Lori Nowlan is the manager of the new Trax 22 Lounge in Ray, which opened for business on Oct. 15. Avonlea Brown — The Journal
Trax 22 Lounge, a restaurant and bar, is now open in Ray after its “soft launch” on Oct. 15 at the site of the former Palace Saloon.
Lori Nowlan, manager and business owner, hopes to bring more traffic to Main Street as plans for the restaurant unfold.
Public response to the restaurant has been positive so far, Nowlan said, with regular inquiries online and in the restaurant for the daily special. Nowlan uses the special as a way to diversify the menu and make sure Trax 22 has what the people of Ray want.
“We’ll just keep adding and adding and adding,” Nowlan said. “People give us their suggestions, we’ll put it up there, and if it’s a hit, we will put it on the menu.”
Nowlan has never owned or operated a restaurant before.
She moved to Williston with her now-ex-husband and ran Pioneer Fencing in Williston for 14 years. When they dissolved that business, she went back to Wisconsin before returning to Williston with her kids and grandkids. When the Palace Saloon closed down, she saw an opportunity to try something new and took it.
The restaurant’s opening was delayed in part due to a series of petitions to secure a liquor license from the city. The Ray City Commission denied Nowlan’s first request in 2024 but later modified its liquor ordinances to create additional licenses for a combined bar and restaurant, with the stipulation that the kitchen remains open at least 30 hours a week.
Nowlan’s original plan was to open a bar first, then add the kitchen as the next phase of the business. However, the restaurant-liquor ordinances required her to move the timeline up.
Phase 2 for the restaurant, Nowlan explained, includes expanding further back into the building. Over the winter months, Nowlan plans to build out the back of the restaurant and move the games and pool table there. This development would allow for more dining space and a second bar that would lead out into a fenced-in beer garden.
Building owner Deano Vass pitched Trax 22 as a new amenity for the city of Ray.
“This restaurant should bring some energy to the downtown area, and maybe bring some other people from outside, which means more traffic to the community and other local businesses,” Vass said.
The restaurant hours were chosen to meet the needs of those who were currently underserved in the area. Trax 22 is open six days a week from 1 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., closed on Tuesdays, with extended hours on Sundays during football season.
“This will hopefully meet the needs of a lot of families and workers who would like to get some food after 7, and during the day,” Vass said. “There are very limited food options in the area that are open during the day.”
Nowlan even rented a four-bedroom house in Ray to provide housing for out-of-town employees in case of severe weather conditions. She currently has 10 employees, hailing from Ray to Williston to as far as Minot. Come rain or shine, or blizzard, Nowlan wants to provide a quality restaurant experience for her customers and employees.
Nowlan also buys from other local businesses and organizations to keep revenue within the community, saying all her meats are bought from Thoreson’s Meat Processing in town.
A grand opening for the restaurant will be coming later this year, said Nowlan, who plans to host the public for free food and live music by a local band.
