If Jody and DC Hayden, owners of Grocers Daughter Chocolate, didn’t already win you over with their high-quality dark chocolate truffles, sumptuous cookies, or perfect-on-a-summer-day fudgsicles, you’ll almost certainly submit to their smooth and creamy gelato. In fact, don’t even try to resist. The Haydens will officially open their long-awaited gelateria next to the chocolate shop on M-22 in downtown Empire on Saturday, July 23.
Eric Nittolo is continually upping the ante. Not satisfied with a trendy pizzeria, he added a fine dining option to his Lake Leelanau establishment—though to be fair, that was always the plan. Nittolo’s Pizza and Nittolo’s Seafood and Social quickly became hits. But he had another idea up his sleeve. He added Nittolo’s Powerhouse Speakeasy to the mix, and the members-only jazz club has quickly established itself as another success.
The 20 goats had moved into Dechow Farm in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore’s Port Oneida Rural Historic District just a few hours before, and already YouthWork director Bill Watson was laying in the grass near the goat pen and cuddling a couple kids who approached him. “He was a puddle,” said Amy McIntyre, co-owner of Pontiac-based City Girls Farm, which brought the livestock to Leelanau County on June 11 to graze in the fields and remove invasive species through the summer. This is the first year that Sleeping Bear Dunes officials embraced livestock grazing on Park land for a full season.
Bardenhagen Berries Farm celebrates its 150th anniversary as a family farm this year by commemorating its rich history and continuing to diversify for its future. While the farm offers a variety of crops, it is perhaps best known for strawberries.
Fried, the new food truck in the Crystal River Outfitters Recreational District, diversifies the Glen Arbor eating scene, as hundreds of thousands of hungry tourists begin arriving to soak up the summer. “Food trucks offer variety and a different, fun atmosphere,” said Raupp. “You get to interface with the guests, which doesn’t happen when you’re a chef in a restaurant. There’s a symbiotic relationship and a more experiential dining experience. With so much tourism up here in Northern Michigan, and lots of little pockets that could use food, snacks and refreshments, there’s room in our industry to grow.”
Saturday, June 4, is National Cheese Day and the anniversary of the bittersweet transition of ownership from John and Anne Hoyt to the new owner-operators of Leelanau Cheese, Josh Hall and Gary Smith. All Michigan-made cheeses are being celebrated at Leelanau Cheese. The shop will host free events for all ages throughout the day, with a few special events with reserved seating.
It’s that time of year again—when hordes of hunters head for the woods and fields of northern Michigan in search of a much sought after delicacy—the illusive morels. May is morel month in Michigan and these wild mushrooms are the rare prize of this annual spring hunt. Not exclusive to northern Michigan, morels can actually be found in every county in the state. But not just in Michigan, nor only the Mid-West. Morels have even been found in temperate zones throughout the world—from as far north as Russia and as far south as Australia.
Sarah Landry Ryder has come a long way from the 25-year-old restaurant owner and waitress she used to be. Her company The Redheads, which she and her sisters started in 2004, has taken off as another Leelanau business looking to make delicious food with local sustainable ingredients.
Sand in your sandwich is not a nuisance, but welcomed nostalgia. If you’re ready to pack your beach bags with too much food and drink, and slap down your territorial towel flags, here’s a breakdown of some of the best places to get stocked up for your next beach picnic in “the County.”
Leland is a getaway in every sense of the word. It’s idyllic and old school, clean and comfortable, and there’s just enough to do without overwhelming you. On this shore, Lake Michigan can be calm and quiet, or raging and dark. The weather decides which experience you’ll have. Big lake storms can be the best excuse to huddle up and reset in a cozy spot, hypnotized by the rain and wind.