Restaurant Sale, Farm Sale, Costco Rumors, and TV News Changes

 

BIG CHANGES ON the restaurant scene in Marquette. The latest? The Union Grill on US 41 has been sold to the owners of the Steinhaus, the German restaurant downtown.

 

No, that doesn't mean the Steinhaus, with a growing and enthusiastic clientele, is moving. It's staying right where it is.

 

Justin Fairbanks, the chef and owner of the Steinhaus, says the Union Grill location will be used to prep food for the Steinhaus, and also for catering and special events, as well as the processing of local meats. The Steinhaus is big on that.

 

But there's more. The new location (no name yet) will also open for lunch and will also retail meats, cheeses and specialty foods. Marquette foodies are jumping for joy.

 

But wait, there's more!

 

Fairbanks and his family have also bought the Dancing Crane Farm in Skandia. He'll now have a ready supply of local produce (though they're not yet set up for winter crops) and a coffee roaster. 

 

In economics, they call this "vertical integration." In culinary circles, they call it "farm to table" or "farm to fork."

 

Whatever, it's an exciting and possibly game-changing development for the restaurant business in Marquette.

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SO PROBUILD IS closing down in the middle of November. No surprise, given the intense competition for builders and contractors at that location on US-41. Lowes and Menards are literally a (long) stone's throw away.

Now begins the speculation on who might move into that prime spot.

In the lead, early on, is Costco. That rumor is rampant. Marquette Township officials have heard it but know nothing about it. Costco corporate officials in Washington state are saying nothing about it and wouldn't say anything, anyway, until they got permits.

It does seem that the ProBuild site might be a little small for a Costco, doesn't it?

Also in the running on the rumor circuit is a Meijer hyperstore. There are 100 of them downstate. Why not one in Marquette Township?

Oh, there's also the perennial rumor about the Olive Garden moving in.

And this just in! Saks Fifth Avenue is moving to the ProBuild site! No, wait, it's Bloomingdale's!
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YOU MAY HAVE noticed the big tent that's sprouted up next to Coco's.

Turns out it's for a big Halloween party this Saturday night. Everyone's invited (in costume preferably) and reportedly at least 200 revelers are expected.

Don't worry, it'll be fully enclosed, with heaters inside. To say nothing of the body heat that'll be generated.

 

More important, perhaps, is that the tent will go up again next spring as a new wedding venue in Marquette. Coco's management says they already have two weddings booked for the summer.

Coco's, by the way, had been up for sale for well over a year. No takers at the asking price. Owner Jackie Gonda (with her husband Patrick) took it off the market a few months ago. They're staying, she insists, and expanding the restaurant's operations.

Why not? It's a huge piece of property in an ideal location, across from the beach and just down the block from the Nestledown B&B which should be opening early next summer.
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TV6 HAS ADDED a new face to its 6 pm newscast.

She's Sophie Erber, fresh out of Florida. Welcome to five months of winter, Sophie, and by "winter" we don't mean 63 degrees and gloomy skies, we mean 4 degrees, 150 inches of snow, and occasional white-outs.

For now, she's co-anchoring only the six o'clock newscast with Steve Asplund but plans are for her to possibly co-anchor the 7 pm and 11 pm newscasts, as well.

So far, she comes across as attractive, poised and confident. The chemistry with the other anchors isn't quite there yet, but she certainly seems to have a future.

Suggestion: Don't let her be just a pretty face, a news "presenter." Give her serious reporting responsibilities. Investigative work maybe (something sorely lacking in the UP). Get her fingernails dirty.

TV6 would benefit, and so would she.
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DOWN THE BLOCK, Greg Peterson, the new news director at ABC 10, is trying to inject a greater aggressiveness into his tiny staff of seven.

Peterson, himself, is out on the streets. A few weeks ago, he accosted Congressman Dan Benishek and quizzed him on climate change. The interview lasted for more than a minute, an eternity on local newscasts. Critics might have thought it was embarrassing and inappropriate, but it did get ABC 10 quoted in the Huffington Post.

For better or worse, it's a new day and a new approach for the UP's ABC affiliate which has had a remarkably strong web presence but woefully weak ratings for its newscasts.

Suggestion to ABC 10: Trade your $37.50 news set (also known as "Flowers in a Pot next to a Pole") to Zach Galifianakis for his Between Two Ferns set. Between Two Ferns is decidedly more attractive than what you've got now.


If you've got news, email me at briancabell@gmail.com

If you wanted to be notified when Word on the Street is posted, go to Word on the Street by Brian Cabell on Facebook and "like" it.

Hospital Location, Recall Campaign, UP Culinary School, and Mining Journal Legal Threat

So now Duke LifePoint is down to the nitty-gritty of wheeling and dealing with the city, the township and the property owners over the future location of Marquette General Hospital.

It's been down to three possible locations for at least a month--the Heritage Golf Course site, the so-called Roundhouse property, and the township property just off of Wright Street--and negotiations with the various property owners, public and private, are well underway.

When it finally announces the site winner, Duke LifePoint wants the property deals all signed and sealed, with no last minute snags.

