Restaurant Openings

Sept. 18, 2015

Northern Michigan’s restaurant scene continues to thrive as new players enter the market and old favorites expand or open new locations. Here’s your overview of recent restaurant openings in the region – and a few coming down the pipeline.

Elsie’s
Traverse City
Address: 439 East Front Street
Opening: Early November

Details: Owner-chef Anthony Craig has already incubated one successful restaurant in the tiny 350 square-foot space on East Front Street in Traverse City. After moving his Latin-Asian fusion eatery Georgina’s to bigger digs down the street, Craig is now turning his attention to the upcoming launch of breakfast/lunch café Elsie’s.

"It’s going to be something really different, really eclectic," said Craig of the concept. The restaurateur is partnering with Lauretta Reiss – owner of Small Batch in Harbor Springs – to bring "incredible pastries, baked goods and cakes" to the spot, along with lunch items including a range of sandwiches and entrees like Craig’s twist on mac & cheese with pancetta and roasted tomatoes. "There are going to be different (cultural) influences," said Craig of the menu. The owner is shooting to be open by early November.

Hotel Indigo
Traverse City
Address: 263 West Grandview Parkway
Opening: January 2016

Details: The long-anticipated Hotel Indigo is set to open in January 2016 in downtown Traverse City. In addition to 107 boutique hotel rooms, the property will feature two distinct dining/drinking areas. The first, Warehouse KiTCen + Cork, will feature a "farm-to-fork dining experience (with) seasonally inspired local and regional flavor in a modern casual setting." The eatery will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Hotel Indigo will also boast an open-air rooftop bar with views of West Grand Traverse Bay. Called H&L Social, the full-service bar will serve drinks and small plates in an "inviting and intimate" atmosphere. It will be open daily for lunch and dinner, weather permitting.

Alliance
Traverse City
Address: 144 Hall Street
Opening: December 2015

Details: Tapawingo fans, rejoice: Renowned restaurateur Harlan "Pete" Peterson is returning to the dining scene. The James Beardnominated chef - who closed his awardwinning Ellsworth eatery in 2009 after 25 years - is teaming up with Warehouse MRKT owners Dan and Meridith Falconer to open a new lunch and dinner space called Alliance in downtown Traverse City’s Warehouse District. Peterson will be running the front of house and working closely with executive chef James Bloomfield, a Great Lakes Culinary Institute grad and veteran of Austin’s Paul Qui and Traverse City’s Harvest whom Peterson handpicked to lead the kitchen.

"I’ve rarely seen anyone who can develop flavor like he does," Peterson said. "He’s extremely creative." Alliance will feature "casual, elegant" fare with an emphasis on fresh, locally sourced ingredients. "Prices could start at $6-$7 for small plates and go up to $12-$16 for entrees," said Peterson. The restaurant - which can seat 40 indoors or 60-70 including the outdoor patio - will feature a full bar, including craft cocktails and brews and even some wines available on tap. The group hopes to be open in time for the 2015 holiday season.

Mustang Wendy’s Cask & Cuisine
Harbor Springs
Address: 129 East Bay Street
Opening: September 20

Details: Husband-and-wife team Wendy Wagner and Scott Forreider are relocating their popular Western-themed café from State Street in Harbor Springs to a new home with waterfront views on Bay Street. The latest incarnation of Mustang Wendy’s – which celebrates its grand opening September 20 – will offer breakfast, lunch, dinner and bar service, plus live music on Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday morning.

Look for specialty features including Fish Taco and Fusion-Sushi Friday, Sunday brunch and an emphasis on fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Signature items in the "California cuisines meets cowboy cookery" restaurant will include Eggs Hemingway, curried apple crab cakes, cowgirl kale and alligator wings, made with – yes – real alligator.

Earth, Wind & Fryer
Northport
Address: 112 Nagonaba Street
Opened: May 22

Details: There’s perhaps no better pairing than beer and burgers – and in downtown Frankfort, foodies can enjoy the best of both worlds thanks to this summer’s opening of Earth, Wind & Fryer. Owners John Snyder and Kevin Murphy are serving up globallyinspired cuisine out of the food truck next to Northport Brewing, including empanadas, gyros, falafel, crab fritters, pastelillos and duck burgers (see page 5).

The truck operates most days from noon- 10pm. The overlap with the adjacent brewery’s hours allows guests to nosh on Sriracha-dusted chicharrones or double-fried, Belgian-style French fries while also enjoying a flight of locally brewed IPAs or stouts.

FrankZ
Frankfort
Address: 325 Main Street
Opened: June 5

Details: Frankfort’s rapidly growing food scene – bolstered by the likes of Fusion, Cru Cellars and Stormcloud Brewing Company – has now added gourmet hot dogs to the mix. Joey Barcheski opened FrankZ in June, serving up natural-casing hot dogs and allbeef franks along with a creative variety of chicken wings and fries.

