Golf Course Is Out, Coast Guard Is Out to Lunch, and Huron Earth Deli Will Serve Lunch No Longer

LOOKS LIKE WE can cross one of Duke LifePoint's options off the list.

The Marquette Golf Club Board Wednesday morning voted to cut off all negotiations with DLP regarding a possible location for the new Marquette General Hospital.

Duke LifePoint, at last word, had been considering half of the Heritage course as one of its three options for relocation. But communication between the golf club and DLP over the last few weeks had gone silent and DLP's last offer to the club had been woefully inadequate.

Not only that, but the ongoing negotiations and gossip had upset the club membership and some of the surrounding neighbors. So, the board said, Enough.

Which apparently leaves DLP with two sites left on its list: 1) the 42 acres behind the Westwood Mall in Marquette Township, and 2) the Roundhouse property on the western fringe of downtown Marquette.

Maybe there's some unpublicized, darkhorse candidate out there. Who knows? We should have an answer by the end of this month.
----------------------------------------------

REMEMBER THAT GREAT property trade that Marquette made with the US Coast Guard several years back?

You know, the one in which the city got almost nine acres of coastal property for a public park, and the Coast Guard, in return, received one and a half acres on which to build their fancy new station.

Worked out great. The Coast Guard immediately built their $5 million, 6000 square foot facility in 2009 and opened it up to rave reviews, and the city...well...uh...the city...well, it seems that the city, you know...

The city still doesn't have squat.

Five years later, the city still doesn't have ownership of the property. It's fenced off. "No trespassing" signs abound.

Why the delays? Last year's government shutdown is one supposed reason. Whatever. That reason's getting old.

The government has determined that before the city takes ownership, the lighthouse and the other buildings on the property need to be repainted to encapsulate the old lead-based paint. Okay. That should take...what?...two or three weeks?

The real reason for the delay apparently is government bureaucracy. Despite pressure from our elected representatives, the Coast Guard clearly has not made this a priority. We all love the Coast Guard and appreciate what it means to Marquette, but clearly five years should be more than enough time to complete a deal. A deal was made and a promise was made but neither so far has been honored.
---------------------------------------------------

HOW WOULD YOU like to work 70 hours a week and not earn a paycheck?

Welcome to the world of Andrew Sear, the owner and chef at Paladino's Café at the Peter White Public Library.

He, along with a tiny staff, has been at it for three months now turning out what most consider to be remarkably tasty and inventive food. Eclectic. Fusion. Local produce, local meat. Farm-to-table.

Problem is, it's a tiny café with a limited clientele and limited revenue even as its catering business grows. Thus, so far no paycheck for Sear. He's paying the bills, that's all.

So what's the plan?

He's looking to grow--start another Paladino's, a larger café-deli, preferably in Marquette but he's not ruling anything out. He's looking for investors, people with money who believe in his food and his vision. That hardly makes him unique, but you can't fault him for trying and dreaming and working 70 hours a week.

This week's special, by the way, is the Hot Mess which includes roasted pork, pickled red onions, kimchee, Michigan brie and bread. Yeah, that would be fusion. And eclectic.
-------------------------------------------------

NOT TO PLAY middle man in all this, but a venue Sear and his angel investors might be considering is the building on Third Street currently housing Sweet Basil and MacDonald's Music Store.

If you passed by in the last week, you couldn't help but notice the For Sale sign on the building. The sign is roughly the size of a minivan.

Great location. It also includes four apartments. Two showings so far. $349,000.

As for Sweet Basil, business owner Shelly Morley says she'll either stay in the current location, or move it elsewhere in town if the new building owner asks her to move. But Sweet Basil, which has built a substantial catering business over the years, is not going away.
--------------------------------------------------

ON THE OTHER hand, the Huron Earth Deli on South Third Street is going away.

The little café and deli tucked away into a mostly residential neighborhood is shutting down a week from this Friday. A shame. Good, wholesome high quality food here.

What this tells you is that even if you work hard and offer a great product, the profit margin in the restaurant business is tiny, sometimes non-existent. For every Vango's, there are a dozen good restaurants that go under within a couple of years.

The Huron Earth Deli building is up for sale at $325,000, but there appears to be a very interested owner from out-of-state. Another restaurant? We'll have to wait and see.
--------------------------------------------

THE BAYOU IN Harvey is now brewing its own suds under the brand name Chocolay River Brewery.

After a series of delays, the beer is now flowing under the direction of brewmaster Grant Lyke.

Here's what they have to offer so far:
   Bayou Blonde Ale
   Blueberry Wheat
   Gitchigoomie Black Ale
   Shot Point Wheat
   Rock Cut American Pale Ale

Needless to say, a distinctly local flavor.

