As downtown Fenton comes into view, the winter lights shine and the big Christmas tree is hard to miss as the Millpond goes around the corner. Another notable aspect downtown is the Fire Hall restaurant’s igloos. 

Fire Hall manager Max Fast, believes that the aesthetic of the igloos keeps people coming back for more, especially because sitting outside at restaurants in the winter is uncommon. 

“Anyone is allowed in them; you can sit, eat, or drink whatever you’d like, as long as they stay nice,” Fast said. “Halfway through last winter we upgraded a couple of the plastic ones to new glass dome igloos, and this year we threw out the rest of the plastic ones and upgraded all of them to just having glass.”

This idea of dining outside in the winter was new to Fenton three years ago and kept getting more popular each winter. 

“A lot of businesses and restaurants down in Detroit started doing the igloos,” Fast said, “and we were the first restaurant in the area to start doing them.” 

Senior Braden Moore has experienced eating in the igloo firsthand and recommends it to anyone wanting to experience winter without the cold. Families can eat and be served right inside the igloo.

“[The igloo] was very different than most places I’ve eaten in,” Moore said. “I went with my family because it can hold up to six people inside. It was very well insulated, so I never got cold while I was in there and you could see out the whole thing because it is windows all around.”

As winter comes to Michigan, being able to enjoy a warm meal with family while avoiding the cold is a new opportunity that Fenton offers. The igloos at the Fenton Fire Hall provide a different dining opportunity to citizens in and around the Fenton area.