Those "in the know" will tell you Duke LifePoint would prefer, all things being equal, that MGH stay in the city. The township disagrees and says their site is shovel-ready.

The Roundhouse site may not be shovel-ready, according to some sources. In fact, there's word that Duke LifePoint may want further remediation on the property--like another thick layer of soil--before it erects a $300 million hospital on the site.

Not only that, but Duke LifePoint may want further financial considerations in the deal.

The golf course site? The Marquette Golf Club has a nagging $4 million dollar debt. It would like to get out from under that burden, but even if Duke LifePoint agreed to that, would golf club members vote to split their golf facility in half? Greywalls 18 holes would be on one side of a huge, congested hospital complex, and a truncated Heritage course would be on the other.

Not terribly appealing, but then again, neither is a $4 million debt.

So that brings you back to the township property which seems like the simplest deal, even though some have voiced concern about the township's ability to provide infrastructure and services. Bull, say township officials.

Actually, both the city and township officials are staying remarkably tight-lipped on the whole process. They either don't know or they're not talking.

And Ed Banos, the Chief Executive Officer for MGH, meantime is badmouthing all three sites. None of them is ideal, he says, they're all lacking.

Kinda like three homely girls (or guys), but you gotta take one of them. There's probably some truth to it. There's probably also the wee hint of a negotiating ploy in there somewhere.
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The ill-conceived recall petition against three City Commissioners appears to be dead in the water.

The Board of Election Commissioners said the petition contained factual errors and couldn't proceed unless it was revised.

Problem is, Michael Neiger, who initiated the campaign, is now on his way to the Arctic Circle in northern Canada and won't be back for a couple of weeks. So he won't be doing any rewriting or resubmitting anytime soon.

Actually he's a fascinating guy. A 25 year veteran of the State Police who retired as a Detective Sergeant. Worked in a crime lab. Graduated NMU with a degree in criminal justice, got a PhD in political science from Wayne State. He's paddled all the way from here to the Arctic Ocean.

He does work for Michigan Backcountry Search and Rescue, and in fact, his expedition into the Arctic Circle over the next couple of weeks will be in search of two people who were murdered there over a half century ago.

Yeah, kind of an interesting guy.

His recall campaign was motivated by his desire to keep private development off the city's coastline. It now appears that the city commissioners fully intend to make the controversial boathouse publicly owned and operated. That, he concedes, eases his concerns. He'll have the next couple of weeks in the wilderness to think about it.
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A culinary school in the UP?

Yep. Not in Marquette but rather on the far east side of the UP in Hessel. The program director for the brand new Les Cheneaux Culinary School is NMU graduate Zach Schroeder.

The school, which starts up in September, will emphasize local farm-to-table products.

Local investors are now having the Hessel Bay Inn reconstructed to house the school which expects to enroll 12-14 students for the one year course. The Inn will also serve as a working restaurant where the students will get real-life experience.

Schroeder is now contacting restaurants throughout the UP as well as Lower Michigan to make certain his students get jobs when they graduate.

And Schroeder himself? He's only 27 but he's acquired experience at Upfront and Company in Marquette, at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island and the Drummond Island Resort and Conference Center, as well as downstate.

Now he's ready for a new challenge. Seems like he and the folks in Hessel are tapping into something--local food--that's getting bigger every day. The evidence is clear. Local farms here are expanding and increasing, the Food Coop just recently doubled in size, and The Marq, a farm-to-table restaurant on Baraga Avenue, will be opening later this summer.
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Coco's, which recently completed its outside deck, is becoming an appealing place to go on those sultry summer afternoons and evenings.

They're now featuring live music Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and sometimes Sundays.

A great place for beachgoers, bicyclists and walkers to stop in for a drink or two and a bite to eat.

Coco's had been hoping to capitalize on its location across from the beach by setting up a sand volleyball court but was told by the city, no deal unless they constructed an eight foot fence around the court.

Huh? The court would be located a good distance away from the road but rules are rules. Coco's, after its recent renovation, doesn't have the money for the fence, at least for now so...no volleyball court.

Too bad. So it goes.
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Remember Hakem Dermish?

He was a young sportscaster for TV6 about 8-9 years ago. Well, if you're an avid ESPN watcher during the late or weekend hours, you've probably seen Hakem. He's made the bigtime. He'll likely to become more prominent on ESPN or other sports channels in the years ahead.

He's got a natural, fluid, likable style, something he showed here almost from day one. Some folks have it, most of us don't.

Other TV6 alums who are moving ahead in their careers:

Pooja Lodhia is in Houston.
Samantha Liebman and Noel McLaren are in New York.
Jerry Hume is in Orlando.
Kathy Kuretich is in Santa Luis Obispo, California.
Charlie Marlow is in St. Louis.
Phil DeCastro, Heather Sawaski, Gabrielle Mayes and Andrew Lacombe are in Green Bay.
Yona Gavino is in Milwaukee.
Natalie Jovonovich is in Dayton.
Emily Pace and Chris Abbotts (Website director) are married and in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Emily Lampa is in Salisbury, Maryland.
Eric Kane and Gabriella DeLuca are in Norfolk.
Nikki Junewicz is in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Nikki Davidson is in Des Moines.
Aaron Martin is in Roanoke.
David Fath (Fox UP) is in Charlotte.
Wesley Williams is in Monroe, Louisiana.
Brad Soroka (Fox UP) and Meagan Quigley (who are engaged) both recently left Jackson, Mississippi.

