Leelanau’s Restaurants Roll With A New Normal

The Tribune in Northport is among a handful of Leelanau County restaurants that have expanded beyond takeout to better serve local customers and find new revenue streams.

Explains owner Eric Allchin, “we are adapting by becoming more of a quick-stop grocery/restaurant. We offer cooked staples and foods that are heavy prep — such as pasties and lasagna — but a quick sell. We’ve seen a little more consistency from that than through takeout.”

The Tribune has begun selling cheeses, butter, Hill Top ice cream pints, fresh produce, flour, yeast and other basics to customers at the tip of the peninsula. “We are providing people with high quality ingredients that they normally wouldn’t have access to,” says Allchin.

Allchin says when faced with the sink-or-swim reality of being closed to dine-in customers, “it was one of the worst things as a restaurant owner you can ever dream of. You never plan for it. But we certainly aren’t going to take this lying down. It was either shut down and wait or operate and evolve. We chose to operate and evolve.”

The Tribune (110 E Nagonaba Street, Northport, 231-386-1055) is currently open Thursday to Sunday 9am until 2pm. In addition to a simple takeout menu, says Allchin, “We are also trying to provide some comforts and normalcy: fresh bread, brownies, chicken and dumplings, biscuits and sausage gravy.”

The Tribune has — for now — merged with its sister establishment The Union to continue to employ staff. “Paul Carlson is the man making the bread, sauces and staples and also is my partner at The Union,” says Allchin. “Noah Carlson, Melissa Robertson and Christin Yaple are also working behind the scenes.”

Customers can stock up on Bolognese and marinara sauces, stocks and soups at The Tribune. “We wanted to provide things that can be frozen that we would make at our own houses,” says Allchin. “In the beginning it was hard to know what to do but we just listened. We still don’t have it figured out. We still get exhausted with all the information and changes. But we get to cook and be creative. We’re very lucky, and every week we come up with new ideas.”

For example, yesterday The Tribune gave customers a head-start on their Sunday dinner with a You-Cook-It Steak Dinner for Two, offering hand-butchered strip steak, seasoning packets, roasted potatoes, asparagus, bok choy, a chopped salad, and assembly instructions.

Allchin says local support “has been incredible,” and customers have the added comfort of a zero-contact transaction at the ice cream window.

The Cedar Sol Taco Stand & Hydro Farm (9452 South Cedar Road, 231-883-8080) is finding a similar no-contact niche with takeout through their seasonal taco stand window. Co-owner Nikki McHugh says when they realized they could fill in food gaps their neighbors were experiencing, she and her husband/co-owner Michael McHugh kicked off their 10th season as a two-person team in late March, far in advance of their historical Memorial Day opening. Says Nikki, “We are here to support our neighbors and provide access to good food. It’s what we know how to do.”

Cedar Sol’s simple menu of tacos, taco salad, chips and salsas is available for call-in orders only, Tuesday through Sunday from 3pm to 8pm, with payment over the phone. The McHughs say they are preparing to-go tacos for neighbors who are not able to go to the store, exhausted parents, and those who can’t afford to stock up on giant grocery runs.

“Where my heart goes is to food access,” says Nikki. As such, Cedar Sol is also serving as an outpost for essential local foods, available for pickup at the taco stand — Grazing Fields eggs, Mooville Creamery whole milk, Carlson Arbogast Farms dry beans, Dekam Organics ground beef, Naturally Nutty peanut butter, and Food For Thought strawberry preserves (order by Tuesday 3pm for pickup on Friday).

The Leelanau Ticker was first to hear about Empire Village Inn owner Frank Lerchen opening his grocery pop-up on a whim in late March.

After remodeling part of the restaurant (11601 South Lacore Road, Empire, 231-326-5101) to create a summertime to-go food pickup area with retail shelving, Lerchen decided to stock it with basic grocery items to save his neighbors a trip out of town.

Brandon Levay, a manager at the Empire Village Inn, says grocery sales have been steady, and though the restaurant doesn’t open for takeout until 11am, Lerchen is often there early in the morning to bake, “and he clicks on the light for people who might need to pop in for groceries.”

Based on input from regulars, the pop-up is also stocking hot dogs from Gabe’s Country Market and is sourcing a full cow from local farmer Casey Noonan to sell as steaks and ground beef. The shelves and coolers are also stocked with dry goods, cleaning supplies, homemade hummus, greens, lemons, limes, carrots and “all the essentials,” says Levay. Yes, including bathroom tissue.

Levay says of the typical grocery customers: “it's local people who are trying to avoid going into larger crowds…but it has been steady with some seasonal residents and out-of-town customers, too.”

Photos: Left, Empire Village Inn’s Pop-Up Grocery Shelves, by Mae Stier ; Cedar Sol Taco Stand; The Tribune of Northport