A housing success story in the heart of Leelanau County
By Linda Engelhard
Sun contributor
The much-loved poet Wendell Berry said, “A significant part of the pleasure of eating is in one’s accurate consciousness of the lives and the world from which food comes.”
Farmers and fishermen, cooks and servers all play a part in providing the food we eat in Leelanau County, and many area leaders are concerned about the lives of the people who provide it. Housing is one basic necessity that is increasingly out of reach for workers throughout the nation, and especially in our high-priced county.
Joshua Deters has seen this challenge unfold. He graduated from the culinary school at Johnson and Wales University and owns the VI Grill in Suttons Bay and Fiddleheads in Lake Leelanau, but before all that, he started in the kitchen. Deters believes that providing food is a noble profession because sharing food is foundational to community and has existed since the beginning of time. He works hard to pay employees above the typical range and serve meals that provide value to the customer.
To maintain the success of his restaurants, Deters needs to account for the increased cost of everything, from beef to saltshakers. At the same time, he values his employees and recognizes that they face the same price pressures as they buy groceries and pay for gas. He recently bid farewell to a long-time employee who had been driving to work from east of Cherry Capital Airport.
Many workers in Leelanau County are forced to live farther and farther away, resulting in long commutes and higher costs. In the summer, when businesses need the most help, housing costs and availability are out of reach. In the winter, housing is easier to find, but businesses need fewer employees. In recent months, several restaurants have closed or reduced their hours because they cannot hire enough staff.
As Deters considered the ongoing housing challenge, he received a phone call that surprised him. The new owners of a nearby business in Lake Leelanau, Mitten Self Storage, were offering to rent him a house year-round if it would help with housing his employees. The house had been a short-term rental, but the new owners preferred a different model: workforce housing at a reasonable cost. For them, it just boiled down to the very harsh reality that the only possibility of keeping the community solid and the up north way of life from becoming overpriced and out of reach is by finding ways to help on a hyperlocal level. Squeezing every penny from the area might make someone’s business a few extra bucks, but it can also suffocate a town’s identity and spirit by turning what should be a home for a local mechanic, server, or teacher into yet another vacation rental.
Deters took them up on the offer and placed an ad for a chef. Normally, an ad resulted in fewer than ten replies and maybe two interviews. When he placed the ad including optional housing, Deters received more than 80 replies, many from talented, highly qualified applicants who previously had chosen not to apply in Leelanau County because of the housing shortage.
Deters appreciated the owners’ willingness to forego bigger profits on their investment in order to invest in the community. The Mitten Self Storage owners believe that when good, hardworking families and locals are supported, everyone wins.
Multiple groups are working hard to solve the affordable housing challenge in the county. Leaders across the nation are using the phrase “failure of imagination” regularly as we consider the daunting challenges of life in 2026. Zoning laws seem frozen when ADUs (accessory housing units) are discussed. Preserving agricultural land is critical along with finding ways to create cluster housing to support intergenerational farming families.
Tourism is a boost to the local economy, and some short-term housing is necessary, but maybe more property owners can partner with businesses to house the workers and families our community needs. Leelanau County has far too many imaginative people to fail at this task.
