Asian Cuisine, Catholic Dissension, Boathouse Controversy, Forest Service Probe, and a Busted Window

 

We've now got a Mexican restaurant downtown. Also German, Irish and Cajun.

Art and Amy Thammasiri think it's about time we got an Asian restaurant, as well. They're the owners of the Thai House on Third Street and the Teriyaki Bowl on US 41 near Starbucks.

They're now trying to work out a deal to lease the former Farmer Q's property on Washington Street and convert it into another Teriyaki Bowl. Problem is, it needs a kitchen and that costs money.

If they can swing it financially, they'd hope to open there within three months. If not, they'll be looking for another property downtown.

The Thamassiris are restaurant tycoons in the making. They arrived here in Marquette from Thailand only six years ago and immediately got to work.
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A sad situation developing at St. Michael's Catholic Church.

A longtime parishioner and the current acting secretary of the pastoral council, Bobby Glenn Brown, has been stripped of his job and been told he shouldn't be worshipping in the pew.

The reason? Brown and his partner of 31 years recently decided to cement their relationship with a commitment ceremony.

No. Can't do that. Brown's remarkably stable relationship was well-known to all but once he formalized it, the local clergy took offense. All but excommunicated him.

You have to respect people's diverse views on religion, but something about this seems all wrong.

Apparently the Pope's welcoming, all-embracing words have not trickled down to Marquette yet.

Brown's friends and supporters have been flooding the social media for the last few days. Expect a mass protest supporting him in the next week.

One of Brown's most vocal and articulate supporters has been Andrew Lorinser who's the founder of Marquette Mobile and the social media director for ABC 10. He's been careful to separate his personal support for Brown from his work at the TV station, but regardless, he's been attacked by yahoos who assume that he must be gay.

Which he isn't.

Which begs the question: Is it possible for a heterosexual man to be a fervent believer in gay rights? Apparently, in the eyes of some, it's not.

And in the eyes of the Catholic Church, all of this is just something that ought to be shoved under the rug. Or the robe.
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The campaign against the proposed boathouse at Founders Landing is getting more heated.

Community activist Rita Hodgins is hoping to get a measure on the ballot in November that would stop the boathouse construction and prevent the City Commission from approving any further "private" construction on city-owned lakeshore.

Of course, the Upper Peninsula Community Rowing Association claims the boathouse would not be private--it would be open to anyone who wanted to store their boats there, including NMU, and the entire venue, including a viewing area, would be welcoming to all lakeshore pedestrians.

Hodgins and her group are having none of it.

The heated opposition took the rowers by surprise. They thought they were doing a good thing for the city and they were raising all the funds from private sources.

They've now revised their plans for the boathouse slightly--no showers, no area to set up their rowing machines. Just a....boathouse.

And the latest changes--to move the boathouse closer to the Hampton Inn and to have the city actually take ownership of the building--may or may not make a difference.

The City Commission initially voted to support the boathouse. Are they having second thoughts?

In any case, get prepared to vote on it in November.
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The Forest Service investigation of Officer Louis Cote has been completed and the decision now rests with officials in Washington.

Quick recap: Cote was a Forest Service officer whom dozens of Alger County residents claimed was being overzealous in the performance of his duties in the Hiawatha National Forest. He was belligerent and threatening, they said.

The city of Munising and Alger County got involved, so did Congressman Benishek's office, and finally the Forest Service took a good long look at the complaints.

The Forest Service now says when a decision is rendered on Cote's future, it will not be made public. It will simply happen. An official says it will be handled as a personnel matter within the agency.

An attempt to get Cote's side of this dispute has not been successful so far.
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Just what aspiring entrepreneurs need before they even open up their restaurant: a huge broken window, thanks to the mischief of vandals.

The Tullila sisters discovered the vandalism over a week ago as they continued their preparations to open their new restaurant, Root 41, on US 41 south of Marquette.

Kinda discouraging. You don't expect that sort of thing here.

Oh well. Carry on.

The Tullilas hope for a repaired window and a "soft" open at Root 41 by July 5th. They're now honing the menu with their chef. The cuisine? Classic comfort food.
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As for the Bayou Inn in Harvey, it'll be serving up its first microbrews by the end of the month. The brewing and fermenting process is now underway.

The featured beers, at least initially, will be a pale ale, a blonde ale, a black ale, honey wheat and blueberry.

They'll be branded as beers from the Chocolay River Brewery.

The unassuming Bayou has come a long way in the last few years. It was once a seedy, little bar; now, under owner Tim Souci, it's a pleasant neighborhood restaurant with its own microbrewery.

You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com