Petersburg Chamber of Commerce board member Angela Christensen, left, presents the business of the year award to Salty Pantry owner Mindy Anderson. (Joe Viechnicki/KFSK)

The Petersburg Chamber of Commerce’s business of the year award Saturday went to one of Petersburg’s newest businesses, the Salty Pantry.
The breakfast and lunch deli-style restaurant started just last year and is the creation of former KFSK development director Mindy Anderson. She was a 2015 winner of a grant to produce a business plan under the Path to Prosperity competition offered each year by the economic development arm of Sealaska.

Chamber board member Angela Christensen presented the award to Anderson at the chamber’s annual banquet Saturday, February 24.

“The place might be small in a town of 3000 residents, but the quality of the food matches anything you’ll find in Seattle or Portland,” Christensen said. “I love the custom décor, the fresh cucumber and lemon water. The only downside is choosing what to eat.”

Anderson was catering the chamber banquet Saturday and thanked her staff in accepting the award. She estimates she has around 20 employees, including seven full time staff in the summer. And she highlighted the importance of the business plan funded by the Path to Prosperity grant.

“You know I had the idea for this a long time ago,” Anderson said. “But when I decided to move forward and try for this award I had to sit down and plan this whole business plan that took me you know a year, if you’re going to do it right, I found out, and everything that’s involved in it. The funny thing is I’m really close to my projections in the business plan and I can go back to that and make changes as I see fit.”

The Salty Pantry is coming up on its first anniversary. Anderson opened up her doors near Petersburg’s middle harbor on April 7th of 2017.