Lots of Smiles at Twisted Olive Cafe in Petoskey

Kirsten O’Keefe, owner of the Twisted Olive Cafe in Petoskey, was named entrepreneur of the year by the Petoskey Chamber of Commerce. As you can see, she is all smiles, but no one had to ask her to say cheese… because -

She has been saying it a lot lately – The Twisted Olive now sells gourmet cheeses, olives, crackers, etc.

Pam Peterson, formerly of Symons General Store, has brought her extensive knowledge of cheeses to the Twisted Olive Cafe.

John

Petoskey MI Mexican Food Restaurant

Last night I took dad out to El Ranchero Authentic Mexican Food Restaurant at 2160 Anderson Road, near Lowes. We hadn’t been there since December of 2010 when they opened. Our first experience at El Ranchero was disappointing and I noted so in a post that drew a lot of comments both in support of and objecting to my review.

I’m happy to report that our experience last night was 180 degrees different from our first experience. Dad, the vegan, had the vegetable fajitas and I had the chicken fajitas. We were both pleased with meal and the service, courtesy of Sergio, was outstanding.

One great thing about El Ranchero is their interior space – lots of room and color. There were a couple of moments when communicating was challenging, but we all managed to work through it and get to the serious part of the evening – eating Mexican food.

AS I think back on that first review, I think it was probably a little premature and I will take this experience into consideration in the future – wait a week or two for a restaurant to work out the kinks before expecting them to perform at 100%. Given our pleasant evening at El Ranchero last night, I have deleted my earlier review and am also updating the review I’d posted on Yelp.

I’d give El Ranchero in Petoskey, Mi 3 1/2 to 4 stars out of five – more toward 4 if I give more weight to the service provided by Sergio.

John

John Plichta – Green Home Builder – Northern Michigan

I’ve been running into John Plichta, Certified HERS (Home Energy Rating System) Rater & Green Builder, for about 4 months now over at Roast & Toast. He’s usually at a table with a bunch of guys who are clearly in the construction trades.

One morning, he just a table away and it looked like he was prepping 4 or 5 contractors for some kind of test. Since I used to work construction (who hasn’t?) I got interested in what was going on and thought I would introduce myself and see what he had going.

Well, it took a few months for me to do that and sure enough, John’s a certified green builder up here in Northern Michigan. He is renovating a home over on Elizabeth Street in Petoskey, turning it into an example of what can be done with a 100-year old home to bring it up to today’s green building standards and lifestyle.

John hopes to have the work done by the third week in October and will then hold the home open for residents of Petoskey and Northern Michigan to come and see what a green builder has to offer. John built a “green home” in 2008 in Northern Michigan. He told me that the people who purchased the home have energy bills of about $24 a month. I think he said that included water, too. Can you imagine getting a $24 utility bill in January or February?

John’s passionate about green building and walking the talk. He’s not someone who just took a few hours of classroom instruction to get a certification to adorn his website or business card. He takes green building seriously and is not at all happy with “green washing” – paying lip service to going green. He had a few interesting things to say about green washing and I suggested we do a future video on that subject.

John talks about his passion for green home building, how much a green home can save on Northern Michigan utility bills and what Michigan homeowners need to know about wrapping on old house to make it weather tight.

Read a Northern Express story on John and home energy audits

Contact John Plichta – email or 231-347-6503

John

Autumn Gap in Petoskey

8am photo in Roast & Toast

Summer tourists gone, fall color seekers have yet to arrive – and college students sleeping in! By 8:30 things were picking up.

John

Opening Celebration for Pretty Woman Boutique

I stopped in to say hi to Jeff Pagel at the Clothes Post yesterday while I was strolling around Petoskey. He told me that he and Bob Greenway, JUSDUIT, were playing that evening at Pretty Woman Boutique for their opening celebration. I walked down to the boutique and met Marjorie Mehney, the manager, who confirmed that wine would be flowing promptly at 5:30pm.

After working out at City Center Gym, I grabbed my cameras and headed down to 309 Howard Street to check out the scene at Pretty Woman Boutique.

JUSDUIT is playing tonight at the Noggin Room.

John

Best Scissors Cut in 50 Years

Yesterday, I decided to shed some fur. I’d been letting my hair get a little wild and wasn’t sure what to do or even why I was letting it grow. It was tickling my ears, dragging on my neck and in my face, but I was still allowing it to grow. I even went in for a trim – 1/4 of an inch a week ago just to tidy it up.

Having made my decision for some heaving shearing, my first stop was a discount place on the south side of Petoskey I have used before, but as I watched the stylist that appeared destined for me, I decided to leave. She seemed new at the job, was having trouble with the register and just appeared slow and confused.

