Streetside Grille bartender Scott North in Suttons Bay leads the ‘Cheers style’ bar throughout the hectic summer season. North, a certified sommelier earned the honor earlier in life before moving to the Leelanau Peninsula.
North has an interesting background spending his first nine years of life in Venezuela as his father worked for General Motors throughout the 1970s.
“It was a really great way to grow up and I definitely think of that shaped I am today just because I’ve seen a little more of the world and some other people have not had the privilege. (Venezuela) is completely different now than what it was,” North said.
“You have to have a (stack of Venezuela currency) to pay for a coffee or a hamburger or whatever .... You just have to know where to look. It’s going to be the way it always is. The well off always finding a way around it.”
North eventually moved back to Oakland County in 1979 and went to high school in the area He met his then wife down state while managing a couple of restaurants including the Beverly Hills Grill and Streetside Seafood in Birmingham. While attending the restaurant, he became a sommelier in 1998. He fell into the hospitality industry during his college years and hasn’t looked back.
North is celebrating 10 years at Streetside Grille after beginning at the Riverside Inn in Leland. North got married at the “Riv” in one of the first weddings held at the property back in 1998.
North says Streetside has a large regular community that reminds him of the TV show ‘Cheers’ seeing the same five to 10 regulars a day.
“It’s almost like a family because everybody knows everything about everyone for the most part and it’s a tight-knit community and they really enjoy this Horseshoe Bar. It’s just easy to not only meet new people, but it’s conversational,” North said. “To hear snippets of people’s lives is awfully nice and vice versa, they hear about my life and give me the details of what is nice and neat on busy nights.”
North notes that the late night crowds of Suttons Bay have decreased from six to seven years ago.
“It’s definitely changed all the way around. It’s just not as much of a nightlife and I’m not sure if that’s completely because of covid or just from inflation or people raining back in ... But a majority of people are eating and we get busy earlier now,” North said.
North says even in December and January there was a time when there was nothing, but more people come around now. He added that the season is lasting longer with no lull in between summer and fall.
“Sometimes (fall) is as busy as a summer night,” North said.
North sees the growth of Leelanau wine especially after trying wine from all different regions.
“By any mindset and my gosh you fast forward from then to now and there’s some amazing wines, some of the best Pinot Noir ... I can’t believe how much has come along, even in say, a decade,” North said.
North says the same with ciders as Tandem has become a staple on the menu at Streetside over the last five years.
As North navigates the late and rowdy nights at the bar, he focuses on relaxing his mind when he gets off the shift.
“You go home and have a couple of drinks and try to unwind, have some dinner and get a decent amount of sleep so you can get up and do it all over again,” he said.
