by Penny Mio
editor

It’s strange that no one thought if the idea earlier. But Nick and Deanna Painovich, owners of Zippel Bay Resort, are now owners of what has become known as the Zippel Igloo.
It’s 38 feet long, by 20 feet wide, looks like an igloo and has enough holes for 16 lines in the water.
But this is no ordinary fish house. On sale in the igloo are catered food and a full-service bar. Not to mention entertainment in the form of high definition satellite television.
The Zippel Igloo is located on the Zippel ice road, just past Walleye Street. It’s well marked on the road, but the signage isn’t really necessary. You can see the igloo long before you get to it. And at night, a strobe light on the top will lead the way.
The igloo is set just off the Zippel reef, in about 18 feet of water. It can be pushed with a pickup and moved if necessary during the winter, though “not too many times” said Nick Painovich. It’s big, and it’s heavy, so Nick Painovich of Zippel Bay Resort welcomes guests to eat, drink and fish at the new Zippel Igloo located off Zippel Reef on Lake of the Woodsmoving the igloo is a big project.
It’s only been on the ice for just over a week, but it quickly is becoming a tourist attraction. On one afternoon last week, several people stopped in for a pizza, cocktail or dropped a line, just to say they had been in the Zippel Igloo.
The best fishing is just before dark, but Painovich said that the igloo would be open after dark to provide a hang out for his guests and other who want to hang out after the evening fish.
It’s the people in the sleeper shacks who might want a place to watch a game and get some hot food that will mostly populate the igloo. Of course snowmobilers and other people are stopping by already.
Zippel Bay Resort is able to have the food and drinks available through an extension on their food and liquor license with the state. They upgraded to a catering license, which means the food is cooked in their approved kitchen at the resort, and then brought out to the igloo and kept warm in chafing dishes and soup kettles. There is a pizza oven for hot pizza.
The kitchen of the igloo had to be approved by the state. All the hot and cold water and waste are regulated, and all the food and drinks are brought to and taken from the igloo each night. So, it is like catering an event every day, but this just happens to be out on the lake.
There is a fee for driving out on the Zippel ice road, and inside the igloo the food and drinks are for purchase. Fishing is paid by the hour, but the equipment and bait are provided.

Construction
This igloo wasn’t just a quick idea put together in haste. Painovich has been thinking about this project for a while, and it shows in the details and construction of the igloo.
A tube steel kit for a carport was purchased and the materials used to make the rounded shape of the igloo. Then spray foam was used to complete the shape.
There are nine tables, each with two benches that could fit two people. Each table has a window.
Everything is built with hinges. The tables lift up against the wall to make room to drill the fishing holes along the wall. The bench seats lift up, folding in half on top of itself to reveal the ice hole under half of the seat.
The fishing rods attach right to the wall and swing out over the holes, and rattle inside alerts the fisherman to a bite.
A long, tall table runs down the center of the igloo, allowing for standing room.
The bar and television are in the smaller part of the igloo, the entry to the building.
He’s already thought of expansion – another rounded end could be built and put on the other end of the entry.
Painovich had help with the planning and construction from friends Vince Smith, Jerome Krohn and Rod Krohn, and he got another friend to rough cut the pine for all the tables and benches.
There is an electric generator for lighting, but also gas backup. A furnace keeps the igloo at a very comfortable temperature.
Right now they are playing with the hours and days that the igloo is open, based on the occupancy of the resort. It is open basically five days a week, serving from noon to 10 p.m. Their license allows the igloo to be open the same hours as the resort, but the plan for now is to be open for the lunch crowd, afternoon fishing and after dark entertaining.
To contact Zippel Bay Resort and see if the igloo is open that day, call 783-6235.