ON LAKE OF THE WOODS – Anglers in the lobby of Zippel Bay Resort are checking a map of local ice roads leading to more than 300 fishing spots on this lake bordering Canada.
They want to know where walleyes are biting — and whether the Igloo Bar is for real.
The answer lies nearly 2 miles from shore. That's where resort owners Nick and Deanna Painovich have situated a full-sized cocktail lounge that has become a calling card for the booming winter tourism trade between Warroad and Baudette.
"We just had to check out the ice bar," said Lawrence Bryant, 33, a first-time patron from Kansas City, Mo.
He showed pictures of big bass from his home state. But only in Minnesota could he tell fish tales inside a pub on a frozen lake.
Decked out with satellite TV, propane heat, running hot water and hoodie-clad bartenders, the arc-roofed bar also serves soup, sandwiches and pizza. The bottled beer, shots and mixed drinks flow for six nights a week until the ice softens in late March. That's when tractors haul it back to shore in two pieces.
Couples have been married there and snowmobilers drive miles to use the heated outhouses. And for $5 an hour, you can lift up a section of the tavern's insulated floor and jig for walleyes from your bar stool.
"If you are looking for something different, this is different," said Sam Ricker, a veteran Lake of the Woods ice fisherman who sidled up to the bar last week with friends.