Grounds for Success: Harmony Grounds Hits Petoskey

Their first coffeehouse opened in Gaylord, Michigan back in 2001. Located on Main Street, the quirky little cafe attracted a loyal crowd for their equally abbreviated menu of coffee, pizza, and bagels - but, unfortunately, it wasn’t a big enough loyal crowd to sustain the coffeehouse in Gaylord’s struggling downtown area. With the city of Gaylord focusing more on bringing in big business, the downtown area, although quaint and unique, was not doing all that well. It wasn’t long before the owners of Harmony Grounds in Gaylord noticed that Petoskey, unlike Gaylord, was thriving, and they wanted to be part of that scene.

Kurt VanDusen and Troy Smith, along with Ben Finnerly, serve as the three co-owners of the new Harmony Grounds in Petoskey, which is now located on Howard Street behind the First Community Bank and diagonally across from JCPenney. The trio started working on the building in early May - and being as that the building had been vacant for about 5 years (it was rumored to have previously been a bath and body shop, among other things), they had a lot of work to do. They also wanted it to have a slightly more sophisticated look than the Gaylord location, which had been more bohemian in feel - but they wanted the friendliness and comfort to carry over, since that was what many of their Gaylord customers had enjoyed. “We just wanted the new place to be casual, open and inviting,” explains VanDusen. “We’re a full-service restaurant, but a friendly one,” continues Smith, “you seat yourself, and we make sure you’re dining in a clean, healthy atmosphere.” With Harmony Ground’s soothing earth-toned color scheme, the unique handcrafted tables (one of the tables contains a “frog pond” underneath its clear coating, another features Michigan stones in hollowed-out circles), the welcoming shelf of books and magazines upstairs, and the quirky bar, there are definitely plenty of choices for seating. And with the inclusion of 13-year veteran chef Maria Panone heading up the cooking staff, there are even more choices for dining - especially for those looking for healthier alternatives.

“A lot of our menu is vegetarian and vegan,” Smith explains, “even our pizza - we use vegan cheese. We try to use as many high-quality, organic ingredients as possible while still keeping fair prices We serve a full breakfast menu, too...” Smith pauses, smiling as VanDusen interrupts enthusiastically, “For breakfast, we’re offering multi-grain pancakes, soy sausages, and tofu or regular scrambled eggs. We’re going to have what we’re calling our “Bluegrass Breakfasts” coming up on Saturday mornings, too, where the players will get free breakfast for bringing the music to us!” Breakfast and pizza aren’t your only options at Harmony Grounds, though - there’s plenty more to choose from. A quick scan of their new menu reveals several tasty appetizers (Hummus and Pita, Organic Bread Sticks with Sauce), several salads (Mideast Salad Plate, Fruit Nut and Seed Salad), a good half-dozen sandwiches (Roasted Vegetable Sandwich, Seitan (wheat meat) Philly Steak), wraps, and entrees. And the kicker? All of this healthy fare (with the exception of their full-size pizzas, which range from $12 to $14 plus toppings and can include as many ingredients as you ask for, including over a dozen veggies and several meat options) is under $10. And they plan to have a revolving specials menu that is expected to change daily.

To go with your food, you will, of course, need something to drink, and Harmony Grounds can supply that, too. They carry coffee from the Gaylord Coffee Company, with a focus on organic fair trade coffees. “We’ll have a variety of coffees available, but we’ll always have organic fair trade coffees to offer,” Smith says. And they offer a full menu of coffee and espresso drinks. There’s a menu of fountain sodas, too, plus Harmony Grounds’ organic juices (apple, carrot, beet, and celery) made fresh in their own juicer - and their fruit smoothies are terrific, as well.

But there’s still more - Harmony Grounds also plans to offer a full range of entertainment for their customers, much of it in cooperation with Blissfest and Farmfest, who they are working with in order to bring shows through the cafe on a regular basis. Blissfest is already scheduled to have a folk music night every other week, and in the short time that Harmony Grounds has been open, they’ve already hosted several open mic events (their open mics are Tuesday nights at 9 pm) plus solo shows from Dorian Michael, Dan Vaillencourt, and a variety of others. The cost for the shows depends on who’s playing, but Smith and VanDusen don’t expect the cover charge to exceed $5, and much of the time the shows will be free. Visual artists will get exposure at Harmony Grounds, too - they are working on a plan to have a revolving mix of artwork cover the walls from a variety of painters and photographers. And, in a little change-up from much of Petoskey’s downtown area, Harmony Grounds plans to be a late-night spot, too - from Sunday through Thursday, they’ll be open at 7 am and will stay open until midnight, extending those hours to 3 am on Fridays and Saturdays as long into the winter season as feasible. “We’re just glad to be here,” Smith grins, and VanDusen nods in agreement.

Harmony Grounds Cafe is located at 410 Howard Street in downtown Petoskey, telephone 231-487-0236.
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