In Hemingway Country, A Market Revives

How small businesses up north are supporting each other

Happy fourth anniversary to the CulinaryWoman Newsletter! I’ve had so much fun bringing you stories about the food world, where there is always something new going on.

Thanks for joining us, whether this is your first issue or you are a regular visitor. I publish a podcast edition of this newsletter every Sunday afternoon, if you’d prefer to listen at your leisure.

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Off to northern Michigan, where I was last week.

A Vintage Market Gets A Makeover

The northwest corner of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula is known as Hemingway country. Ernest Hemingway’s family traveled up from Oak Park, Illinois each summer to their cottage on Walloon Lake.

Ernest fished, and camped and caroused in the beautiful north woods. He married his first wife, Hadley Richardson, there. You may know her from Paula McLean’s wonderful novel, The Paris Wife.

He was a patron of the Horton Bay General Store, which opened for business in 1876, mentioning it in two of his stories, Up in Michigan, and The Last Good Countries.

I stopped in before the pandemic on a literary pilgrimage. At the time, the market was a vintage spot with a lot of memorabilia, including a photo of Ernest and Hadley after they were wed nearby, and I vowed I’d get back there eventually to take a closer look.

Reading the market’s website after that trip, I saw that the building was for sale, and subsequently learned this year that it had been sold. When I walked in last week, the general store clearly had a glow up that brought it into the 2020s. If you had never seen the previous incarnation, you might not realize the dramatic change.

Under new ownership

The market is now owned by Molly McCoy and Greg Cummings, Jr., a married couple who had spent 27 years in Colorado, working in fields such as human resource management and executive talent. They were looking for their next act when the pandemic struck.

Molly and Greg bought a home in Harbor Springs, about 30 minutes away. Molly often drove between there and Traverse City, meandering as one does through the charming northern Michigan towns. Her journeys occasionally took her past the store.

“We didn’t know it was for sale, but it just seemed like it was time,” Molly told me. With a background in commercial real estate, and living in a historic Denver home, Molly and Greg knew how to craft a transaction that kept in mind the store’s historic nature. They bought the store in late 2021, spent months on updating, and launched their version of the business in summer, 2022.

Luckily, there were no restrictions on modifications. “Our first approach was, ‘let’s get the architecture shored up so that it has its next 20-year life,’” Molly said. That meant updating electrical and mechanical work, and then a refresh of the interior.

“It’s structurally sound,” Molly says, “but everything is crooked within six inches” — a common situation in the region’s vintage properties. “Part of what we love about it is that there are no straight lines.”

The interior got a thorough cleaning, was painted in cool earth tones, and was fitten with a variety of wooden display cases, from tables to tall bookcases, as well as an espresso machine and refrigerator case.

Then, Molly went to work on the retail side. “We wanted to keep it to small and artisanal makers,” she says of the items for sale in the shop, such as home goods, a small selection of souvenirs and apparel that reads “Live Slow,” the store’s motto.

The building was the centerpiece of a three-part vision that Molly and Greg had for their business: first, the structure itself, second, engaging the local community, and third, the team they put together. Two of their three adult children, Graham and Camille, are working alongside their parents this summer. Other employees include a holdover from the previous owner.

“It’s just really important that we have a good time and everyone can come in and do their best work and just be focused on the customer while they're here,” Molly says.

Partnering With Local Producers

Along with history, many people stop in especially for the food, wine, and cheese.

When I arrived, Molly was setting out pints of local cherries and cherry tomatoes. In the food case were pastries and sandwiches on bread from Crookedtree Breadworks in Petoskey.

“We pass by there on the way, and stop in, and they have our order ready,” Molly says. Aiming for a European model, they make a limited number of sandwiches daily. “When they’re out, they’re out,” she says. “From a food perspective, it is the highest quality ingredients.”

The produce I spotted came from the Bear Creek Organic Farm, which I visited after I left the general store. Along with a market, Bear Creek has a food truck which made me one of the best salads I’ve eaten in a long while, as well as a sweet cherry shortcake on a fresh biscuit.

Buying from local businesses is a way that Molly is trying to build a sense of community. Another is events. The store is preparing for this week’s Horton Bay Fourth of July parade. There are book signings, concerts, wine tastings, and art. “A lot of people want sandwiches for the concert series. We make a lot of picnic baskets. People pre-order so that it is ready when they come in,” she says.

Life on the slow side

Along with the retail side, Molly is branching into hospitality. The upstairs at the general store is a spacious two-bedroom apartment that can be rented on Airbnb. It’s easy to see yourself settling in after a day of exploring the area, or maybe just relaxing on a boat or at the beach.

There is public seating on the front porch and on a patio in back and two big communal tables inside if peope want to settle in and or chat.

The bright and cheerful property seems to put people in a good mood, which was one of Molly’s goals. “I think the biggest surprise is how gracious people are when they come in here. Not that that's a surprise. I think it was a hope,” she says.

That suits her mantra for the business — to let life slow down. “You can't create more time, but you can definitely manage the time you have differently,” Molly says.

If your travels take you to nothern Michigan, I hope you’ll stop in. The store is closed on Tueday and Wednesday, and open most other days at 9 a.m. (closing times vary, so be sure to check the website.)

We Have A Winner!

