BISMARCK — Like many Bismarck-Mandan natives, Chris Tello grew up in a community where the mighty Missouri River was the go-to place for summer sun and fun. 

He fondly recalls boating the wide, blue river and family outings to ride the Lewis and Clark Riverboat or visit Captain Meriwether’s Landing, a former train depot-turned-restaurant by the Grant Marsh Bridge. 

Now Tello is grown, has a family of his own and still enjoys the river. But he also depends on it for his livelihood. 

Three summers ago, Tello opened the Huckleberry House restaurant at Bismarck’s 1700 River Road — the same spot where Captain Meriwether’s stood before it was ravaged by flood waters in 2011 and had to be demolished. 

Inspired by the post-and-beam warehouses that lined the riverfront in the 19th century, the restaurant seats 84 inside and 100 on the deck. It is an airy, window-filled space with glass garage doors offering a spectacular river view.

The cuisine, described as “Nordic-inspired modern comfort food,” seems cozy and familiar for locals with Scandinavian or German-Russian roots. Fleischkuechle. Kuchen. Swedish meatballs. Knoephla soup. 

But these comforting standards have been upgraded in creative and surprising ways. The Huckleberry’s chef, Cody Monson, may be from Williston, N.D., but his Le Cordon Bleu training shows in the mild curry he infuses into the knoephla or the humble local chokecherry he transforms into a  sweet-and-sour gastrique sauce.

The end result, Tello said, is food that is familiar, but carries a whimsical twist. “People are used to tater tot hotdish, but then we do that in a different way,” he said. “We elevate it a little bit, but it’s still approachable.”

Tello didn’t start out in food, but in finance.

The St. Mary’s Central High School grad earned a bachelor’s in finance and entrepreneurial management  from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management in 2006.  Different positions with IBM took him from Rochester, Minn., to New York. He also lived briefly in Detroit and Kansas City. 

While exploring these different communities helped shape Tello’s appreciation for diverse cuisines, he couldn’t envision running the “rat race” of corporate America for the rest of his career. 

He returned to his hometown for an extended visit and to consider his next career move. Bolstered by the western North Dakota oil boom, Bismarck had welcomed interesting new eateries like Laughing Son Brewery and Fire Flour Pizza.

If locals were receptive to these fresh, new dining concepts, he thought, maybe he could start something innovative there, too. 

It also helped that he met Julia Kubesh, his future wife and owner of Hi Honey Salon, there. The couple and a third partner opened Terra Nomad, a combination coffee shop, clothing store and multipurpose event space in downtown Bismarck, in 2015.

In 2018, they were approached by Aaron Barth, executive director of the Missouri Valley Heritage Alliance (formerly the Fort Abraham Lincoln Foundation ). The alliance, which runs the Lewis and Clark Riverboat and cultivates historical tourism throughout the area, had leased land from the city with plans to rebuild a restaurant/visitors’ center/organization office/ticketing office at the site of the old Captain Merriwether’s. 

It was part of a larger plan to enhance riverfront development with a manicured beach, a hotel and other attractions in the area.

“The Foundation would like to be able to turn this into a whole neighborhood,” Tello said. “I said, ‘Whatever it is, I want to be a part of it.’”

Tello then met Monson, who ran the Up North food truck. Tello had the vision and business background, while Monson had paid his dues in Twin Cities’ restaurants and had the necessary food and kitchen knowledge.

The alliance’s $3.5-million, 3,500-square-foot building, named The Heritage River Landing, was completed in 2022 following COVID delays. Its restaurant opened as the Huckleberry House, named after Samuel Clemens’/Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and his river-rafting, steamboat-hopping ways. (Clemens himself was a former boatmate of legendary riverboat captain Grant Marsh, who piloted the upper Missouri River and for whom the bridge over the Landing is named.)

The restaurant is open, airy and Nordic in design, with shiplap walls, soaring, exposed-rafter ceilings and sleek Scandinavian furnishings. Conversation areas and plants are gathered in convivial groupings, including a spot with a streamlined wood-burning stove.

“We leaned into the Scandinavian, kind of minimalistic vibe,” said Tello. “In the summer, nine times out of 10, people are sitting outside. But when it gets to be winter, it’s very much like a chalet … it’s just as beautiful in the winter.”

Although the Huckleberry’s fare is described as “Nordic-inspired modern comfort food,” the current menu seems to contain as many German-Russian specialties as Scandinavian ones.

That means items like fleischkuechle minus the fleisch, or meat. Instead of a ground-beef filling inside a thick, deep-fried (and often greasy) bread pocket, it is light, crispy and filled with potatoes, onions, farmer’s cheese and dill. A thin drizzle of birch sap syrup adds a sweet note.

The pumpkin knoephla soup features the familiar creamy base and tiny dumplings, but also gets an unexpected South Asian twist from mild vadouvan curry (a mix of cumin, fenugreek, mustard seeds, cardamom, coriander, turmeric, cloves, nutmeg chile flakes, shallots and garlic).

German-Russian cheese buttons get gentrified with “almost burnt cream,” roasted cauliflower, smoked bison sausage, toasted rye crumb, crispy onions and thyme.

A few of the dishes are more German-German than German-Russian, like the schnitzel or the “fine schwein,” a smoked, bone-in pork loin served with sweet potato and ham hash, lingonberry-black garlic barbecue sauce and charred scallion.

The menu features some Nordic nods as well. The Huckleberry House’s take on smørbrød — the traditional, open-faced Scandinavian sandwich — consists of seared rare beef, whipped Danish blue cheese, mead-roasted onions, micro-arugala and grilled rye bread.

Here, lefse is served as Ole and Lena never envisioned it: stacked high — like French crepe cakes — but layered with Dakota-made Sunbutter, a thick, indulgent cream and either fruit or a salted caramel drizzle.

Prices range from $9 for a bowl of Indian-infused knoephla soup to $33 for a dill and pepper-crusted ribeye served with chokecherry gastrique and the “loaded Hasselback potato.”

Overall, customers have been receptive to the Huckleberry’s less-conventional spin on conventional standards. “People have loved it and it’s been different for the community, but like with anything, you can’t cater to everyone. We have to play a strategic role in that we want to push the boundaries but we don’t want to push it too much,” he said.

One challenge for the restaurant has been last summer’s road construction on both I-94 and River Road, which is the main access road to The Landing. The eatery especially depends on heavy summer business to make up for the leaner winter months, he added.

However, business has been bolstered by The Landing’s appeal as an event spot. The building’s loft area seats 30 and is ideal for smaller gatherings. But the entire facility has also been rented out for everything from corporate parties to weddings with custom-built menus of Indian dishes.

Through it all, Tello said it’s the positive responses from customers that makes the long hours and hard work worthwhile. “When someone eats something and you kind of see their eyes and see they’re pleasantly surprised, I think we have that pretty frequently,” he said.

Open Wednesday-Sunday; for hours, go to: .

https://www.huckleberryhouse.co/ for hours.