Baker expansion may benefit local restaurants

October 17, 2007
By Dave Alexander
Muskegon Chronicle Business Editor

Restaurants in this go-out-to-eat crazy community can be solid business ventures.

With the recent Baker College of Muskegon announced plans for an $11 million downtown culinary arts center, the local restaurant sector could become even bigger.

Just as the Baker plans provide a huge boost for downtown redevelopment, the culinary arts center provides new opportunities for the independent restaurant sector. And that sector is critical to Muskegon's continued development of its tourism industry.

From local independent restaurant owners to community leaders, the Baker announcement of its culinary arts center has excited Muskegon.

"This area is looked upon as a good market for restaurants," said Ed Garner, president of Muskegon Area First, the economic development agency. "I think we can attract new restaurants and showcase the downtown at the same time.

"My hope is that Baker will lead all of that."

Ever since the trade publication Restaurants & Institutions in the early 1990s named Muskegon as great "opportunity" for restaurant business, the restaurant industry has grown and provided improved offerings locally. Several dozen national chain restaurants located in Muskegon County in the past 15 years.

During that time, local independent restaurants have also been created by The Lister Restaurant Group, Hoby Thrasher and most recently Harris Hospitality, among others.

From 1992 to this year, the number of phone book listings for Muskegon County restaurants has increased 16 percent to 217. That doesn't count all of the restaurant offerings in the Grand Haven-Spring Lake area.

The upgrade of the facility and program for the Baker culinary school will help propel the recent restaurant development into the future, said Frank Lister, who along with wife Gina has a base of operations at the Hearthstone Bistro, 3350 Glade. Lister will be one of several on a committee to help advise the college with its culinary plans.

"I'm really excited," Lister said of the Baker announcement. "We are not hiring anyone in our kitchen who doesn't have a culinary school background. We hope this will pull people in from out of state."

For restaurant managers at both local independents and national chains, Baker should be a good source of full-time employees who have graduated from the programs and part-time help who are still going to school. But restaurant customers also should see an improvement in the overall quality and diversity of the local restaurant sector, said Allen Serio, who watches the restaurant industry at Digital Dining -- a restaurant point-of-sales software company.

"The Baker school is a win-win on every level," Serio said. "It will push the food industry even further than it is now. For independent restaurants, it will take them to higher levels of service and more diverse menu choices."

Michelle Harris, a manager with Harris Hospitality, sees Baker helping improve the restaurant industry. Harris Hospitality has Pints & Quarts and CF Prime, 950 W. Norton along with Dockers Fish House & Lounge, 3505 Marina View Point.

"I see Muskegon becoming more of a tourist community and this will just help add to the restaurants here," said Harris, who with husband Fred Scharmer and Harris lead chef Charles Forrester were graduates of the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island before opening restaurants in Muskegon.

People on vacation or visiting a community like to eat out at restaurants, places they can't find back home, said Sam Wendling, director of the Muskegon County Convention & Visitors Bureau. And with food being entertainment, Baker's culinary arts center could become a tourist destination in its own right, he said.

"It could grow into a major venue for Muskegon County," Wendling said. "One of the first questions people ask the visitors bureau is where can they go to eat. People can visit the (Baker) facility to eat and learn. Tour bus operators are going to love it."

The Baker culinary center and the restaurant sector will not only draw tourists but new businesses and residents to the community, said Cindy Larsen, president of the Muskegon Area Chamber of Commerce.

"The variety of restaurants adds to a community's quality of life," Larsen said. "This center will help Muskegon improve its image. Great restaurant cities attract not only tourists but new people to a community as well."

Hoby Thrasher, who has created and launched more than a half-dozen local independent restaurants, said he thinks the Baker culinary center is the "biggest and strongest" development yet for downtown Muskegon's future. Thrasher Consulting works with area restaurant owners and managers to improve operations or create a new restaurant concepts.

"We need something on this level," Thrasher said of the international flair that Master Chef Alex Erdmann, the new dean of the culinary program, brings to Baker and Muskegon. "Baker will bring new ideas and a lot of creativity. It will continue to drive all of the independent restaurants to strive for higher quality."

© 2007 Muskegon Chronicle. Used with permission