Bena, Minnesota - Big Fish Restaurant

The Big Fish Supper Club is still in business but it opens in the Middle of May (a sign attached to the door read "Opening May 11" when I visited there in 2006). My guess is it's only open during the late Spring/Summer/Fall season. The huge fish statue is still next to the supper club but it's not complete, with only the bottom teeth in and a blue tarp covering the top inside of its mouth, unless they add the top teeth when the restaurant is back in operation. [Joel Pokorny, 04/20/2006]

The big fish in Bena had been up for sale and was sold. They are actually talking about opening up the big fish again for tourists. [rick, 12/21/2004]

The Big Fish Supper Club is on Hwy. 2 just outside of Bena, Minnesota, about halfway between Bemidji and Grand Rapids. The restaurant itself is in a normal building beside the fish. At one point, there was a hamburger stand inside the fish's belly, but that's long since been closed. Now it's just a roadside oddity. Fun tip: you can stand inside the mouth and pose for a picture. They only put the teeth in during the summer, though.

At last check, the Big Fish supper club was up for sale. No word on whether it's been sold yet. [Tonia, 09/20/2000]

[RA: Photo provided by Elaine Ramstad.]

I used to live about 50 miles from Bemidji, Minnesota, home of Paul Bunyan and Babe. Paul is on Hwy 2, if you go about 30 miles east on 2 you will come across a restaurant in Bena that is in the shape of a big fish, hence the name, The Big Fish. It is a 65 foot long muskie, which is a life-size replica of some of the monsters that are reputed to live in the lakes of the area. The lake closest to The Big Fish is Lake Winnibigoshish (pronounced exactly as it is spelled), which BTW, produced the state record muskie.

There is a picture of this World Famous Landmark in the opening credits of National Lampoon's Vacation movie. [Craigbo, 08/18/1998]