The cinnamon buns at Tetsa River Lodge, in northern B.C., attract hundreds of hungry mouths a day

I’ve long believed  every restaurant should have at least one signature dish, something that stands out in a, hopefully, short menu. So much the better if that item is enticing enough to lure people off the road.

Tetsa River Lodge, in the far northeastern reaches of British Columbia, has certainly figured this out. It does have a breakfast and lunch menu that includes scratch-made soups and breads.

But what makes travellers slam on the brakes at Mile 375 on the Alaska Highway, west of Fort Nelson, is its cinnamon buns. During the short summer tourist season, it sells 200 to 300 of these sticky delights a day, enough to qualify for legendary status in this part of the world.

Tetsa River Lodge is certainly an oasis along the Alaska Highway

Now, for that kind of success, the product has to be good. At Tetsa Lodge, it’s a sufficiently large, dense, sweet bun to appease the hunger pangs on a long stretch of the Alaska Highway with no other food options. And at $5 a pop, it’s an acceptable price point in these northern wilds.

But what really helps is that age-old marketing strategy: hand-made signs every kilometre or so before you reach the lodge. Forget “the world’s best.” These are trumpeted as the “cinnamon bun centre of the galactic cluster.”

That must be why aliens these days are looking a little pudgy.

If you don’t like the northern gas prices, you can always stay home

Tetsa River Lodge
Mile 375, Alaska Highway, 118 km west of Fort Nelson