There’s been a sign at the top stair of The Mill in Glen Arbor that read “no public access.”
This week that sign will be removed as The Mill softly opens a restaurant before a full opening will occur on April 17.
The 1897 mill and property renovations is nearly complete, after a cafe and farmhouse motel opened last summer. The Mill’s lower level which will house the restaurant will bring another unique taste to the Glen Arbor foodie scene.
“It’s been in the works for a very long time,” executive chef Bobby Thoits said. “Our initial plans were to try to push to get the restaurant open last year and then it was not going to happen. We really put a focus on the cafe and get that dialed in ... All of these ideas for dishes and recipes and stuff like that have been stewing in my brain for over a year. I’m really excited to pull my sleeves back and get my hands dirty.”
The downstairs of The Mill will be drastically different from the upstairs cafe, but just as vibrant.
Bobby said the restaurant will display high-level execution.
“I think this is not gonna be a traditional restaurant in the sense, whether this is an Italian restaurant or this is a Mexican restaurant, it’s not going to fit into a box like that. If I had to describe it, I would say modern American,” Thoits said. “We’re really leaning into Northern Michigan and the environment we have around here, we’re trying to use as many local ingredients as possible.”
At the end of the day, sustainability and ethical practices are set at a high standard for the new restaurant.
“My style of cooking is to let the ingredient decide what the rest of the dish is gonna be ... If we have a beet and it makes sense to do it with some Asian flavors to make it taste great, then that’s what we’re gonna do,” Thoits said. “If it makes sense to do a carrot with barbecue flavors then that’s what we are going to do.”
The Mill restaurant will be serving crafted cocktails using only fresh juices, ingredients, but keeping everything simple, according to The Mill General Manager Corey Smith.
The Mill will have reservations online only that will be released day-by-day. Corey says to reserve seven days out. The Mill will be keeping a couple tables open for walk-ins as they don’t want to lose out on that opportunity. The Mill restaurant will be open daily except for Tuesdays.
“In the middle of July, it’s hard to get a reservation anywhere because typically people aren’t booking out a month in advance. So if you’re here in the county here for a week, you know, you can count on being able to look online for a reservation and having a sure chance of at least booking a table for two one night while you’re here,” Smith said.
