The 217 residents of Port Hope are grateful.
“Thank you for investing in our town.” “You’ve changed my business by opening yours.” “You put Port Hope on the map.”
Buck’s Port Hope Diner has made downtown Port Hope, at the tip of Michigan’s Thumb, a destination.
Tarra Hurlburt opened the restaurant in 2022, after the building sat empty for nearly a decade. She spent months and months renovating -- closely monitored by the 217 residents – and even commemorated the layers of wallpaper in restroom artwork.
The floor was “under two layers of carpet, two layers of padding, linoleum, and two layers of tar paper.” There were seven layers of paint on the (now gorgeous) woodwork. The building is 95 years old.
"We want this building to last another 100 years,” she said.
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Jodee TaylorEntrepreneur Tarra Hurlburt in the restaurant she opened with help from Northern Initiatives some two years ago.
“It took a long time, but that was a blessing,” Hurlburt said of the renovation period. “We formed relationships. They saw the work we put into it. Sometimes we didn’t get a lot of work done, but we made a lot of relationships.”
The former owner of the business next door would often bring over beers at the end of the day.
Hurlburt entered into restaurant ownership with eyes wide open; she’s the third generation of diner owners in her family.
"Buck was my grandpa; his diner was in Oak Park. My mom ran Buck’s Diner in Fair Haven for 34 years.” Hurlburt worked at the same restaurant for 24 years, “a big one, 300 seats.”
Six months before she opened the Port Hope diner, Hurlburt worked in the kitchen at her mom’s restaurant, after a lifetime of working the front of house.
“I needed to know how to do it, because I don’t want to ever have to shut down because of staffing.”
When it came time to open the woman-owned startup business, banks were unwilling to help.
Northern Initiatives, a nonprofit lender with a mission to support underserved entrepreneurs, helped her with an SBA microloan, which wasn’t a hard decision, said Lucy Hoste McCraven, senior commerciallender, based in Grayling.
“This family has three generations of restaurant experience,” she said. “And Tarra bought and renovated the building with her own money, so there was no business debt to speak of. Plus, Port Hope was really hungry for breakfast!”
Northern Initiatives was founded in Marquette and now works throughout the state.
Rural entrepreneurs are cornerstones of its portfolio, with customers in towns even smaller than Port Hope. Red Hen Foods and Goods just opened in Nisula, population 143, in the Upper Peninsula, on a stretch between Baraga and Mass City that had no food or convenience stores for miles.
“It’s a great location,” said Sam Lanctot, the commercial lender who worked with Alison Kirskey, owner of Red Hen. “People used to have to drive about 20 miles, just to get milk for supper. The neighbors and visitors are thrilled.”
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Jodee Taylor"Location is vital to rural entrepreneurs. They are the most creative entrepreneurs out there,” Lanctot said. “They’re not dealt the same hand, and they have to be clever to make it work.” He cites deliveries not arriving from vendors, especially in the winter, “to the point where the business has to close because they’re out of supplies. It’s unpredictable when or if the truck is going to arrive.”
Staffing in an area without a big population gets pretty tricky too, Lanctot said, but incentives help.
“You have to offer higher wages and better benefits. It’s common for someone to drive 20 to 30 minutes to work, so some people give fuel cards too.” The driving can be a problem as well. “The traveling back and forth in the winter is often enough for some people.”
But the western Upper Peninsula where Lanctot works is a land of “hidden gems” that more people should enjoy. “We need to give tourists a reason to come, because there’s lots to see. And more people visiting helps all the businesses,” he said.
Back in Port Hope, Hurlburt now has close to a dozen employees, half of them full time. They all do everything, with “no front-of-house/back-of-house divide and no waitress minimum wage,” a Michigan law that, for now, lets restaurants pay $3.93 an hour for tipped employees.
“Everyone understands all the roles and how to do them – respectfully,” Hurlburt said. “There’s no yelling. This isn’t ‘The Bear.’”
“She’s the best boss,” said server Annie Parkkila. “This is the best place to work.”
One employee is working on creating a greenhouse, and everyone is well-versed in gluten-free cooking and serving, right down to the dedicated toaster. “My husband is celiac so we’re very careful,” Hurlburt said.
The customers have responded beyond even Hurlburt’s wildest dreams. Buck’s Port Hope Diner won 11 awards in the Huron Daily Tribune’s Readers’ Choice Awards, including a first place for Best Diner. Huron County has a lot of agriculture, including a sugar beet harvest that brings in workers from all over, but it’s word-of-mouth that’s bringing in the most customers, Hurlburt said. Online reviews are spectacular as well. “Made from scratch, huge portion sizes, friendly and attentive staff, and best place for breakfast!”
“It only takes one successful business in a small town to ignite the spirit of entrepreneurship,” said Hoste McCraven. “And that spirit will quickly spread, which ultimately benefits everyone.”