The list goes on and on. And it doesn't include some of the very best and smartest alumni who decided to leave the business in the last few years. It's a tough and demanding job, and not very conducive to building a strong marriage and happy family.
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No one's gone to court yet in the dispute between the Mining Journal and Marquette Social Scene, the young digital upstart.

Last week Mining Journal publisher Jim Reevs threatened to take legal action against Brice Burge, the editor of Marquette Social Scene, after Burge posted a way to work around the Mining Journal's new website paywall.

Burge didn't back down but he's had no subsequent contact with Reevs or any attorneys.

Oh, actually, he has heard from the Mining Journal. From a reporter. He's been asked questions about his candidacy for the City Commission. It's good to know the legal dispute isn't preventing the news department from doing their job.

SmartZone Fast-Track, Hospital Silence, L'Attitude Makeover, and Margaritaville at Coco's

Marquette's plan for its SmartZone is on the fast-track.

City manager Bill Vajda expects to have the SmartZone application submitted to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation by May.

The decision on exactly what to do and where and how would be made in June.

And then work begins in July.Yeah, that would be fast-track.

The project will bring in and nurture new technology-based companies, something all cities dream about. The focus here in Marquette would likely be health sciences (NMU's strength) and agricultural sciences (Michigan State).

The original SmartZone in the UP, of course, is the one started by Michigan Tech. Tech, along with Houghton and Hancock, as well as NMU and Michigan State, are all playing a part in planning for Marquette's SmartZone.

We want good, forward-looking jobs in Marquette? We may have found them.
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Silence on the hospital relocation front.

Vajda says he's heard nothing recently from the site-selection folks, and Randy Girard, the Marquette Township manager, says it's been almost two weeks since he's had conversations with them.

The site-selection officials did their local groundwork a few weeks back, then retired to their offices back in Nashville. Best guess is they'll come up with their recommendation for the future site of MGH and forward it to Duke LifePoint within 30-45 days, and then Duke LifePoint will make its momentous decision.

A tidy little $290 million dollars is on the line for the two contenders for the site--the city of Marquette and the Township--along with the prestige of being home of the biggest and most important hospital in the UP.

Girard says, regardless of the decision, the Township will continue to grow at 7-10% a year. There's plenty of land, and people and businesses want to locate there. The big box stores are clear evidence of that.
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Downtown, there have been rumors that things were a little shaky at L'Attitude and Elizabeth's Chop House.

Couldn't be further from the truth, according to co-owner Tommy Wahlstrom.

Take a look at the newly refurnished L'Attitude. New booths, new chairs, new bar stools, new artwork. Impressive and much, much more comfortable.

Up next, a new 30 foot long heater to be suspended from the ceiling on the outside patio. Nice. It'll make those 52 degree days outside bearable. The heater arrives this week. Also coming up, new tube lighting and a new menu.

What's been  the impact of the new restaurant, Sol Azteca, upstairs? Not surprisingly, it's increased the liquor revenue at L'Attitude because the Mexican restaurant doesn't have a liquor license yet.

As for the Wahlstroms' other restaurant, Elizabeth's Chop House, 2013 was the best year yet. Marquette's most expensive and arguably classiest restaurant has struggled through the recession years, like just about every other restaurant in town, but last year was a breakthrough. This year should be even better.

That's good news for fine diners in Marquette.
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More restaurant news.

Coco's, just across the street from McCarty's Cove and Picnic Rocks, is taking a turn toward Margaritaville, UP style. It's busting out a wall on the north side of the building, installing a 900 square foot deck that'll be shaded from the direct sun, and then lining up bands on the deck this summer. They'll play Thursday through Sunday.

They're also considering bringing in a few truckloads of sand and setting up a volleyball court on site.

And they're starting a remodeling of their bar this month.

Finally, it seems, Coco's is taking advantage of its unique and attractive location just across the street from the beach.
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You may have noticed that Fox UP, TV6's junior partner in the WLUC duopoly, has a new anchor, just in from the University of Maryland.

He's Ben Oldach. He's young but he has a pleasant look with a nice voice and carries more authority than you might expect from a rookie. His hairdo, featuring a big wave on top along with sideburns, seems a little retro, but hairdos come and go every half century or so.

The Fox UP newscast, at 10 pm, has never drawn much of an audience. It's actually pretty good and it features an early dose of meteorologist Karl Bohnak if you don't feel like waiting up until 11 pm.
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Overheard at Babycakes this week: a job interview with an NMU graduate who went on to get his PhD at the University of Leeds in medieval history.

He's back in town hoping to land a job as a barista.

The message here? We need (and value) baristas more than we need medieval historians.


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