Tasting Room

Alcona Brew Haus

Harrisville favorite prides itself on allergen-free dishes and gluten-free beer options

By Chuck Warren

U p North along the winding U.S. 23 Lake Huron sunrise side in Harrisville, the Alcona Brew Haus offers an appetizing variety of menu items, all created and served with a unique twist.

Many inventions are born out of their creator’s need to solve their own problem. Case in point: When Sandy Arens wanted to take her 10 children out to eat, a series of food allergies made it nearly impossible for the family to enjoy a meal in a restaurant. As her children grew older, peanut, tree nut, dairy, egg, sesame, and berry allergies increasingly became a problem.

So Arens went back to school and earned an associate degree from the nationally renowned Schoolcraft College culinary arts program so she could become a better cook for her family.

Recognizing a larger need, Arens decided to open a restaurant where many offerings focus on allergen-free foods, and in May of 2019 she welcomed her first guests to the Alcona Brew Haus, where she trained her entire team to be allergenaware. Located on pretty U.S. 23, where groves of hardwood trees line both sides and beckoning Lake Huron rolls just to the east, the restaurant is a welcoming sight in this neck of the woods. Picnic tables and a patio adorn the outside, while indoors, a cozy Up North feel — highlighted by a gorgeous stone-surround fireplace — abounds.

“I’m passionate about helping others,” Arens says. “I wanted to provide a safe place for people with food allergies to dine out.”

Arens also loves the Harrisville area, and wanted to bring another eatery to the community.

“Many people go to the west side of the state,” Arens says. “I wanted to help draw people to the beautiful Lake Huron side

The Brew Haus features 14 beers on tap, glutenfree mead, and cider.

and all it has to offer.”

Being allergy-aware doesn’t mean the Alcona Brew Haus’ menu is lacking. Guests can order many traditional dishes such as paninis, pizza, burgers, pulled pork, and a brisket entrée (a visitor favorite).

Every dish is available with allergenfree options such as gluten-free buns or pizza dough, or even dairy-free mozzarella. The kitchen doesn’t use products that contain peanuts, tree nuts, or shellfish.

There’s good news for beer lovers, too: The appetizers and main courses aren’t the only allergen-free options at the Alcona Brew Haus. The bar offers 14 beers on tap, gluten-free mead and cider, and serves allergen-free cocktails, as well.

For more sensitive diners, Arens has a special menu that lists each dish and charts what allergen it might contain. “For diners who may be unsure of the food choices,” Arens explains, “we’ll go through the options with them to ensure they have a safe, enjoyable experience here.”

Customers who come in with serious food allergies have sometimes been overwhelmed with emotion when they discover they can safely order almost anything they want. For those people, eating out at the Brew Haus becomes a real treat.

“We had a family drive more than two hours to bring their 15-year-old daughter with serious allergies here to eat,” Arens says with pride. “When she found out she could eat whatever she wanted on the menu, she got up and hugged the server!”

PLAN IT! Alcona Brew Haus

The Boathouse, which offers 10 beers on tap, has a view of Tawas Bay.

Boathouse Beer Co. & Boozery Lifelong friends serve up tasty grub and brews with Tawas Bay views

By Chuck Warren

W hen childhood friends Nichol Palumbo and Stephanie Rose decided to open a waterfront restaurant on U.S. 23 in Tawas City, their husbands agreed to help — as long as they could brew their own beer on the premises.

Palumbo’s husband, Todd Howser, had made the beer for their wedding 22 years earlier, while Rose’s husband, Bill Tipton, developed an appreciation for Belgian beers while stationed in Belgium with the U.S. Army.

“Both guys were home-brewers,” Palumbo says. “It’s something they’d been tinkering with for years.”

In 2012, the two friends discovered a vacant 100-year-old historic building that once had been a restaurant and was being considered for demolition, to be replaced by a parking lot. The pair decided to purchase the structure and remodel it.

The result was Boathouse Beer Co. & Boozery, which was born in 2017.

Both Rose and Palumbo had successful careers when they purchased the property. Rose was a photographer, while Palumbo had been a practicing attorney and local prosecutor.

When Palumbo decided to run for judge in 2016, she knew she would have to find a new job if she lost. She wasn’t elected. Then, another catalyst helped push the friends toward their new business idea.

“Todd was selling RVs and decided it was a time for a change, so we jumped into the restaurant business head-first,” Palumbo recalls.

Facing east on U.S. 23 with a beautiful view of Tawas Bay and a city park, the brewpub serves handcrafted, scratch-made fare utilizing local supplies and produce whenever possible. The menu includes smoked brisket tacos and smoked French onion soup, among many other dishes.

Although the menu attracts plenty of repeat business, the beer and cocktails are so good, they say, boaters will pull up as close as possible to the city park beach, then wade to shore to pick up to-go orders or top off growlers.

The Boathouse offers 10 different beers on tap, most of which are brewed in-house in a two-barrel system. Flavors include Tawas Beach Blonde, Gravelly Shoal IPA, and Belgian Joie Du Lac (Joy of the Lake).

Thankfully, the city began installing new day slips across from the restaurant this spring, so once they’re complete, loyal patrons arriving by boat should be able to stay dry as they make their way to the Boathouse Beer Co. & Boozery’s front doors.

PLAN IT! Boathouse Beer Co. & Boozery boathousebeerco.com