walk up window in addition to the drive-thru. Our growth has been exponential and these plans are already in the works. As for the single window obsession, we definitely don’t share that obsession, however we rent this space which has one window and we are doing our best to make this building work for us and the community. We provide a QR code menu for the three cars prior to pulling up to the window. Our menu is also available online so you can decide what you want before you get here. There is nothing on our coffee or food menu that takes longer than two minutes and thirty seconds to prepare. We run three and a half minute ticket times all day and we pride ourselves on speed, excellent quality, and efficiency. We also pride ourselves on providing a unique experience for our customers, engaging with our guests so they know they are more than a transaction. We hope you’ll come back soon and experience some of the new ways we are working to serve you. Thank you!...

So they're only open Thursday through Sunday apparently and despite today being Thursday and them being closed for most of the week, for some reason they're closed today. The explanation I got was that they were doing maintenance. And the only reason I found this out was because I was wandering around outside and a man saw me and we spoke for a minute or two,.... so there's nothing advertising that they weren't open, in fact, even their Facebook says that they're open today and there's no post about being closed so...... Also if you have to go to the bathroom don't count on this being a stop on your drive as it is apparently only a drive through.... and don't count on getting food or coffee here because apparently the hours are not that reliable. I drove past other options for this little cafe that looked so quaint for nothing, like literally nothing. I walked away empty handed with a full bladder and empty belly. Basically I would just pick another stop, I had a 6 hour drive ahead of me and I needed coffee and food and had to push through an extra 20 minutes to Anchorage where the coffe shops that are used to having business are. It's a shame that despite showing up during advertised, in the window at the time of me being there, opening hours I wasn't given the opportunity to give a food review or good review despite choosing this place because of their advertised food menu. I guess that's why they only have 30 reviews here and like 6 reviews on Facebook....hard to review a place that isn't open 🤷‍♀️ A little bit goes a long way....congrats on your first negative review. For the record this was on the 1st of September. I see they've updated for the closing on the 2nd. Smart move. Advertise it well. Hangry people don't write 5...

I'm really rooting for Birch & Alder but unfortunately... it just wasn't quite there. I'm also admittedly comparing Birch & Alder against its esteemed predecessor, Froth & Forage.

I got a focaccia sandwich and a soup. After the ADN bagel column, I was excited to get a bagel but they were sold out.

The foccacia itself was delicious. The sandwich definitely did not pass the "whole being greater than the sum of parts" test. And at $15 (I think), it was definitely overpriced for the quality and portion size.

My friend and I split the soup. We both thought it was so-so at best, and believe average at worst.

I hear great things about the bagels and would've loved to try! But even if it was better than the foccacia sandwich, it would having to be amazing to net out at even at $15.

Overall, it's just such a shame that B&A is drive-through only. This is one of the sublime locations for a restaurant in the Anchorage area, with a view to die for. Not having a sit-down option feels just... sad, and like Birch & Alder is squandering a world-class location and venue. Huge bummer, in my opinion.

It's also inherently hard to cultivate much of a service vibe with customers when all you've got is a drive-through window. It just...