So, I headed to downtown Petoskey. The first salon I walked into was booked for the day, so I headed across the street to trillium where Ricci Tyler gave me – I swear – the best haircut I’ve ever had. It cost me about 30% more than the discount place, but the cut, confidence and skill is worth the extra dough.

A big shout out to Ricci at trillium – see what she can do for your hair!

John

Capital Granite in Petoskey

In July, I finished the landscaping and decided it was time to get the granite countertop for the bathroom vanity. I stopped in at Capital Granite on Mitchell Street in Petoskey, MI to see if they could help me. I remember it was a Saturday. It didn’t take 10 minutes to get a quote for a granite countertop. Within a few days, someone from Capital Granite came by the house and cut a template for our granite countertop. A few weeks later, it was installed.

If you’re thinking of installing granite countertops for your kitchen or bath, I recommend Capital Granite at 218 West Mitchell in Petoskey.

Earlier in life, I worked construction, had a remodeling business and a landscaping business. For over 30 years, I worked in customer service and marketing. It amazes me how many contractors ignore timely communication, good organization, customer service and marketing. Maybe this is one of the reasons I love Holmes on Homes and Holmes Inspection.

When it came time to install the sprinkler system for the new landscaping, I used MacGregor Plumbing & Heating – recommended by David Firman of Firman Irrigation. I have quotes from Mac Gregor for the home water system as well as a reverse osmosis water system for the kitchen.

Here is a list of contractors I have used so far on our home remodel in Petoskey, MI that I recommend:

• Ballards Great Lakes Plumbing & Heating – installed a new high-efficiency heating system
• MacGregor Plumbing & Heating – installed dual meters and back flow valve for irrigation system
• Select Electric – all electrical work for remodel and upgrades
• Firman Irrigation – installed sprinkler system
• Richard Hoffman Landscaping – my source for trees, shrubs, sod and good advice (231) 347-0630 – (Richard  – get a website!)
• Harbor Fence – installed fencing and gate
• Stuckman Tree Service – major pruning and removal of trees

John

Twisted Olive & Palette Bistro Draw Business to Bay Street

Yesterday, I had lunch at the Twisted Olive Cafe on Bay Street in Petoskey – the place was packed and it was threatening rain. I braved the elements and took an outside table to avoid a 15 – 20 minute wait. As I enjoyed pancakes, sausage and coffee – and fantastic service by Jenn Garbough – I marveled at how many people were patiently waiting to get a table.

Later in the day, I was sitting on the patio of Palette Bistro sipping a Pinot Noir and watching people coming down Bay Street from the corner of Lake Street and Bay. Many were coming to Palette to dine or for a drink and others were passing by on their way to Waterfront Park.

I frequent these two new additions to Petoskey’s restaurant scene as they both have great views of the bay and outside dining areas. In my humble (?) opinion, these the Twisted Olive & Palette have done wonders to revitalize this corner of downtown. We can no longer take it for granted that we can find an easy parking space on this corner of Bay Street or in the parking lot across the street.

I should have snapped these pics yesterday when there was more sun, but it was this morning after coffee and a yogurt parfait at the Olive when they were taken. With all the wind and threat of rain, I imagine it will be another banner day for business in this corner of town.

Thanks to the Wine Guys and Kirsten for opening these fine restaurants in Petoskey.

John

Julienne Tomatoes Fires Up the Grill for Summer  Bratwursts & Hot Dogs

Over at Julienne Tomatoes this summer, Jerry, Julie’s dad, is cooking up brats & dogs for lunch. I managed to take this candid shot of chef Jerry during a lull in the action – not easy to do with Friday’s hungry Farmer’s Market crowd.

Julie wanted me to be sure and tell you that every bratwurst and hot dog comes with Julienne Tomatoes complimentary pickle!

How can you refuse a deal like that – get on down there and make Jerry earn his keep!

John

Petoskey Health & Fitness Downtown on Mitchell Street is Closing as of April 30

Bummer – I walked into Petoskey Health & Fitness on Monday for a workout only to be greeted with the news that they are closing their downtown Petoskey location as of April 30.

Zach was not having a good day as he had to give all the members the news as they walked in. Members will be able to use the facilities at Bay Tennis & Fitness in Harbor Springs, but that is not for me. I talked to another member in the sauna and he was disappointed to lose the convenience of the downtown facility as well. I also ran into my friend, Steve, in front of the City Park Grill and he, too, will not be making the trek to Harbor Springs.

This is actually a support for me. I was planning to do yoga and exercise on my back deck this summer, so this will help make it so.

The official reason being given is that the rent is being raised, but that seems a little hard to believe in this economy. Five current and former members are of the mind that membership is down and it is more a matter of getting out from under the situation. It makes no difference to me, I’m sad to see the facility close.

It’s also sad to see another vacant building coming to downtown Petoskey.

John