Arctic Circle to close in October

MOSES LAKE — Acting on a decision made two years ago, Moses Lake’s Arctic Circle franchise is closing on Oct. 17.

Owner Trish Zabala said the closure isn’t due to the economy’s downturn, rather it’s because she’s tired. She just wants to go to work and come home.

“To see my kids will be nice. We’ve done this for so many years,” she said. “We did our duty. It’s a good decision. I don’t regret my decision.”

She talked about the years the customers gave to the business and their loyalty.

“We try to treat people like they’re family,” Trish noted. “We have had people start crying on us (because of the closure).”

They will miss the customers and appreciate their patronage, she added. Fry sauce will be given away to customers during the closing day.

Zabala’s retired parents, Nick and Sally Zabala, are the original owners and still help their daughter with the family business.

They moved to Moses Lake from Boise, Idaho, to work in the restaurant  because they weren’t making a living in Boise in the 1960s, Sally said.

Nick worked as a barber and Sally was at stay-at-home mom.

Long hair was becoming popular then, which meant less of a need for haircuts, Sally explained.

During that time, Sam and Louie Alacano opened Arctic Circles in Moses Lake and Yakima, Wash.

The Alacanos asked the Zabalas to manage the Moses Lake location at 516. W. Broadway Ave., Nick said.

The first location was small, with a drive-through window and a lobby but no seating.

In 1973, the restaurant’s current location was constructed at 221 S. Pioneer Ave., and expanded to include customer seating.

Seating was needed to keep up with the other Moses Lake restaurants, which then included an A&W, two Taste-Freezes, a Chet’s and a Suds and Suds, Nick says.

“We had good customers, happy customers, really happy customers,” Nick recalled. “We had business you wouldn’t believe. Even with the drive through, it made us a living.”

Nick and Sally’s other children worked in the restaurant throughout the years, but Trish was the only sibling that remained.

To help Trish reduce her work hours, Trish’s daughter, Amanda, 21 also worked nights at the restaurant.

“It was pretty nice of her,” Trish says.

The family’s closeness still shows.

On Friday, everyone pitched in to help the restaurant prepare for the first day of the holiday weekend.

Nick and Sally retired years ago, but continue to help their daughter with the business.

Nick filled buckets with ice for the pop machine’s ice dispenser and Sally sliced tomatoes in the kitchen.

Nearby, manager Paula Rodriguez, an 18-year employee of the restaurant, fried bacon.

The future of the building is unclear. A trust owning the building and property wants to sell it, Sally said.