Bellaire: Culinary Bliss in the Chain of Lakes Country
Smack in the middle of all this watery bounty is the village of Bellaire, a quiet river town best known for its proximity to the sprawling ski and golf complexes at Shanty Creek and Hawk’s Eye. Lately, however, Bellaire has been attracting visitors for reasons of its own. Nestled in rolling hills along a gentle clear river, Bellaire is a classic “Mayberry-style” small town with clean streets and a tidy, thriving downtown. Its wide variety of year-round recreational offerings (skiing and snowmobiling in winter, birding and mushrooming in spring, golf and fishing in summer, hunting and leaf-peeping in fall) rival those of Traverse City, just a half-hour to the south.
But a new wave of visitors is finding its way to Bellaire, drawn by their tastebuds. The revolution began in late 2001 when Mike Peterson -- a Culinary Institute of America graduate best known for his successful Spencer Creek landing in nearby Alden -- opened Lulu’s Bistro on Bridge Street, the town’s tidy main drag. Suddenly, visitors who’d come “up north” expecting fried smelt and sizzler steaks found themselves facing rack of lamb with basil pine nut crust and seared sea scallops with white truffle oil risotto.
Not to be outdone, brewmaster Joe Short followed up in 2003 by starting Short’s Brewery, a microbrewery and brewpub located just a few doors down the street. Short’s creatively-brewed beers, ales and stouts have won multiple international awards and made him one of the fastest-growing microbreweries in the Midwest – but the pub’s food menu is nearly as imaginative. In their wake, other “foodie businesses” are sprouting up around town, and even the big resorts on top of the nearby hill have taken notice and revamped their own menus.
Bellaire’s small downtown has a handful of entertaining shops, from cottage accessories (Uniquely North) to educational toys (Little Treasures) and fascinating furnishings -- made with wood rescued and recycled from century-old barns -- at Willson Hand-Crafted Furniture. There’s even a great little downtown movie theatre that’s still in operation.
Bellaire’s small downtown has a handful of entertaining shops, from cottage accessories (Uniquely North) to educational toys (Little Treasures) and fascinating furnishings -- made with wood rescued and recycled from century-old barns -- at Willson Hand-Crafted Furniture. There’s even a great little downtown movie theatre that’s still in operation.
Skiers and golfers still form the mainstay of the local tourism economy. Shanty Creek Resorts (actually, three separate resorts on one 4,500-acre hilltop) operates 72 holes of championship golf (its courses include Cedar River, Schuss Mountain, The Summit and The Legend) and 49 downhill skiing slopes, while nearby Hawk’s Eye resort features two championship courses, Hawk’s Eye and The Chief.
But Bellaire is also gaining a reputation as a center for ecotourism, thanks to the nearby Grass River Natural Area, a 1,165-acre nature preserve where visitors can hike miles of trails, enjoy birdwatching, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, and enroll in guided nature tours and classes. Even Shanty Creek has responded to this trend; in 2007 the resort established a “silent sports” department to develop low-impact recreational activities like cycling, birding, kayaking and river rafting.
