Richard Sanchis came to Anchorage by way of the military in 1962. Two years later he was selling cheeseburgers out of a trailer at the Alaska State Fair under the name Arctic Roadrunner. That trailer became two permanent locations, and the Old Seward Highway location at 5300 Old Seward Hwy has been serving burgers continuously since 1964.

The menu is exactly what it has always been: burgers named for Alaska geography — the Kenai Whopper, the Kodiak Islander, the Alaskan Banquet — plus salmon burgers, halibut burgers, chicken sandwiches, onion rings, and milkshakes. Everything is made fresh and made to order. The most loyal customers — 900 and counting, each required to have been eating there for at least twenty years — are enshrined in a photo gallery on the walls. The restaurant sits alongside Campbell Creek, and on warm days the outdoor seating by the water comes with views of salmon moving upstream. Cash only. Hours run Monday through Saturday starting at 10:30 am; closed Sunday.

The Old Seward Highway location is in south-central Anchorage, a few miles from downtown. Parking is on-site. The restaurant requires a deliberate turn off the main routes — it is not a drive-by discovery.

Arctic Roadrunner is one of the few businesses in Anchorage that carries living history without performing it. Sanchis built something with a trailer and a recipe in 1964, and the fact that it is still operating — still cash only, still using the same Alaska-themed burger names — is a statement about what endures in this city.