Specialty sauces include the "man dip" – a spicy take on chili – and a milder homemade chili sauce that tops the FrankZ dog along with pickle, onion, ketchup and mustard. Featured wing flavors run the gambit from hot honey garlic to sweet BBQ to "call the doctor" (a combination of cayenne pepper, Sriracha and hot pepper sauce). Top it all off with some loaded brew fries or a side of onion rings.

Bay Subs
Traverse City
Address: 1696 North Garfield Road
Opened: August 28

Details: Quiznos owners Julie and Mike Bellaw have finished out their contract with the national chain and are converting their franchise in the Cherryland Center into an independent eatery called Bay Subs. "We'll still be offering high-quality sandwiches," said Julie. "But we're going local. I'm talking to local bakeries, and we'll possibly start offering some baked goods. We have local chips (Great Lakes Potato Chips) and local soda (Northwoods Soda). We'll be offering lettuce wraps and adding on some different salads, too."

A registered dietician, Julie says she's excited to have new control over her product offerings. "I'm not corporate anymore...I'm trying to help out the local economy as much as I can," she said.

Robby’s Taquiera TC Mexicana
Traverse City
Address: 830 East Front Street
Opened: August 31

Details: Robby Montef recently launched her second Robby's Taqueria TC Mexicana location in the former Full Moon Pizza Company space in downtown Traverse City. Montef has built a fan base at her family's Silver Lake Road business and says she will bring the same authentic Mexican fare to the new location.

"We are going to add more things to the menu," she said. "This will be a chance to show everybody what I can do. I have a lot of ideas, and now I have the space to show off my food." A full bar - with a special focus on tequila - will be available in the coming weeks, according to Montef.

Smoke & Porter Public House
Traverse City
Address: 1752 US-31
Opened: July 28

Details: Lulu’s and Siren Hall veterans Henry and Mindy Bisson are officially on their own with the July opening of Smoke and Porter Public House, a "new American smokehouse where farm to table meets the firepit."

Located in the former Bamboo Garden 1 building, the restaurant offers an extensive cocktail, wine and beer list, sandwiches and entrees, and "family supper from the pit," a family-style serving of smoked meats (such as pork ribs, brisket, wood-roasted lamb and smoked chicken) and seasonal sides.

The Bissons also recently extended restaurant hours to include lunch and brunch; featured items include grilled smoke quail, shiitake mushroom omelets and French toast topped with Marsala-poached peaches and hazelnut granola.

The Ridge Microbrewery & Restaurant
Peshawbestown
Address: 2511 North West Bayshore Drive
Opened: July 2

Details: Owned by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, The Ridge launched this summer in the former Eagles Ridge Conference Center above Leelanau Sands Casino. The restaurant and brewery offers a "variety of classical dishes that highlight locally sourced ingredients from the Grand Traverse Region and afar," including fresh fish entrees, hamburgers, homemade truffle fries and steaks. Executive Chef James Broome - a Suttons Bay native - will oversee the restaurant.

With the use of a "showcase" copper brewing system, brewmaster Eric Karns has developed four signature brews for The Ridge, which also offers taps from Elks Brewing, Vander Mill Hard Cider and Tandem Ciders. A wine tasting room featuring Leelanau County wines is slated to open this fall.

The Local Restaurant
Elk Rapids
Address: 145 Ames Street
Opened: June 15

Details: During her 20 years in the restaurant business, Jamie Wentworth often dreamed of opening her place. Finally, "my family told me to either do it or shut up about it," Jamie laughed. So this summer, Jamie and her husband Drew took the plunge, launching breakfast and lunch café The Local in Elk Rapids.

The eatery is already becoming a hot spot with residents, thanks to Jamie’s fresh bread made daily in-house and used in hearty sandwiches like the house Reuben and the Dam Beach Club, a best-seller featuring smoked turkey breast, bacon, Monterrey Jack, guacamole, honey mustard, lettuce and tomato. Customers also swear by the Banana Bread French Toast, a brunch delicacy that’s cultivated such a following the restaurant often sells out on weekends.

Roadhouse 757
Charlevoix
Address: 757 Petoskey Avenue
Opened: May 6

Details: Traditional road houses have steaks, burgers and ribs. Roadhouse 757 has "five different burgers, all with their own sauces"¦and three different steaks, each with their own unique prep." So boasts the new Charlevioix eatery that has three separate dining areas, a sprawling fireplace area and views overlooking the Charlevoix Golf Club.

Roadhouse 757 also highlights pork ("not your traditional rib, but rather a blackened tenderloin and a large slow-roasted shank") as well as an extensive menu of appetizers, soups and salads and entrees. A full bar is available, including a custom cocktail list. Though the restaurant opened in May, it will celebrate its "official grand opening and ribbon cutting" on September 23, complete with food samples, live music and a cash bar.