Native son Neal Kokowicz opens Market 22
By Jacob Wheeler
Sun editor
Next time you have the munchies while driving between Glen Arbor and Leland, or find yourself in need of provisions for the cottage on Little Traverse or Lime Lake, there’s no need to scavenge for mushrooms in the woods.
In early October, Neal Kokowicz plans to open Market 22, in the space formerly occupied by Michigan Traders on state highway M-22. He’ll run the market, deli, pizza counter and liquor outlet with help from his dad Paul, a longtime fixture in Glen Arbor and former executive chef at the Western Avenue Grill back when it was called the Soda Shoppe. They’ll also sell chocolates made from family recipes by his mom, Adriene, vice president and general manager at The Homestead resort, thus making this a family affair.
“I’ve got an entrepreneurial spirit, and I wanted to be my own boss,” says the younger Kokowicz. “I’ve worked in catering and customer service, and I wanted to fulfill the culinary needs in this part of Leelanau County.”
Kokowicz, 29, a native of Glen Arbor and onetime high school tennis star, has grown roots in the area after a stint in Steamboat Springs, Colo., following college at Northwood University, a business school in Midland, Mich. He returned to this area in 2006 and worked in the banquet and catering department at The Homestead.
Market 22 will focus on fresh, local foods and soups and offer a gourmet selection of cheeses, deli meats and pastries, with both local and imported wines, craft beers and liquor (though they won’t serve alcohol on the premises). The big hit, though, may be Kokowicz’s Detroit-style pizza, which is square in shape and baked in blue steel automotive pans. This native son’s first job was making pies at Riverfront Pizza, and the hunger for pizza has only increased since those days. “There’s an outcry for pizza here, and I’m happy to jump aboard,” he says.
Market 22 will feature popular goods from Cherry Republic and the Leelanau Coffee Roasters, an ATM machine, wireless Internet and last-minute gotta-haves for the cottage, such as ketchup and tinfoil. The store will stay open until at least 9 p.m. through the fall and winter.
“We’re in a prime location, midway between Glen Arbor and Leland, and we think there’s unlimited potential here,” says Kokowicz, who may add kayaks and bike rentals later on, especially once the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail expands to this part of the County.
Kokowicz is in the process of acquiring the building from Dave Schroeder, who ran Michigan Traders since 2006. The store was opened in the 1970s by Verne Baxter. Kokowicz, father Paul, and little brother Parker (who graduated from Glen Lake School in May and is now a freshman at Western Michigan University) have worked all summer to give the space a facelift and new image.
Gone are the tiled floors the mismatch of old products and the ’70s small-town retail appearance. Instead, the Kokowicz family has put in hardwood floors, tables built out of wood pallets that Neal found and repurposed, bar stools made out of two-by-fours and a poplar bar tabletop. The attractive seating area suggests an upscale but still rustic atmosphere and will accommodate nearly 30 people.
“We hope to call this a ‘social house’,” says Kokowicz. “We’ll ask people to share tables, and make this a place to socialize, not just a stop on their daily commute.”
On the walls behind the wood pallet tables, Kokowicz has hung photos of this building from a bygone era, when it was a horse barn situated along a dirt two-track that’s now considered one of Michigan’s most pristine state highways.
Look for news of Market 22’s early October opening on our website, GlenArbor.com.
