Newstalk 1250 KBRF Presents
“Where to Eat” Episode 42 – Continental Divide Brew Pub
Article written by Zakk Daniels
In Episode 42 of Where to Eat, hosts Zakk Daniels & Dave Bishop head east to New York Mills, Minnesota, where small-town history, Minnesota craft beer and some seriously creative brick-oven pizza all meet in one place—Continental Divide Brew Pub. Located right in the heart of downtown New York Mills, the Divide isn’t simply a bar with pizza. It’s a restaurant built around a pretty simple idea: Come together at the Divide. And, as Zakk and Dave discover, there’s a whole lot more behind that name than you might think.
The Continental Divide Brew Pub
Welcome to the Divide
At 32 North Main Avenue in New York Mills, Continental Divide Brew Pub occupies a historic downtown building that once housed a local bakery—a place where generations of residents once gathered for coffee, conversation, donuts and Finnish pulla bread. Today, the building has been completely transformed while keeping its role as a community gathering spot alive. Continental Divide opened its doors in February 2024, after a development process that had been several years in the making. The business itself traces its establishment to 2023, when work was underway creating the new restaurant. And the name? That’s no marketing gimmick. New York Mills actually sits on a continental divide. Water in the area ultimately flows in opposite directions—north toward Hudson Bay or south toward the Gulf of Mexico. The restaurant took that geographic piece of local identity and turned it into the centerpiece of the whole concept.
A Restaurant Built Around New York Mills
The interior continues that local connection. Historic brick, natural wood and design elements celebrate New York Mills’ roots as a 19th-century logging community. One especially striking feature is a huge topographical map of Otter Tail County, complete with New York Mills marked by a tap handle. It’s modern without losing the small-town character of the building. And behind much of the food program is Cyrus Bickell, Continental Divide’s general manager and part owner. Bickell brought previous experience from Disgruntled Brewing in Perham and has described the Divide’s mission in very simple terms: “We are a place to gather.” kulcher.org That’s a theme that runs through almost everything the restaurant does.
The Pizza
Pizza is the star of the show, but these aren’t your standard small-town bar pizzas. Continental Divide installed a professional Fiero Forni brick pizza oven, with the goal of producing pizzas with that distinctive high-heat, wood-fired style and a made-from-scratch approach. The restaurant has said it wants everything from its dough and sauces to its Italian sausage blend to have a scratch-made feel. The menu mixes familiar favorites with combinations you don’t see everywhere. There’s a Dill Pickle Pizza, a Crab Rangoon Pizza, Hawaiian, Supreme and rotating specialty pies alongside the classic pepperoni and build-your-own options. Historically, the restaurant has also served pizzas such as the Lohi, featuring smoked salmon, lemon and dill as a nod to the area’s Finnish heritage, while the Sawyer name references New York Mills’ logging history. Some ingredients have been sourced close to home, too, including cheese from Redhead Creamery and maple syrup from Camp Aquila at Star Lake. Otter Tail Lakes Country
The Wings
Pizza may grab the headlines, but Continental Divide has put just as much personality into its wings. Bone-in and boneless options have appeared with flavors including:
Maple Bourbon, Parmesan Garlic, Korean BBQ, Honey Sriracha, Thai Sweet Chili, Buffalo, Garlic Buffalo, Divide Hot Wing Sauce, Lemon Pepper Garlic, Dill Pickle and more. Continental Divide Brew Pub
And the rest of the pub menu fills in the gaps with things like loaded fries, onion rings, garlic bread, flatbreads, salads and sandwiches, plus a kids menu with grilled cheese, chicken strips and little pizzas. Lunch offerings have included Italian subs, meatball marinara, chicken Parmesan and spicy soppressata sandwiches. In other words, you don’t have to be adventurous—or even order pizza—to find something here.
Zakk and Dave came hungry and Continental Divide, trying a spread that showed off both sides of the menu—from its signature brick-oven pizzas to wings… unexpected creations and flavors that proved this isn’t your typical neighborhood pub.
