Holly’s Resort opens Sven’s Pub & Lounge on Otter Tail Lake

Holly’s Resort added Sven’s Pub & Lounge to its Otter Tail Lake property this week, opening a new public-facing bar and lounge aimed at drawing more than just overnight guests. The move gives Chase Jensen, the resort’s third-generation owner, a way to extend business beyond cabins and cottages and tap into the steady summer traffic that moves between Battle Lake, Fergus Falls and Perham.

Sven’s Pub & Lounge is open noon to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Its menu is deliberately narrow: ales from Outstate Brewery in Fergus Falls, wine, Italian soda, cappuccinos, coffee and pizza. That mix points to a casual stop-in model rather than a full-service restaurant, a format that can turn day visitors, boaters and local residents into customers without the staffing demands of a larger dining room.

Holly’s Resort sits at 36294 Augustana Drive in Battle Lake, on Otter Tail Lake, about 9 miles north of Battle Lake, 20 miles northeast of Fergus Falls and 20 miles south of Perham. That location puts the property in the middle of one of Otter Tail County’s most traveled recreation corridors, where resorts compete for both lake visitors and families looking for food, drinks and a place to linger after a day on the water.

The resort’s history gives the opening added weight. Holly’s dates to 1941, when it was known as Holly’s Camp, and regional tourism listings say it has grown to 13 lakeside cottages and 5 poolside villas. Business listings also describe 13 cabins with air conditioning, plus a park, playground, swimming, boat rentals, fishing, golf, trails, horseback riding and shopping nearby. Sven’s Pub & Lounge adds another layer to that mix, creating an amenity that can keep guests on site and give the property a stronger all-day pitch.

For Otter Tail County’s tourism economy, the timing fits a broader pattern. County tourism materials describe the area as home to more than 1,000 lakes and a dense resorts-and-cabins market, where small changes in what a property offers can affect how long visitors stay and how much they spend locally. By opening a public lounge with coffee in the morning, pizza at mealtime and drinks through the evening, Holly’s is positioning itself to capture more of that spending on the lake instead of leaving it to businesses farther down the road.