Lakeside Café Lakeside Café

Lakeside Café Lakeside Café

Bringing the Best to Manitou Beach

By Melissa McCance

One of the advantages of small businesses—for the owners and the communities they serve—is the flexibility they enjoy. Independent business owners can tailor their enterprises around their personal goals and values along with the specific needs of their environs. Diann and Al Muck own the Lakeside Café in Manitou Beach which is run by Diann and their daughter Kelly Stickel. The two women are making their business more than simply a place to grab a bite. They’re creating an experience for their customers and acting as a business development resource for other entrepreneurs.

The Mucks had retired to the Manitou Beach area and assumed ownership of the business at the end of May 2023. Diann’s background is in quality engineering and Kelly’s experience is in management consulting. Their different strengths weren’t specifically in food service but absolutely applied to running a small business. Because of that, they sought out providers of exceptionally high-quality food products to serve at the café. Bliss Bake Shop in Brooklyn provides items like cinnamon rolls, cookies, and quiche. DoughNation Bakery in Horton keeps them supplied with sourdough bagels and breads. They also carry coffee, candies, cheeses, and sausages from the wellknown Zingerman’s of Ann Arbor.

Diann and Kelly don’t just use these products in their café— they also help the vendors who are small business owners professionally. “Each of them is a small business so we’re helping them organize their businesses while we’re taking the opportunity to sell really great products,” explains Kelly.

Recognizing that there would be a significant difference in customer traffic during the non-summer months, they created a gift box business. People can order a variety of curated gift boxes that combine foods from their business partners along with specialty chocolates, jams and jellies, charcuterie items, and other goodies. Kelly said they’re also looking into bringing in other specialty retailers to expand the grocery section of the café.

“We wanted to have this summer place, but we knew that

it needed to have more opportunity throughout the year, so we launched the gift box business. That’s been a really nice balance as we head into the holidays,” says Kelly.

There are menu items at the café that are house made, such as a gluten-free chicken noodle soup, a white chicken chili, and a chicken salad sandwich served on a croissant that gained notice on MLive. Developing and perfecting in-house recipes takes time, and the two are making sure that any item that goes on the menu is up to standard.

Both women are involved in the Manitou Beach community, working with other retail establishments to advance the development of an area that has seen a significant resurgence in recent years. They added to the village holiday celebration in December with classes in tart making, charcuterie and a gingerbread house class for children along with many other events during the month.

When asked what she and her mother love most about having the café, Kelly replied that her parents have always been interested in promoting community and serving the youth wherever they are. For Kelly, there’s real satisfaction in building the business and helping other small businesses develop and grow.

She summed up it this way: “I work at creating a seamless experience for our customers, and Mom makes it so you never want to leave.”

Lakeside Café is located at 135 Devils Lake Hwy, Manitou Beach, MI 49253. They’re open from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day but Tuesday when they’re closed. You can reach them by phone at 517-252-5279. To keep up with the latest news, check the website (lakesidecafe.us.com) and follow them on Facebook at Lakeside Café.