Heading to Seward this summer? Check out 5 new businesses. (2024)

Seward is one of the state’s most popular destinations in the summer, especially around July 4 when the famed Mount Marathon race is contested each year. The port community on the Kenai Peninsula has plenty of attractions for all kinds of visitors, from tourists and cruise ship passengers to Alaska residents heading down to fish, boat or recreate.

Now, Seward has even more to offer with a number of new businesses that have sprung up this year. Here are five new spots to check out on your next trip to Seward.

Rowdy Radish

From the moment Radi Kosenova moved to Seward 12 years ago from her native Bulgaria, much of her time has been spent working in restaurants. A few years ago, her friends started asking her when she was going to open her own restaurant. “But I just wasn’t ready a few years ago,” she said. Still, she enjoyed cooking for her friends, who kept encouraging her. Rowdy Radish opened on May 14 this year.

The spot used to house the Sea Bean Cafe, which meant that much of what she needed to get started was already in place, including much of the kitchen and espresso bar. The name Rowdy Radish comes from her nickname, Rowdy, and the fact that she loves radishes. “I think people get the impression that because of the way that the place looks, or the name, it’s vegan and that sort of thing, but it actually isn’t,” she said.

Rowdy Radish offers a variety of breakfast and lunch options, as well as espresso and teas. Kosenova plans to stay open year-round.

Open 6 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. (225 Fourth Ave.)

Supaluck’s Bakery

Growing up in Thailand, Supaluck Fraad didn’t have an oven in her house, but she liked watching people bake. When she moved with her husband to Seward a few years ago, she started baking small things in her home, teaching herself by watching YouTube. Pretty soon her husband encouraged her to open a stand at the local farmers market, which she did for a few years before opening Supaluck’s Bakery in early June in a building shared with the Breeze Inn.

Supaluck’s offers a variety of baked goods, from cakes and cheesecakes to brownies, cookies and savory breads. Some of her offerings are inspired by her upbringing in Thailand, like a matcha brownie or chiffon cake with whipped cream and strawberries.

“We do everything out of our passion, and our love, and we want to support our community,” she said, adding that she plans to operate year-round.

Open 5:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., closed Tuesdays. (1313 Fourth Ave.)

Seward Saunas

Matt and Heather Ozerkov began dreaming up their plans for a mobile sauna business in November 2023, and started renting out their first custom-built, trailer-mounted sauna in April. Along with their business partner, Matt’s brother Tim, they’ve completed two saunas and are nearly finished with their third, which will be their largest at 20 feet long, capable of accommodating 10 people.

The saunas are built on tiny house trailers and feature cedar interiors and wood-burning stoves. Large windows let customers bask in the views while staying toasty warm. The saunas can be delivered nearly anywhere that you can drive to, as long as there’s a flat area to set up.

“Guests can bring it to an Airbnb, a house, or a location like this that’s more remote,” said Heather, standing next to their 16-foot sauna, the Godwin, on a gravel bar next to the Resurrection River just outside of Seward. They’ve also set it up on Kenai Lake and Fourth of July beach in Spring Creek, for guests who also enjoy a cold plunge.

Book online at sewardsaunas.com.

Dreamland Books & Yarn

As the owner of what is arguably Seward’s coziest coffeeshop, Resurrect Art Coffee House, Micheley Kowalski is no stranger to cozy creature comforts. So opening a bookstore and yarn shop combo seemed like a no-brainer to her.

“We kind of just didn’t have a bookstore,” said Kowalski. “And I just love bookstores. And we also didn’t have a yarn store. To me, bookstores are wonderful and yarn stores are wonderful, so it was like putting the two together, it seemed like a natural fit.” Dreamland Books & Yarn opened this year on Independent Bookstore Day, April 27.

Because the store is small, filling the shelves required a lot of intentionality when purchasing the books. “I think it’s better to have really carefully curated small sections, rather than a bunch of books that nobody wants,” she said. The collection includes a section for local Seward authors.

Owning Resurrect Art for nine years, a place that she describes as safe and welcoming for the community, gave Kowalski the confidence to open Dreamland. “People yearn for these kind of spaces,” she said.

Open every day from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (302 Washington St.)

Tufted Puffin Cannabis Lounge

Recreational cannabis has been legal in Alaska since 2015, but for visitors coming in on a cruise ship or by train, there aren’t many options where they can legally partake. The nation’s first state-licensed pot cafe opened in Fairbanks in 2021, and since then only three more have been added, including the Tufted Puffin’s Port Avenue location, which opened May 18.

The onsite consumption area of the shop is separate from the retail side of the business, and features an outdoor area with games like cornhole, as well as a breezy sunroom with couches and a Bluetooth speaker for people to play their own music. “Folks coming from other areas of Alaska, as well as tourists coming off the cruise ships who have nowhere that they can legally smoke, it’s nice to be like, ‘Hey, come on in,’ ” said manager Ben Casoni.

The company has another retail location in downtown Seward and a store in Soldotna, which also recently received an onsite consumption license. The new store is contemplating adding to the experience by inviting DJs, hosting trivia contests, or even inviting groups for events like paint nights, according to Casoni.

Open 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday. (408 Port Ave.)

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