Where Crystal Lake Meets the Mediterranean Sea

Dine on (almost in) the water at Rock’s Landing

By Ross Boissoneau | Aug. 2, 2025

The strings of cars on either side of M-22 at Chimney Corners might be your first clue that something special awaits you inside Rock’s Landing. The warmth of the greeting upon entering is confirmation. Then there’s the view—the sparkling waters of Crystal Lake are visible from practically everywhere, and you may end up literally two feet from shore.

Best of all, the food is every bit as remarkable, and makes clear why all those cars are out there. Current owners Chris and Katie Bigelow, Julie Tebo and Paul Danes, and Joe Meyers, who also serves as executive chef, continue to build upon the reputation of the restaurant. A reputation (and restaurant) that didn’t even exist just a decade ago.

A Long History

A familiar sight to longtime residents and passersby since the 1950s, the Beach Club at Chimney Corners offered breakfast and lunch for resort guests and the public for some 60 years until closing in 2014, at which point Chimney Corners owners Jim and Mary Rogers enlisted longtime friends Steve and Kristin Tebo to reimagine it. Along with Julie Tebo and Paul Danes, they reopened the space in 2018 as Rock’s Landing.

A few years later, the restaurant changed hands again. Katie Bigelow had worked at the restaurant for years when Steve and Kristin told her and husband, Chris, they were looking to sell. Chris was a longtime mental health professional and director of behavioral health services for Manistee Public Schools who also boasted years of restaurant experience downstate.

“Steve was ready to retire and made an offer,” says Chris. Apparently it was an offer they couldn’t refuse, and together with Chef Meyers they bought in and joined Julie Tebo and Paul Danes on their culinary adventure.

The cozy restaurant—“our capacity is 78,” says Bigelow—serves about twice that many on a typical night. The open-air porch is enclosed with heavy-duty clear plastic to keep the weather out when needed, while portable heaters are at the ready for cool evenings. When those windows are rolled up, you can hear the waves lapping against the shoreline while you eat and watch as boaters pass by almost within reach.

The flair for a great customer experience extends into and through the staff. “We try to have a family feel,” Bigelow says. That includes staff sitting down to a meal together after the restaurant closes and the last customers leave. “It’s part of our tradition.”

A Fresh Menu

With the lakeside setting comes a seaside menu. Bigelow calls the dinner menu “Mediterranean influenced.” Meyers trained in French cuisine while working in Portland, Oregon, and he’s expanded that influence with other Mediterranean styles, as well as Asian and Scandinavian influences.

The resulting menu is diverse and interesting, and almost as fun to read as to eat: salt and pepper calamari with pepper chutney, gnocchi sorrentina with red sauce and fresh mozzarella, mushroom adobo with tofu, broccoli, and adobo sauce, and blackened redfish with celeriac remoulade slaw, red beans and rice, and creole butter.

“All [of it] is homemade and made fresh every day,” says Bigelow with pride. Many of the vegetables and greens are sourced from local farms, while the fish is flown into Grand Rapids and driven directly to the restaurant.

That delivery is critically important, as Bigelow says the sablefish gets his vote as the best thing on the menu, as well as most popular. Also known as black cod, it is prized for its buttery texture, and Meyer and his crew pan sear each piece with za’atar spice and serve it with Mediterranean vegetables and couscous. Bigelow also gives props to the Rocks Burger, ground in-house from the cuttings from the prime grade spinalis steak, aka ribeye cap, known for its marbling, tenderness, and flavor. No doubt the pimento cheese and house pickle add to the party.

If you’re into something old and something new, you’re in the right place. The Monday night BBQ is a longstanding tradition at the resort that the Rock’s Landing crew has embraced. The action takes place up the hill from the restaurant.

“It’s been going on many years,” says Bigelow. “At six, we ring the dinner bell.” That’s when people file into the lodge and help themselves to brats, ribs, brisket, veggie burgers, Cajun alfredo pasta, salads, and more, including a dessert and ice cream bar. The pit boss is none other than Jim Rogers, the third-generation owner of Chimney Corners.

A new addition this year is Sunday cocktails. Bigelow says the restaurant, historically closed on Sundays, is open for casual dining and drinks during the afternoon, an extended happy hour, if you will.

“We decided to have a more casual environment coming off the beach. No reservations. We have a variety of French, Spanish, and California wine flights, flights of bourbon, a small food menu,” says Bigelow.

Find Rock’s Landing at 1577 Crystal Dr. in Frankfort, open seasonally from mid-May to mid-October. Reservations are recommended. (231) 399-0158; rocksoncrystal.com