New proprietors enliven historic Omena store

By Shelley Smith

Sun contributor

Sitting on a curve of M22 looking onto an idyllic bay, the Omena Bay Country Store has been a landmark in the village of Omena since 1889. This April it reopened under new ownership by Regina and Joe Phillips, a Louisville, Kentucky couple whose family now calls the store home.

The Phillips first visited Michigan 8 years ago, when encouraged to take a vacation and explore the beauty of the Great Lakes State by a friend and coworker originally from Saginaw. “We just fell in love,” Regina says, “and anytime we’d get a chance we would come up. We felt immediately at home here and each time we visited it became harder and harder to leave.”

When they stayed in the apartment above Northport’s New Bohemian Cafe on one of their visits, the Phillips knew they had found someplace special. “I loved Northport and Omena,” Regina shares, “and from that point on, I felt like this is where we would stay whenever we came, with a longterm goal to move and retire here.”

Eventually the couple began to explore how they might be able to move to Michigan sooner. Their connection with Kevin and Amy Murphy, the owners of New Bohemian Cafe, would eventually lead to their answer. When the Murphys decided to step away from the Omena store, they reached out to the Phillips to discuss possibilities. “It was a perfect fit, Regina explains, “with the business and the house all in one. Kevin and Amy knew we were seeking opportunities here and it all flowed into place.”

Their life in Louisville quickly flowed into place as well, to support their transition. Regina shares the fortuitous story: “A couple weeks before we heard from Kevin and Amy, a woman reached out to me saying, ‘I love your house and I’m friends with your neighbor. If you ever think about selling your home please reach out to me.’ So as we left our meeting in Michigan with the Murphys, I did reach out and let her know we might be moving. She replied, ‘Ok, how soon?’ She bought the house and we closed within 30 days.” The couple’s business, a Louisville pub, moved immediately too. Joe reached out to a friend in the industry to put out feelers for a potential buyer. The friend was interested himself. Their restaurant also sold within about a month, making the move seem meant-to-be.

While the comfortable climate and natural beauty of this area was a draw, Regina and Joe also had their children, Charlie, 11, and Sebastian, 15, in mind. “We want them to grow up in a smaller community, around people who share our values, and where we could kind of go back to a simpler time. Here they can be outside, they have access to the water, they have so much more than they did in Louisville. We wanted a different life for them, and it worked out.”

The family’s vision for the store includes both honoring the past and moving into the future. They’ll keep the name “Omena Bay Country Store,” while renovating the interior space and expanding offerings. They intend to place more focus on groceries and fresh foods to make the store a useful market for the community year-round, and are working with MI Farm Co-op to showcase a variety of local farmers and their produce. They aim to add more variety and more staples to their shelves over time.

A deli is also in the works. While currently continuing to sell prepared sandwiches from New Bohemian, the Phillips will soon begin making their own prepared foods and open a made-to-order deli later this summer. The deli will offer classic sandwiches with grassfed meats, local produce, and fresh baked breads. Sandwiches including a Chopped Italian, a Cuban, and a nostalgic childhood favorite Joe calls “a Kmart Sub” are creative contenders for the menu, along with a variety of seasonal prepared sides. Picnic baskets and charcuterie boxes will be available soon, along with an online ordering system. Soups and meals-to-go are planned for the colder months, and eventually Regina would like to bake the breads and cookies for the store as well.

When asked what the ideal future looks like, Regina replies, “This is my ideal. We get to live where we work, its family-run, my kids get to grow up in this environment, and ideally Joe and I will grow old in this setting.” And Joe says, “This is a family business, and we aim to build something generational.”

Stop in to welcome the Phillips family and see what’s new at Omena Bay County Store Monday-Saturday 11am-9pm, and Sunday 12-8. They can be reached at (231) 866-4376.