Pop-ups in Alaska...

One of the things that I have found in Fairbanks is that while it is the 2nd largest city in the state, there are many, many things that it does not have that I was quite used to in the lower 48.

Shopping-wise, there is not nearly the abundance of nationwide stores that one would think would be everywhere.

There is 1 Walmart Supercenter.

There are 2 grocery stores.  Fred Meyer is from the Kroger chain.  And there is a Safeway which is from the Albertsons Company.

There is 1 Joanns.

There is 1 Michaels.  No A. C. Moore, no Hobby Lobby.

There is 1 Barnes and Noble.

There is 1 Ulta.

There is 1 Home Depot and 1 Lowes and they are in the same general area so getting something from one and then going to the other is quite easy.  There is a local Building Supply store, Spenard's, but their roof collapsed in the last dump of snow so they are out of commission for a bit.

There was 1 Pier 1 when I arrived, but it closed just after Christmas.

There is 1 Costco.  It opened just before I got here after Sam's Club closed.

You can get car parts at NAPA Auto Parts, O'Reilly Auto Parts, or an Auto Zone.  You can have your car serviced at a Midas shop, American Tire, or at any of the standard car sales sites like Ford, GM, Subaru, etc.

There is an Old Navy store.

We just had a Sonic open where a Carl's Drive-in had been and for the first few months, the wait in line to even get into the parking lot could be an hour-long!

We have McDonald's, Denny's, Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Fast Burger, Great Harvest Bread Company, Firehouse Subs, Dominos, it appears there is a Wendy's but I have not noticed it as it is in the area I do travel a lot, Subway, a Little Ceasars... but again, I have not seen it, and Pizza Hut.  Locally there are an abundance of Asian restaurants, Thai and Indian establishments.  There are some really great Italian and Mexican as well.  Lots of pizza places.  I have not yet tried all of the ones close by.  You can also find Barbeque eateries, Pub style food, fine dining, and one place (Ivory Jack's) that has a killer, BIG Prime Rib on Friday.  You have to remember that this is a college town, so there are a plethora of small eateries to choose from.

There is no Olive Garden, Texas Roadhouse, or Red Lobster, no Fishbone Grill, Chillis, P.F. Chang's China Bistro, or Outback Steakhouse, not even one Buffalo Wild Wings, Red Robin, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Cheesecake Factory, Cracker Barrel, or Longhorn Steakhouse.  There is only one Burger King but it is in the middle of the local Army Base so unless you have a pass to get in, no Whopper for you!

No Kohl's, no Target, and no Sears... although there was one at one time it is long gone.  No J.C. Penny's, no K-Mart but there was a Ben Franklin in North Pole but COVID was the death knell for that store.  There is no Macy's, no Nordstrom's, no Bloomingdale's, no Belk's, or no Boscov's.

One thing that does happen in Fairbanks, from time to time, are Popup events where stores in the lower 48 or from other places in Alaska send out a notice in advance of their coming and offer the residents of Fairbanks the chance to order items, usually food, and have a set date to go and pick up their orders in a vacant parking lot.  Last fall Rob and Kate got an order of fresh, frozen fish for the freezer.

The newest popup is from a Russian bakery located in Seattle called Piroshky, Piroshky.  They have one of their shops located in Pike Place Market on the waterfront of Seattle.  In the article from the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, it explained the basis of the bakery's fame:  "As its name suggests, the bakery specializes in piroshkis, a Russian pastry. Gallant explained that piroshkis are stuffed with both sweet and savory fillings. Flavors include everything from cherry white chocolate to meatball marinara."  Rob, Kate, and I placed a joint order for things that we wanted to try.  Rob will be picking up the order on Friday and we will be putting the items in the freezer to try out in future meals.

In case you are curious, here is the website for Piroshky, Piroshky.

Ham, Cheese, and Spinach Piroshky

It might be a one-time thing, but from time to time these Popups shops appear.  So this is something that I can look forward to here in Fairbanks.