Shopping Within a few blocks of major Anchorage hotels, visitors can see and purchase Alaskan ivory and soapstone carvings, furs, gold nugget and jade jewelry and Eskimo arts and crafts.
Some of Alaska’s most distinctive (and expensive) jewelry and furs are displayed at gift and fur shops in the bigger hotel lobbies.
Alaska Wild Berry Products 907-562-8858. They have a great selection of Alaskan gifts, souvenirs, mail order gift packs and much more. Sample the delicious wild berry jams, jellies and chocolates and take a kitchen tour to see how they are made. Visit the live reindeer and enjoy a great cup of coffee at the espresso stand. Here you will also find the world's largest chocolate fall. Alaska Wild Berry also has locations downtown in the 5th Avenue Mall and in Homer.
Oomingmak Musk Ox Producer’s Co-operative can be found at 604 H Street, 907-272-9225. Warmth, lightness and silky softness define Qiviut (ki-vee-ute), the under wool of the domestic musk ox. Luxurious scarves, stoles, hats, and tunics.
The Ulu Factory 907-276 3119, 211 W. Ship Creek Avenue.
The Alaska Ulu knife (pronounced oo-loo) has been used for centuries by Native people of the Arctic. ULU’s were first shaped from slate – a stone that can often be found, in it’s natural shape, curved or tapered to a fine edge. Used to skin, fillet, sew, and eat, the ULU was and still is, their most popular cutting tool. Today, the ULU has become a familiar sight in many modern kitchens, and its uses are as varied as the people who use it. From chopping nuts to slicing cheese and meats, the unique design of the ULU increases dexterity and leverage, making fine cuts simple and heavy chopping easier. Our finely crafted ULU is sure to become one of your most valuable kitchen aids. Come visit us at The ULU Factory where you’ll find the best selection of real ULU knives and bowls, made right at the factory, and other Alaskan made gifts you won’t want to miss. When you’re here, take a tour and watch how the ulu’s are made and used. While downtown Anchorage, look for “Lolley”, The Ulu Factory trolley. She’s a free shuttle service during the summer from various downtown locations offering service to and from The Ulu Factory. A visit to The ULU Factory is “sharp” shopping!
Alaska Sausage and Seafood, at 2914 Arctic Blvd., offers an excellent selection of Alaska food products. They include smoked salmon strips, lachs (lox), kippered style salmon, German sausages and their famous Polish sausage with reindeer meat. Alaskan product gift packs offered. Samples of the products are available in the retail store. Alaska Sausage and Seafood processing plant handles custom fish smoking for the fisherman and game processing for the hunter (cutting, wrapping, sausage making).
Castleton’s Custom Processing 545 E. Northern Lts. Blvd; 274-3017. They offer 2 hour Ektachrome processing. An excellent place to have your film processed as their work is of the highest quality.
Kobuk Valley Jade Company PO. Box 516, Girdwood, AK 99587; 907-783-2764, 35 miles southwest of Anchorage at Mt. Alyeska Resort, offers gifts and jewelry from Nephrite jade (found in Alaska’s Kobuk Valley above the Arctic Circle). A spacious new building houses the gift shop and a glassed-in working area where visitors can observe jade boulders being sawed and polished. A magnificent totem pole fronts the building.
Mt. View Sports Center 3838 Old Seward Highway; 907-563-8600 carries some of Anchorage’s largest and best lines of backpacking and fishing equipment as well as all types of sporting goods.
Dining
Sourdough Mining Co. 907-563-2272. Long known for excellent food, the restaurant boasts a casual Alaskan atmosphere and features the best in charbroiled steaks, fresh Alaskan seafood and slow cooked barbecue. Famous homemade corn fritters, fresh baked sourdough bread and delicious cocktails. A local favorite, they are well known for serving truly Alaskan size helpings.
