Giizhik Market opens at Fortune Bay!

April 9, 2025

General Manager Elizabeth Deegan didn’t wait long to fulfill her promise to start making Fortune Bay Resort Casino better known as a Native American-owned property as the Giizhik Market will soon be opening its doors for business.

“The name pays homage to our Anishinaabe language,” said Deegan of the Giizhik Market, which opened Tuesday, April 8th. “We’ll continue to come up with other ways to honor our culture, but this is the first step in ensuring guests know more about the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa.”

The establishment of the Giizhik Market, which is housed across the hall from The Whispering Winds Gift Shop, is the first step in revamping Fortune Bay Resort Casino’s dining options. The plan is to move all Grab and Go items from the former Gold Mine Grill, which has taken up residency in the Tamarack’s breakfast buffet area since late November.

“This new market gives our guests more options while also opening up additional space in our Tamarack dining area, which is sorely needed,” said Deegan.

The items at the Giizhik Market include a variety of cold sandwiches such as turkey, ham, club, and an Italian sub. All condiments are separated from the actual sandwich to accommodate those fussy eaters. There are chef, cobb, and oriental salads available, as well as fruit cups and veggie cups. Yogurt parfaits with granola are also a part of the menu, as are cherry and blueberry cheesecakes.

There are also a variety of cookies, trail mix, muffins, cinnamon rolls, gluten-free breads, Eclairs, Rice Krispie bars, deli bars, and assorted, individually packaged breads.

\The Giizhik Market will also enable guests to make microwaveable pizzas and other hot items. Twelve packs of pop and six-packs of larger water bottles will be sold at the market to serve guests who may have extended stays or just want to have beverage options available for their rooms.

The new plan also entails moving all food and beverage items from the gift shop to Giizhik Market, which will free up shelf space in The Whispering Winds Gift.

The Giizhik Market will be open from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m., seven days a week. Staff from the former Gold Mine Grill, plus new hires recently brought on board by Food and Beverage Director/Executive Chef Kirstie Kern, will work the Giizhik Market.

“I am super excited to have this space open again,” said Kern of the space that used to house the Tim Horton’s Coffee Shop and guest coffee lounge. “It will give our customers more variety and open up the Tamarack dining area as well.”

Kern said the move will allow for an occasional specialty buffet, like the one planned for the upcoming Bone Thugs-n-Harmony concert April 11th, to take place.

“There’s no way we could have had the space to host the buffet if our Grab and Go items were still being sold in the Tamarack area,” said Kern, who enjoyed a successful career at Green Mill Restaurant prior to beginning her career at Fortune Bay Resort Casino in 2015. “This will be a good move for us, and I’m excited about this new opportunity.”

In an effort to offer 24-hour service, there are also plans to bring in kiosks to make the Giizhik Market self-service. This will mirror other self-service checkouts like Walmart, Target, etc.

“The goal is to have that option available before summer arrives,” said Kern, who thanked the maintenance crew, hospitality staff, and gift shop staff for their assistance in preparing the market for the much-anticipated opening. “If a guest runs into any issues, we’ll work with our personnel from the front desk to help out.”

In regard to making sure inventory is protected, Kern said the Giizhik Market has adequate camera coverage, and more can be added if needed.

“We’re not really worried about that happening,” said Kern of guests trying to walk out without paying for their items.

The move of the Grab and Go items from the Gold Mine Grill will also open up additional dining options for the Tamarack space, but until those plans are 100% dialed in, Kern did not want to go into too many details at this time.

“We are going to rebrand the Gold Mine Grill into a restaurant in the current Tamarack space,” said Kern, who added they are in the process of developing a new kitchen and menu. “We are not 100% sure when this will happen, but I hope it’s sooner rather than later.”