For us, it’s more than a meal.
it’s a relationship.
it’s an experience.
it’s a lifestyle.
The owners of Dirty Skillet are definitely NOT restauranteurs. Nor do they strive to be. Derrick and Jeannine Jabaay moved to Hope, Alaska in 2013 in order to raise their 6 children in a community where the kids could be… you know… just a touch feral. Starting with a little rental cabin, the Jabaay clan expanded their space to the neighboring property where they created a true home. I mean, it’s a cabin. But it’s truly a home. A few years after moving to Hope, they acquired two more neighboring properties where they built a little restaurant, renovated 8 log cabins, and created a space that people from around the world can experience their own little slice of Alaskan heaven. It isn’t fancy. In fact, if you’re expecting fancy, why on earth would you eat at a place called Dirty Skillet?! It’s a home. It’s our home. And we want to share it with you.
SOOO…. WHERE DID THE NAME “DIRTY SKILLET” COME FROM?
What we know for pretty sure:
Even before the Yukon, Hope is the original place that gold was discovered in the north. More than 8,000 folks came to Hope with the dream of finding their fortune in the Six Mile and Resurrection Creeks. Hotels, social halls, banks, restaurants and brothels quickly dotted the small community, with new arrivals coming daily by boat, foot and wagon. But there was no town name. Some township leaders decided that the place would be named after next person off the boat. When Percy Hope stepped foot off the boat, he had no idea that he was about to leave his legacy. Hope, Alaska is named after a young man who wanted to stake his fortune in Alaska. Little else is known about Percy Hope. His name seems to practically disappear from the history books.
What we aren't quite as sure of but are gonna say as fact anyways:
After landing in town, Percy Hope tried his luck for many months in the waters of the Resurrection Creek and Six Mile Creek. Although he managed to pan a few gold flakes, he never did strike it rich. He did, however, gather enough gold to purchase an old dirty skillet. With that skillet, Percy Hope made his name by providing hearty, heaping, home-style cooked foods for the other prospectors and their families. Percy Hope's legacy lives on here at Dirty Skillet.