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

If you want to receive Word on the Street as soon as it's posted, go to "Word on the Street by Brian Cabell" on Facebook and  "like" it.

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.
---------------------------------------------------

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.
-----------------------------------------------

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.
---------------------------------------------

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.
--------------------------------------------------

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.
--------------------------------------------------

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

North Wind Scoops, Baldini Files, Sisters Invest, and Golfers Don Snowshoes

Unless you're part of the NMU community, you may not have noticed it, but the student newspaper, the North Wind, has broken three major stories in the last couple of weeks.

First, the arrest of the former student body president, Amber Lopota, for embezzlement.

Next, the disciplining of an NMU football coach and adjunct professor, Karl Maslowski, for repeatedly missing classes and soliciting students to buy an energy supplement.

And most recently, the suspension of ten NMU football players for failing a drug test.

Those are big stories, some of which were eventually picked up by the mainstream media in town, others of which were simply ignored.

 The North Wind, with a staff of 14 students and a circulation of 5000, is showing remarkable aggressiveness and enterprise...and independence. If the stories don't reflect well on the university, tough luck. That's what good journalism is all about.

Seems like the mainstream media, utterly devoted to protecting the bottom line, placating their advertisers and maintaining good relations with the institutions in town, could learn a thing or two from the students.
---------------------------------------------------

 

Tuesday is the deadline for local candidates running this fall.

A few big names have already filed. Tom Baldini, a former aide to Congressman Bart Stupak and a longtime political leader in town, has filed for City Commission, along with retired physician Mike Conley, Craig Miller and Russell Kangas.

The Bureau of Light and Power, which has generated some controversy and dismay over its vision for the future, has drawn former mayor Tom Tourville as a candidate, as well as Chuck Wanberg and John Braamse.

The County Commission so far features a race between attorney Steve Pence and former mayor Johnny DePetro in District One, and NMU professor Dwight Brady and Randall Yelle in District Six.  All are Democrats.

The lone Republican to file so far has been Justin Carlson in District Two. He'll oppose Democrat Joseph Derocha.

Democratic incumbents Bruce Heikkila and Gerry Corkin, and attorney Bill Nordeen are so far running unopposed. Expect more candidates to file by the Tuesday deadline.

What happened to the supposed block of candidates advocating decriminalization of marijuana in the city? Good question. Maybe it was all talk, no follow-through.
--------------------------------------------

Remember the Grove, the little restaurant on US-41 south of Marquette? Well, it's coming back to life.

It's new name is Root 41 Food and Spirits, a word play on its location and its ties to the community.

The entrepreneurs are sisters Sarah and Barbara Tullila, both of Negaunee. Together they share 25 years in the food service industry and a dream to provide what they call classy comfort food to the community.

They're re-doing the inside and outside. Lots of sweat equity, tons of enthusiasm. Of course, they're bucking the odds. Most restaurants, unless they're well capitalized, don't make it past the first couple of years.

Here's hoping the Tullila sisters make it.

They hope to open in late May.
---------------------------------------------

More sister news, and this time it concerns the former Backroom on Front Street. You know, the place that was raided and closed down two years ago because of bath salts sales?

Three sisters, former residents of Marquette, returned to town for the sled dog races a couple of months ago, took a look at the shuttered, sad-looking building and decided this was something they had to do: buy it, renovate it, and open it up for both residential and retail use.

The sisters (who would have been known as the White girls back in the Eighties) have since scattered to other parts of the country but have retained their roots here in Marquette. Sara now lives in the DC/Annapolis area, Anne's in Houston, and Katy's in New York.

They hope to begin the renovations this summer and they'd welcome ideas for possible retail tenants.

Welcome back, ladies.
---------------------------------------------------

As for the Bayou in Harvey, its microbrewery (Chocolay River Brewery) should be serving up its first glass of craft beer by mid-June.

Its equipment is mostly installed with minor adjustments being made.

Once everything's set, it'll take three weeks for the first drinkable suds to be produced.

So plan on sampling the fare from Marquette's fourth microbrewery on about June 15th.

That'll be just about the time the last of the snow has melted.
---------------------------------------------

Speaking of which.

Marc Gilmore, the pro at Marquette Golf Club, said last Friday that they're hoping to open up the driving range this coming Friday.

At that point, you might have wondered what he was smoking. You might also have suggested that the golfers wear snowshoes.

However.

After this weekend's melt, Gilmore looks like he's on to something. We got a heat wave coming this week--40s! Even 50s!!--so the range could very well be clear by Friday.

The opening of the Heritage and Greywalls courses is still up in the air. Along with a reluctant sun which still needs to burn through a couple feet of snow on some shaded parts of both golf courses.


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