Suttons Bay native Christian Yaple has been taking chances with his new business Leelanau Lemonade that has been seen far and wide at events across the peninsula.
“I was ready to have new challenges in life,” Yaple said.
Yaple was born and raised in Suttons Bay, graduating in 2015. His first job was at the Silver Tree Deli as a dishwasher.
After graduating, Yaple bounced around at new adventures with his wife Courtney, before finding his footing at 9 Bean Rows in Lake Leelanau. Then he took a next step, working at the Tribune Ice Cream and Eatery in Northport for eight years from 2015 to 2022.
Yaple went sober at the beginning of the pandemic and hasn’t had a drink in nearly five years. It was then that Yaple said was at a point in his life where he knew he couldn’t be the spouse and father he wanted to be if he was still drinking.
Eventually, he wanted to try something new, without alcohol.
“It’s a little expression of that sobriety. Trying to bring something fun without alcohol,” Yaple said.
Eventually, Christian and Courtney produced two beautiful children Roland, 6, and Maya, 3.
“Northport is a really great community that’s been really open and receiving of anybody and what they’re going through in life,” Yaple said. “It seems silly because it’s lemonade, but sometimes when you put that sugar and lemons in a cup, it tastes pretty good.”
Along with grinding the Leelanau event circuit, Yaple also works at Bohemian Cafe.
He thanks to owners Kevin and Amy Murphy, who helped Christian get Leelanau Lemonade off of the ground.
“They have helped me every step of the way and I’m so grateful and gracious ... Every avenue they led me down was relevant and got me where I needed to go and very appreciative of that.”
In the spring, Christian submitted his business plan and waited for more funds before the summer started.
It wasn’t until July 20 when Leelanau Lemonade served its first patron because of hurdles needing to be jumped.
“I like to be patient but I was gung ho once we got the go ahead and I am still shocked by how much business I’ve done with almost no advertising,” he said. “I am shocked by how many people show up. I am surprised everyday that I’m open and have repeat customers already too ... I’m a first time business owner and just to have the feeling already of being part of somebody’s routine, it’s pretty special and I really appreciate it.”
Yaple prides himself on making the best lemonade possible using the skills developed over the years from Bohemian Cafe, Tribune and 9 Bean Rows where they stress every single detail about the food and beverages they make.
“I brought that mentality into lemonade,” he said.
Yaple’s professional lemonade is kept simple but just as savory. Not the powder chemical concoction.
“I’m there with a smile on my face and I’m happy to make lemonade, and if that makes a difference, I hope so,” Yaple said.
Some of his popular events include working in Northport at UnCaged.
“(At UnCaged) We took orders earlier than we were supposed to and we went until the sun went down and it was nonstop. I had a lot of people express gratitude that there’s something other than beer,” Yaple said.
Leelanau Lemonade’s original idea came from his son Roland who always wanted a lemonade stand. After taking it a step further, Yaple hopes his children learn a lot about this.
“If there’s something you love to do and you work hard at it and you figure out a way you can make it work and it’s a lot of work, but you can do something that’s good for you,” Yaple said. “Without my wife, none of this would be possible ... If you see like legible handwriting on any on the menu or anything that’s her and she helped me visualize the logo and get my weird thoughts out in a way that she understands ... for my kids to be able to see that you can do what you want. Even if it’s selling lemonade, you can still do it and you can, if you do it with honesty. It’s really rewarding.”
For Christian, his family brings out the best in him. Courtney just finished her master’s degree recently.
“If there’s one thing I can say, I’m very grateful for it,” Yaple said.
