Chef Paul Carlson occupied the small Hearth & Vine cafe on the grounds of Black Star Farms during the summer of 2011. Chef Paul, Mickey Humpula, and the team created gourmet wood-fired pizzas, delicious soups, salads, sandwiches, and more using artisan breads and home-grown vegetables from a number of local farmers including Nic and Jen Welty,
9 Bean Rows.
In 2013, Paul partnered with the Welty's and now co-owns and operates the
9 Bean Rows restaurant in Suttons Bay, MI, which opened at the height of the season in July. Nic and Jen run the
farm and
bakery. The original plan was to have the bakery and restaurant in one building, but another opportunity came up, and the Welty's purchased the old Covered Wagon on M-204. Though that has changed the original dynamics, there is now more room for baking, a small retail market, and additional space for crops.
In August, 2011,
Good Morning America recognized the
Sleeping Bear Dunes in our corner of Michigan as the "
Most Beautiful Place in America," and we were quite honored that
Mario Batali promoted this national event from the small "Hearth and Vine" cafe with Paul.
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| Chef Paul making his wood-fired pizzas |
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| Chef Mario Batali in from of the Hearth & Vine Cafe, summer, 2011 |
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| One of the friendly sheep at the farm |
