Adapting to COVID: Leland’s Bluebird moves outdoors, reclaims parking lot

By Madeleine Hill Vedel

Sun contributor

Business is not as usual this summer. And yet, summer visitors have made their yearly pilgrimage to Leelanau County. Our lakes draw swimmers and sailors alike; woodland paths lure us out to explore; the weather is hot and sunny (maybe even a bit warmer than usual?). Our picturesque villages and locally owned shops and eateries draw in the curious; and getting a plate of fried perch or broiled whitefish at a favorite haunt is always on the menu.

As the State-mandated closing of all restaurants eased up over Memorial Day, business owners scrambled to come up with solutions for this topsy turvy summer season, knowing full well that indoor seating would be either eliminated or reduced dramatically in their desire to serve safely. For Skip Telgard, owner of The Bluebird and The Early Bird in Leland, opened 80 years ago by his grandfather and ever since beloved fixtures in the county, the solution materialized through a phone call from the State Liquor Control Commission.

“At some point the Liquor Control Commission reached out–which is unusual for them. They reached out to licensees who had outdoor service areas, ‘We will work with you to expand your outdoor service areas,’ they said.” After that phone call Skip spoke with his wife Lynn, and together they looked outside the restaurant windows at the parking lot beside their riverside outdoor patio. It was a substantial area. Would the Commission license them for it? The agent came out to inspect, agreed to the expanded square footage, signed the paperwork, and Skip got busy seeking out a tent.

“The first tent guy I spoke with came out and looked at the perimeter, and he said yeah, I can do a nice tent, 20×40, or 40×60. My wife knew we needed the bigger tent, and my daughter also helped push me that way. We committed to a larger tent and I’m so glad we did. It gave us all this space for distancing. People really like that, they all want to spread out, and being outdoors there’s a nice little breeze. It’s become a surprisingly lovely spot.”

Tables were moved from the indoor dining space to out under the tent, a hostess station was set up outside the restaurant entrance, and voila, dining al fresco in Leland just got a boost. The once small patio space has been more than quadrupled. Walk-in diners and reservations can enjoy the paired down summer menu of fresh caught whitefish, fried smelt, Canadian walleye and perch, with plenty of side options. Build your own pizzas, sandwiches, salads and a large list of beverage options fill out the menu.

Among this summer’s numerous hurdles local restaurants have had to leap, one of the top ones has been staffing. For a number of years now, many local restaurants have enlarged their crews with anywhere from one to 20 or more foreign students through the J1 Visa program facilitated by organizations such as Inter-Exchange and Intrax Global Internships. Skip had originally applied to receive 15 students this summer. But with borders closed, and travel reduced, he had resigned himself to managing without them.

“I didn’t think I would get any of them. Then in the middle of July, one of the pizza guys from Lithuania—my awesome guy—he emailed and said he would be here. It was running a gauntlet with immigration and the visa thing. He had this crazy wild story—two weeks in Cyprus, quarantined for 14 days there. He went through so much, and every time he went through the airport it was tough. But he made it! He’s here making pizzas like a mad man.” Skip shakes his head, amazed at his luck, and grateful.

Nevertheless, not having those other 14 students has meant more work for his year-round staff, thus the reduced menu options from other years. But he’s kept on the favorites, making sure that he gets in plenty of fresh fish, fries, and local beers. The goal has been to streamline the menu and the service to keep his staff safe (and sane) and his clients content.

“We knew we needed to be careful not to overreach and fail through not getting the food out soon enough. Our host and hostess staff have to meter people into the place—with only four servers, we can’t have people coming in in too large numbers. We try not to have waits, and to filter. The real heroes are my wait staff, bartenders, hostesses, servers—working hard doing a completely different job than they did before. They’ve bought into what we’re trying to do and performed magnificently.”

I bring up to Skip that maybe this transformation of a parking lot in the center of Leland into an outdoor dining area might be permanent. Maybe this is the future? Fewer cars, and more beauty? It’s prime real estate, by the river, just steps from Fishtown. He concurs, telling me that the crisis mentality of COVID has actually spurred his imagination.

“It’s been a silver lining creatively. We want to do more things with the food, but this footprint outdoors … The logistics and the placement of the seating now; we’ve learned a lot. Countless customers sitting out there, looking at the river and musing, looking at the tent. I stop by to talk to most of the customers, and they remark to me: ‘We’re right in the middle of Leland, the ambiance, the vibe, the late evening light.’ I hear it all the time. People just love it. Even taking this away, there’s still plenty of parking in the village. It’s not like parking is a major issue in Leland. I make no apologies. I don’t miss that parking space.”

As you drive through the village, you can’t miss the 40×60 white tent with its 16 tables, nor the riverside patio tables under their individual umbrellas. The square footage devoted to seating has expanded, but the number of seats is the same 130 of other years. There has been a small drop in sit-down diners, but these have been augmented with the curbside service. Up to 140 pizzas go out each day through take-out. Curbside business represents 25-30% of the summer total for the Bluebird.

It is summer now, our brief season of warm days and cool nights. And as every local knows, that could all change over a weekend. Skip is already thinking ahead. He’d like to keep the tent in place through October. He has sides he can put up to protect the space from the cool Northern and Western winds, hoping to leave open the side facing the river. There’s also the option of putting heaters inside the tent.

Whatever the future brings, Skip is devoted to Leland, and to his restaurant regulars. Even amidst an international crisis, there are creative solutions to be found.