Want a creative twist on dinner and a movie in the U.P.? How about dining at a restaurant where you'll be served fresh, local food made from scratch, sample a variety of wine and catch a unique show of a 1,000-foot-long freighter floating past just feet away from you? Not your typical night out, is it? Featuring a new dinner menu and now serving wine, Karl's Cuisine in Sault Ste. Marie offers something a little different.
Chef and owner Karl Nelson whips up everything from pasties to quiche using fresh ingredients in his menu of high-end, homemade and healthy foods in the freighter-shaped building overlooking the Sault Locks.
Recently featured on Detroit Public TV's show
Under the Radar--Michigan, the restaurant is changing things up, now operating as
Karl's Cuisine Café and Winery. The change was in response to Karl and his wife, Paula, recently purchasing the Superior Coast Winery, and integrating that business with their menus and into their dishes.
"I think it's typical of all chefs to want to own their own restaurant; it's the ultimate goal," says Paula, who also is the manager of the restaurant. She and Karl reached theirs with long labor. Karl began learning his trade at age 15, apprenticing under a five-star chef. Later, he worked in a country club; then he and his wife established a catering and home delivery service in Pickford before moving their business to its current location in Sault Ste. Marie in 2005.
The couple now lives in Pickford, about 34 miles from the café where they run a hobby farm of 40 acres. They grow their own produce, like squash and cucumbers, to use in the restaurant, while also buying from local farmers.
This year, Karl and Paula purchased their lettuce from Dale and Diane Rector of
Heritage Oaks Farm, a family farm near Sault Ste. Marie. Karl and Paula are also strong supporters of the farmer's market in Pickford and in Sault Ste. Marie, often purchasing produce from the weekly market.
"We want to be able to support our local farmers and local businesses. Buy local, be local," says Paula.
They pursue this philosophy in other areas as well.
Karl and Paula have been working closely with
Picture This Photography and Design in Brimley to revamp their logo, create new business cards, brochures, menus and wine menus. Picture This initially became involved with Karl's Cuisine through the photography and design company's work on
Pure Michigan magazine, a visitor's guide to Sault Ste. Marie, published through the
Sault Ste. Marie Convention and Visitors Bureau where they photographed food and created ads for Karl's Cuisine and other local restaurants.
"Staying local keeps costs down and makes it easier to communicate with each other," says Andrea Honkanen, graphic designer at Picture This.
To support their current expansion, Karl's Cuisine has received a loan from Marquette-based
Northern Initiatives, having previously been given a loan from the corporation in the restaurant's early stages. Northern Initiatives, a nonprofit community development corporation, assists startups and established businesses by providing loans and other business services. Part of their assistance includes a website redesign and training in accounting at no cost for the Nelsons' daughter, Lillian, who will manage the new winery.
Before purchasing the small wine-making facility in Sault Ste. Marie, Karl's Cuisine had been partnering with Superior Coast Winery once a month for a fine-dining event at the winery on Ashmun Street. When the previous owners, Steve and Susan Merrill, moved out of the area, they both felt it was the perfect match and the Nelsons soon purchased the rights to the winery.
It was a lengthy process, taking a year to get licensed before becoming a café and winery. Karl and Paula are enthusiastic about their new venture, having already tilled the ground for their own vineyard. They anticipate producing two varieties of wine from their locally-grown grapes as Wildwood Vineyard and Winery Incorporated, operating under the original name of Superior Coast Winery.
Karl's Cuisine began selling wine from Superior Coast Winery in-house on Nov. 1, and the couple has their hands full as they renovate the building's interior this week.
The renovations will bring more of the winery into the restaurant, including painting and the construction of a wine bar. The new dinner menu, including wine recommendations with each entrée, will be available upon reopening after Nov. 18.
Right now, Karl's Cuisine employs between nine and thirteen people, several of which are full time. With the growth and success of their establishment, Karl and Paula next hope to purchase the signature building on Portage Street that houses the restaurant.
"It's not a money thing for us; it really is about achieving a dream," says Paula.
Raised in historic Calumet, Victoria Peters always dreamed of pursuing a career in journalism, or becoming an "ABC girl," as she referred to the profession in her kindergarten days. A recent graduate of Michigan Technological University, she now resides in Sault Ste. Marie in the eastern Upper Peninsula. Peters currently works as a receptionist, freelance writer and copy editor.