Historic Green Door Smelt Fry returns to Beaver Bay after decades

The Green Door’s revived smelt fry has become more than a meal in Beaver Bay. What started nearly 70 years ago as a fire department fundraiser now pulls visitors into one of the North Shore’s best-known landmarks, giving local businesses, tourism and civic pride a shared reason to gather around a tradition that still carries the town’s identity.

The original fry began around 1958, when the Beaver Bay Fire Department and firefighters’ wives organized it to help buy a Studebaker firetruck. The event grew through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s into an annual community ritual before fading in the 1990s as smelt numbers dropped and fewer volunteers were available. North Shore Journal said the original run lasted annually from 1958 until 1995, and the tradition later ended in 1997 after the late-1990s decline.

Dan and Kaylee Cahill Mathews, who own Baptism River Barbeque Company, helped bring the fry back in 2022 after noticing the memorabilia inside the Green Door. The bar top carries a laser-engraved mark reading “since 1958,” and old photographs show firefighters cleaning smelt in a huge tub, a reminder that the fry was once tied directly to the fire hall and its volunteers. Dan Cahill said the display made clear the tradition was worth preserving.

Recreating the fry meant more than serving fish. Sherry Anderson, a Beaver Bay resident who had once worked the breading line, helped Dan and Kaylee recreate the method and approved the taste after they cooked it together. Dan said the smelt were flattened in a distinctive way so they fry into a crispier butterfly-style filet, part of what built the fry’s reputation as one of Minnesota’s best. That attention to technique has helped give the comeback credibility with locals who remember the original version.

The return has also shown real staying power. The first year back drew more than 250 people despite weather and sourcing challenges, and the event has since expanded into a larger community gathering with live music and an outdoor expo. In its fifth year since the revival, the fry has become a clear draw for Beaver Bay businesses and a reminder that old North Shore traditions still carry economic weight when they are done with care.

Part of that appeal is the connection to the lake itself. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says Lake Superior smelt usually enter tributaries in mid- to late April when water warms into the upper 40s at night. The fish are light-sensitive, move into streams after dark and are usually netted near the lake mouth. Organizers have hoped to net smelt from the Beaver River again for the first time this century, linking the revived fry not just to memory, but to the same run that helped start it all.