Est. 1994 · Lake County History · North Shore Commercial Development
The Black Woods restaurant chain is Duluth-area owned and operated, with locations in Two Harbors, Duluth, and Proctor. The Two Harbors location at 612 7th Avenue has occupied its current building since the restaurant's opening in 1994.
The building's history prior to the restaurant's occupancy has been investigated by Ellen Lynch, head of the Lake County Historical Society, who found that the structure served as a boarding house and bakery. Lake County property records document approximately 16 owners or organizations holding the property since 1900. The records contain no evidence that the property functioned as an orphanage at any point — a key distinction, since the popular ghost legend relies on an orphan origin.
The restaurant offers lunch and dinner daily, with a menu featuring hand-cut steaks, ribs, fresh-caught fish including Lake Superior walleye, and pasta. The Two Harbors location is the only Black Woods restaurant associated with paranormal reports; its Duluth and Proctor locations carry no such reputation.
Sources
- https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/northlandia-ghost-stories-from-two-harbors-haunted-restaurant
- https://blackwoods.com/restaurant-locations/two-harbors/
- https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/best-haunted-bars-in-minnesota/
ApparitionsObject movementPhantom footstepsLights flickeringCold spots
The haunting legend at Black Woods Two Harbors coalesced around a figure named Sarah: a young girl who, in the popular account, died after falling down stairs at an orphanage that once occupied the building. The Lake County Historical Society's examination of the property found no orphanage in its recorded history — the building served as a boarding house and bakery, and Ellen Lynch, head of the historical society, stated plainly that no evidence supports the orphanage claim.
The folklore preceded the restaurant's investigation. By the time the Duluth News Tribune reported on the discrepancy, the Sarah story had already been repeated widely.
What remains documented, independent of the orphanage story, are the phenomena themselves: staff at the Two Harbors location have reported a woman in a white gown appearing and disappearing without apparent movement through a door or exit. Stacks of dishware have been found displaced from their positions overnight with no staff present. Hamburger buns have reportedly been rearranged between the kitchen closing and morning prep. Lights have shifted state with no one near the switches. A cold sensation has been described as something breathing along the back of the neck in specific areas of the dining room.
None of these accounts have been reviewed by independent paranormal investigators in a documented format. The CBS Minnesota coverage described the atmosphere as 'genuinely unsettling in ways that a newer building doesn't produce.' Whether that unsettlement has a source named Sarah is a question the building's documented history cannot currently answer.
