PELICAN RAPIDS, Minn. — During the height of the pandemic, Maple Beach Grill on the shores of Lake Lida in Otter Tail County asked patrons to enjoy the grill's popular burger and chicken strip baskets at outdoor picnic tables.
Since then, the idea just kind of stuck.
Seems appropriate, as indoor seating is limited and freshness is something of a theme at the business that Philip Cowie and family have operated for 33 years.
"We use fresh beef, never frozen, and I patty my own burgers," Cowie said, adding that they use the best ingredients they can find, including fresh mushrooms and fresh tomatoes.
On a recent summer morning, Cowie chatted about the burger shack's history as he readied the grill for its customary 11 a.m. opening.
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Some days are busier than others, but on a very busy day, the wait time for food can be an hour or more, Cowie said.
During those times, people will pull up in a boat, order their meal, then go back to boating.
When the food is ready, customers get a phone call letting them know to come and get it.
If customers opt to wait just outside the burger joint for their orders, someone will bag up the food and bring it out to them.
In the past, workers would bang on the window to let customers know their food was done, and Cowie said people will sometimes ask for the tradition to be revived.
Like the sparkle of sun on the water or the sigh of a breeze in the trees, the ebb and flow of customers to Maple Beach Grill has been a constant for decades.
Inside, the grill is a time capsule.
One wall is home to a smattering of fading photographs, some showing smiling kids holding stringers of fish.
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Cowie noted that some of those kids now have kids of their own.
Mounted high on another wall is an 8-pound walleye with a fishing lure dangling from its mouth. Cowie said the trophy fish was caught by an in-law.
One framed photo features a head-and-shoulders shot of comedian Louie Anderson, who once visited Maple Beach Resort.
While the resort, per se, is no more, a collection of empty cottages still dot the acreage around the Maple Beach Grill, which is all that remains of the resort business Cowie's late sister and brother-in-law — Ann and Gene Davis — purchased in 1990.
At that time, Cowie took over running the grill aspect of the resort, and years later, after Ann and Gene died, Cowie and his wife, Rita, acquired the resort property from their nieces.
While the cabin rental business is no more, the Cowies have continued to run the grill with help from son Drew and daughter Britta, as well as others, including Philip's sister, Jaime Paulson.
Thea Olson, who will be a senior at Pelican Rapids High School this fall, began working at the grill this summer.
"We came to get food, and he (Cowie) asked me to work here," Olson said, explaining how she came by the job.
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Philip Cowie's own food service career began in the early 1970s with chef training at what is now Minnesota State Community and Technical College in Moorhead.
Later, he worked at a variety of restaurants in the Fargo area and elsewhere before taking on the Maple Beach Grill in 1990.
Cowie said over the years, the place has acquired many regulars, like the Nebraska family that discovered the Maple Beach Grill about 20 years ago and continues to visit every summer.
Sometimes, Cowie said, people just happen upon the business when traveling through the area.
That very thing happened just a few minutes later, when Rick Wamre and his family pulled in for lunch.
Wamre, who is originally from the Detroit Lakes area but has lived in Dallas, Texas, for many years, said he and family members were looking for something to do while they were in the area for a visit when they stumbled upon the grill and the vestiges of the old lakeside resort.
"We thought, 'Hey, this looks kind of cool,' '' Wamre said.
As Philip Cowie worked the grill, a large Bluetooth speaker played a steady stream of '60s and '70s music, including tunes by The Monkees and Simon and Garfunkel.
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Outside, a tom cat lazily hung out in the parking lot.
The cat showed up this summer and hasn't shown a desire to leave.
Cowie dubbed the feline "Shadow," because he likes to follow people around.
The grill's hours are simple: It's closed on Mondays, and the rest of the week it's open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 5 to 8 p.m.
The business opens for the season on Memorial Day and closes after Labor Day.
Cowie said that since he began operating the grill, he has barely missed a day at work.
"I think I've had one sick day in the last 33 years," said Cowie, who lives a short walk from the grill in a house just down the beach.
Son Drew has an even shorter commute. He resides in a living space attached to the business.
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The Cowies say there is no secret sauce to explain the grill's success, but Philip acknowledged it's a good feeling knowing people enjoy coming back.
"I like to say, 'Everybody's a repeat,' '' he said, adding that sometimes it seems they all come back at the same time.
And when that happens, he said, "It gets pretty crazy."
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