Preservation Evolution and at the Alpine

by CRAIG STERRETT

Randy Abrahams has a vision that goes far beyond simply rescuing the century-old Alpine Resort – that mission’s already been accomplished.

After renovating 29 cottages, reviving the restaurant and marina, establishing a busy event and wedding venue, and revitalizing the golf course and clubhouse with five upstairs hotel rooms, Abrahams envisions the resort remaining a vital part of the community, and becoming a year-round venue for the first time.

He wants to build a reputation for quality, outstanding service and fun, whether that pertains to dining and accommodations, entertainment and activities.

Abrahams – who bought the Alpine in 2021 – wants to provide more entertainment inside and around the lodge. Outside, he envisions hosting everything from golf events, fishing and ice-fishing tournaments to skating and hockey. Over time, the community, village and businesses should benefit if the Alpine provides for themed events, tournaments and sports, he said.

“Door County doesn’t need more people,” he said. “It needs more for people to do.”

The style, amenities and activities are changing and heading in slightly different directions than during the 99 years the Bertschinger family operated the lodge.

For much of the 20th century, the historic resort entertained visitors all day and all week long with three meals per day, boat rides, horseback riding, Wild-West wagon-holdup skits and more. In later years, the Bertschingers eliminated the American Plan for dining, boat cruises and trail rides but continued to host bands and dances in the lodge.

Abrahams is building on those traditions.

After buying the resort, Abrahams said, “This place is for the local residents and visiting travelers alike” – not unlike when his family visited the Alpine when he was growing up.

Char Mueller, an Egg Harbor resident who worked as an Alpine bookkeeper for 30 years, remembers Alpine as a vital part of the village – a major employer and a place where vacationers came back every summer and always asked for the same cottage.

She was relieved when a buyer, at first anonymous, purchased the place and invested heavily in improvements.

“I’m glad to see the new owner wants to keep the old feeling and that he didn’t tear it down and put up a bunch of condos,” Mueller said.

After the reopening of the restaurant and cottages in 2022, Abrahams and the staff met guests on a daily basis who had honeymooned at the resort, visitors whose grandparents worked at the lodge, or couples who had met and married after working there together 40, 50 or even 60 years ago.

During the first year and a half after the resort changed hands, Abrahams revived the kitchen and bar, and in doing so, he also established a new following. During its first season, Burton’s on the Bay served up to 400600 meals a day to customers enjoying breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The resort also established a popular series of free Wednesday and weekend concerts and replaced a pier and boat slips that had crumbled and become unusable, making docks available for guests.

This year, Alpine expanded the concert lineup, added a food trailer in a vintage camper to take to festivals or Egg Harbor events, prepared for catering and opened Burton’s on the Green in the golf clubhouse for full-service dining all winter.

“First you make it great; then you build the brand,” Abrahams said, noting that he wants to “maximize what the Alpine can be.”

“You just keep adding improvements year over year, and get better and better over time, and then you end up with this great, finished work product,” Abrahams said.

He is looking to the future, toward a 100-year return on an investment that will remain a family business, whoever else runs it long after he’s gone.

“It should pay for itself – eventually. Till then we enjoy the ride,” he said.

Ambitious Lodge Plans

Contractors are poised to begin a massive project to transform the lodge at the center of the resort into a modern, year-round, full-service hotel. Work crews disassembled the hotel rooms over the offseason, leaving contractors with a blank interior canvas, save for studs and sturdy floors. Rather than the 58 small hotel rooms suited to the mid-20th century, Abrahams envisions providing 40-45 large, waterview guest rooms and suites. The first floor of the lodge should all be dedicated to service, dining and entertainment, and eventually a spa. Abrahams said he has considered adding a pool and/or outdoor, Colorado-style, year-round hot tubs between the west end of the lodge and the cottages.

“We’re hoping for a nice spa, fitness center and an outdoor pool that we can actually leave open all winter,” he said.

For 100 years, the lodge had hardly any insulation.

“We can create modern technology and conveniences,” Abrahams said. “Once you cut into this thing, you have to be up to code. The entire facility existed before codes, of course. We’re going to have to get some exceptions to complete a fully renovated Alpine for the future without risking its historical charm.

“We are building for the next 100 years. It will take time and patience, but if done properly, the Alpine will be a destination location that is usable year-round and will provide years and decades of great memories, as it did for the last 100 years.”

Burnishing a Dining Reputation

In keeping with making the lodge a year-round venue, Abrahams pushed the restaurant business last fall and winter to the golf clubhouse. Clubhouse diners enjoyed the new two-sided fireplace in the old Alpine “golf chalet” this winter and spring while sampling what Chef Tony Gorham and beverage manager Dave Johnson had to offer.

Johnson, a veteran bar manager who came to Alpine from JJ’s La Puerta in 2022, and his staff spent the winter serving customers at the clubhouse, providing one more place to go in Egg Harbor, which traditionally went into hibernation throughout the colder months.

Gorham slimmed down the menu for the golf-clubhouse restaurant, providing grab-and-go options and more of an upscale-bar-and-grill theme than that of the casual-but-elegant waterfront eatery. Both restaurants are open all season.

Abrahams also intends to open a third restaurant inside the lodge when it’s completed.

“We will need some sort of kitchen outpost to serve that,” he said. “We’re not going to compete with Burton’s, so we’ll put something in that’s a little further upscale, with a different menu and theme. Chef Tony Gorham will lead the effort for its creation and theme.”

A Legacy Vision

When the Alpine went on the market, Abrahams figured that other potential buyers saw only the overwhelming challenges of restoring a vast resort after many years of deferred maintenance.

“You could have closed it and done it all at once. If I was Elon Musk, I would have maybe done that, or Jeff Bezos. But the efficient way to do it is the way we are doing it: You get part of it open and

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staffed, and put it to work,” he said. “This way you’re building a following rather than starting cold.”

To help counter the purchase cost of more than $12 million, Abrahams looked for ways to capitalize on some excess land that wasn’t contributing to the entertainment value or attraction of the resort overall.

In early 2022, three buyers purchased six lots on precious lakefront property that had been the first and second holes on the former Black Nine golf course.

Investing in upgrades to dormitories helped attract seasonal employees. Director of Golf Simon Ward has one-year plans, five-year plans and beyond for the course – including a goal of expanding again to 27 holes as soon as those holes are in great shape. Ward also leads daily and week-long sports and golf camps.

Investing in an event tent helped keep the cottages filled for wedding parties, music-loving guests and families in 2022, and for 2023, the Alpine has wedding parties booked for a large portion of the weekends.

When all is said and done, Abrahams envisions a renovation that brings the Alpine up to the expectations of the modern traveler, while saving the soul of a Door County landmark.