American Spoon, the Petoskey-based gourmet food company known for its smallbatch jams and preserves, has opened its newest storefront in downtown Suttons Bay, taking over the former Bahle’s Annex space on M-22, which closed in the spring.
“Suttons Bay has been a little bit of a dream of ours for a while,” said store manager Christy Androsky, a Suttons Bay resident who contributes at American Spoon’s Traverse City location and beyond.
Androsky said the company has been looking for a spot on the Leelanau Coast for several years before the timing finally lined up. She and a friend spotted the Bahle’s Annex vacancy and an idea turned into reality.
“We both keyed in on it at the same time.”
American Spoon signed the lease in late February and opened in mid-June — a fast turnaround, Androsky said.
Founded in 1982 by foragerturned- entrepreneur Justin Rashid, American Spoon Foods has grown into a multi-store company, but Androsky said the small-batch philosophy hasn’t changed.
“We started off in a small kitchen ... and we still fill jars two at a time, handcrafted, hand-peel and hand-cut all the peaches,” she said. “Think artisanal, small-batch, the best that Michigan has to offer.”
That commitment to local sourcing is especially visible in Leelanau County, she said.
“What’s really nice about being here in the heart of Leelanau County is that so much of our produce comes from the farmers that are just down the road.” She added that Bardenhagen was the very first farm to supply American Spoon’s first-ever product, an early glow strawberry jam the company still makes today. “We build these long-standing relationships with farmers,” Androsky said.
Other nearby suppliers include Jelinek Farms for apricots and Leelanau grower Gene Garthe has supplied pears, plums and apples for 35 years.
Local sourcing shows up in what sells best, too.
“Leelanau apricots have been a top seller, and I think it’s because it’s right up the road,” Androsky said. “In Traverse City, of course, everything cherry is the big deal. Down in Saugatuck, it’s all about blueberries.”
New this summer: a sour cherry pie filling. “It’s absolutely delicious,” Androsky said. “The vanilla flavor — it’s got about three pounds worth of local cherries cooked down in there.”
She said the in-store tasting experience is central to how American Spoon wants to introduce itself to new customers who venture into the renovated Suttons Bay store.
“We really like people to come and experience the store because everything is available to taste. We have an open-door policy,” Androsky said.
The store also runs kidfriendly tastings and rotating feature tastings tied to recipes from the company’s archive.
“We have hundreds of recipes that we’ve curated and developed over the years,” she said.
Androsky, who came to American Spoon from a corporate background, said the work has been personally rewarding.
“It’s really nice to come to a family business that’s run so well. If I do my job well, I’m helping local farmers, I’m helping a family business. I go home at the end of the day going, I did a good job for a lot of different people.” Androsky said. “Selling people good-tasting food, letting them taste it and see their face light up — there’s so much joy in that experience.”
On the community response so far: “We’ve been so warmly welcomed to the community,” she said. “There’s nothing quite like downtown Suttons Bay.”
The store is still waiting on its permanent sign — because the building fronts M-22, American Spoon needs a permit from the Michigan Department of Transportation before installing a projecting sign, Androsky said.