Image from Continental Divide’s Instagram page
What’s a Brew Pub Without the Brew
Here’s where Continental Divide takes a slightly different approach. The restaurant does not currently brew beer inside the building. Instead, it has focused on bringing in craft beer from Minnesota breweries and maintaining a rotating tap selection. When the restaurant opened, the goal was to feature beer from as many Minnesota breweries as practical. The drink selection goes beyond beer, with ciders, wine, seltzers, cocktails, canned beer and non-alcoholic options also part of the mix. Continental Divide Brew Pub
That makes the place much more approachable for somebody who wants the brew-pub atmosphere but isn’t necessarily a beer drinker.
Beyond the Plate
This may be one of the best parts of the Continental Divide story. The restaurant has increasingly become an actual community space, not simply a business that says it is one. Continental Divide partners extensively with the neighboring New York Mills Regional Cultural Center, including an Emerging Artist Satellite Gallery that puts regional artists’ work directly inside the restaurant. Artists can exhibit and sell work there, with the program designed to connect local art with people in an everyday gathering place. The pub also co-hosts Adult Art Club on the first and third Tuesdays of the month, giving people a place to bring projects, make art, socialize and grab something to eat or drink. And then there’s Pickletoberfest. Yes. Pickletoberfest. Pickles, Beer & the World’s Shortest Marathon… Probably
Continental Divide and the Cultural Center revived a piece of unusual New York Mills history in 2024. The town once had the Theissen Pickle Factory, which hosted a Fall Pickle Fest during the late 1950s and 1960s—including the crowning of a Pickle Queen. Continental Divide and the Cultural Center resurrected that history and combined it with Oktoberfest traditions to create Pickletoberfest. And it has grown.
The third annual Pickletoberfest takes place October 3, 2026, with pickle-themed food and drinks, an outdoor art market, contests, a biergarten, live music and the wonderfully ridiculous Running of the Pickles. The race? Approximately 0.0262 miles. Yes—roughly one-thousandth of an actual marathon. Organizers appropriately bill it as the “world’s shortest marathon (probably).” There’s also a pickle-eating contest, stein-holding, a brat-and-pickle toss and a Pickle Queen & King competition. That’s small-town Minnesota doing small-town Minnesota correctly.
A Small-Town Gathering Place
Maybe that’s ultimately what makes Continental Divide interesting. You can go there for a pizza. You can go for wings. You can stop in and sample a Minnesota craft beer. But the restaurant is also connected to the Cultural Center next door, hosts art, supports artists, holds community events and has helped bring life back into a building that served essentially the same social purpose generations earlier. The coffee and donuts may have been replaced by brick-oven pizza and craft beer, but people are still coming through the door to sit down, eat something and spend time together.
In that sense, Continental Divide isn’t really changing what the building does at all. It’s just changing what’s on the table.
Plan Your Visit – Hours of Operation
🕒 Monday–Tuesday: Closed
🕒 Wednesday–Saturday: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM
🕒 Sunday: 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM
📍 Address: 32 N Main Ave., New York Mills, MN 56567
📞 Phone: (218) 385-7004
🌐 Website: Continental Divide Brew Pub
🍕 Online Ordering: Available through Toast
📧 Email: info@cdbpnym.com
Those are the hours currently published on Continental Divide’s own website; its online ordering system shows slightly earlier kitchen/order cutoff times. Continental Divide Brew Pub
Whether you’re chasing a Dill Pickle pizza, looking to test your heat tolerance on some Divide Hot Wings, searching for a Minnesota craft beer you haven’t tried before—or you simply want to see what happens when a former small-town bakery becomes a modern gathering place—Continental Divide Brew Pub is worth putting on the food-trip list.
And in Episode 42, Zakk Daniels & Dave Bishop head straight to the Divide to find out what its all about
The Culinary Journey Continues!
Don’t miss the next food-filled adventure with Zakk Daniels & Dave Bishop as they uncover more hidden gems, hometown favorites and unexpected places to eat throughout the region.
“Keep your bellies rumblin’ and we’ll show you… Where to Eat!” 🍽️🎥
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👉 Catch all the episodes and follow Zakk and Dave as they continue searching for the places—and the plates—that make our part of Minnesota worth exploring.