I’m delighted that paid subscriber Mary Ellen Lavenberg is the winner of the Hedley & Bennett smock apron. She’s already put it to good use.

Writes Mary Ellen, “The smock by Hedley & Bennett is terrific! I put it to the test recently when a friend showed me how to make this Uruguayan specialty called POSTRE CHAJA or TORTA CHAJA.”

She goes on, “It consists of three or four layers of good but a little dry sponge, topped variously with peach syrup, dulce de leche, peaches and crumbled meringue and all of this is enrobed in perfectly whipped cream! And we did all this in the middle of a recent New England heat wave!”

Congrats, Mary Ellen, and thank you to Hedley & Bennett. More cookbooks, gear and treats will be coming up. Paid subscribers are automatically eligible. Think about upgrading and join the next giveaway!

The Bear Returns With A Spotlight On Chicago

As I let you know last week, FX decided to drop Season Three of the Bear a little earlier than it originally planned. The new season has already generated a wave of stories, especially in Chicago, where The Bear has joined a pantheon of movies and shows set in the Windy City.

Eater Chicago wrote about gear seen on the show that you can add to your kitchen.

Eater looked at every chef cameo appearance during Season Three, including notables like Daniel Boulud, Rene Redzepi, Thomas Keller, and Christina Tossi, as well as local culinary stars such as Grant Achatz, Kevin Boehm and Genie Kwon.

Chicago Tribune food critic Louisa Chu wrote about the differences between being a real restaurant reviewer and the way a review was depicted on the show.

Finally, what did people think of the show itself? Not exactly flattering. Eater called it “a mess,” The Guardian said it was “unbelievably frustrating” and USA Today said it “shows off a little too much.”

I’m going to let you make up your own minds. But The Bear has an avid audience that may have no idea what it’s actually like to work in a restaurant, and is taking it as gospel. Let me know what you think if you’ve watched.

Meal Planning For Solo Diners

I confess that I don’t plan meals as much as I could. Although I cook a lot, I leave myself leeway to choose dishes based on my mood. But sometimes I wait too long, and wind up eating cereal because I can’t get inspired.

So, I was happy to receive a copy of The Ultimate Meal Planning For One Cookbook. Author Kelly Jaggers writes, “People choose to meal plan for a variety of reasons. For some, it is a way to ease decision fatigue at the end of a long day, while others plan as a way to prevent food waste and stay on budget.

In addition, cooking for one is often faster and easier than cook ing from recipes designed to feed four or more, so you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying your creations! Creating a weekly meal plan for one will help you meet your personal goals— whatever they may be.“

Her book, which goes on sale Tuesday, has more than 100 recipes. They cover breakfast, snacks and treats, soups, salads and sides, pasta and noodle ideas, meat and vegetarian ideas, and desserts.

There is also a step-by-side guide to creating a meal plan, as well as suggestions on how to incorporate what is in your pantry and freezer. If you are low on ingredients, she walks you through shopping.

This book would be a great gift for someone in their first apartment, for people whose schedules leave them little time to cook, and for those who want to shed their food delivery habit.

It might help widows and widowers who aren’t motivated to cook after a loss, or people whose partners are out of town. (Someone once exclaimed to me, “Cooking for one is so stressful!” I managed to be polite.)

Kelly is realistic: she knows solo diners often will still eat out a couple of times a week. But she says, “When you have delicious recipes and helpful tips and guides on hand, meal planning and cooking for one is easy—and can even be fun!”

You can order her book here. https://amzn.to/3W6azVH

Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman

Last week, I had two stories published in Food & Wine. One looked at the state of the restaurant industry from three veterans who are enjoying success.

Alon Shaya told why he’s opening new restaurants in conjunction with upscale hotels; Joanne Chang talked about running bakery cafes in Boston as well as a well-regarded restaurant; and Yorgo Koutsogiorgas, who you met here a few weeks ago, discussed the pizza trade.

I also wrote about the interesting boom in the coffee business. Americans are drinking a record amount of coffee. And while prices have gone up, chains such as Starbucks, Dunkin, Dutch Bros and Bigghy are enjoying strong business and expanding their footprints.

Many thanks to the Bay View Association for hosting me up north last week! I had a wonderful audience, many of whom were Zingerman’s customers and familiar with the way it does business. Welcome to any Bay View folks who are now reading the newsletter — it was such a pleasure to meet you. I always love visiting northern Michigan and especially Petoskey.

I’m lining up talks for the fall, so please let me know if your group would like to have me come and speak. Meanwhile, I’m happy to send you a signed bookplate for your copy of Satisfaction Guaranteed.

Here’s how to reach me.

• Website: www.michelinemaynard.com

• Email: culinarywoman (@) gmail dot com

• LinkedIn: Micheline Maynard

• Threads and Instagram: (@) michelinemaynard

• Etsy shop: City Tips Vintage

Tomorrow, to mark our fourth anniversary, I’m sharing some of my favorite editions of Red Beans & Advice from the past year. Red Beans goes out every Monday to paid subscribers and I have lots of fun writing it.

Happy Canada Day tomorrow to our Canadian readers, and Happy Fourth on Thursday to our American audience. Does it seem like summer is zooming by?

I’ll see paid subscribers tomorrow and everyone else next week.

Buy Satisfaction Guaranteed here.