Spice Merchants in Marquette is open on Washington Street. Tom Buchkoe
Spice Merchants in Marquette. Tom Buchkoe
Owner Mike Carl at Spice Merchants of Marquette. Tom Buchkoe
Joe Jakubiszyn and specialty spirit Crystal Head Vodka Tom Buchkoe
Spirits remodeled the former Vineyard in Marquette. Tom Buchkoe
Hannah Jakubiszyn stocking shelves at Spirits. Tom Buchkoe
Spirits is a family affair, with owners Kim and Ed Jakubiszyn. Tom Buchkoe
After long careers in other fields, two pairs of NMU alumni are embarking on new adventures in the Marquette retail scene.
It's Monday afternoon in Marquette's newest liquor store, and Ed Jakubiszyn stands amid a swirl of activity. Customers, vendors, and employees all need a piece of him--just for a sec. If he's stressed by the demands, however, he doesn't show it. Jakubiszyn directs traffic, answers questions, and makes decisions with the calm of someone who has a history of staring down real chaos.
"I'm getting used to dealing with a dozen people all at the same time," he says. And after everything he has seen in his professional life, opening a liquor store, even on its most hectic day, can't compare.
Jakubiszyn worked for three decades as a registered nurse--including 22 years at the Marquette Branch Prison--before retiring a little over two years ago. "I retired and then realized I wasn't ready to retire," he says. "Neither was I ready to go back and work for anybody else. Something just hit me about wanting to try to do something on my own with my family."
That's when he talked with his wife, Kim, about buying the Vineyard, a local liquor store that was on the market. "I was very surprised," says Kim, who, like her husband, is an RN and a Northern Michigan University graduate. "We hadn't talked about anything like that before… But I decided to retire and help him in this business."
The result of Ed's dream is Spirits, a new store in the former Vineyard building at 700 Chippewa Square in Marquette, just off U.S. 41 and Grove Street. Joe Jakubiszyn, Ed's brother and a Spirits employee, says the new owners spent six months transforming the 4,000-square-foot structure before opening December 23.
"We redid this whole place, from top to bottom to parts unseen," Joe says. "We gutted the floor, the ceiling, all of the ductwork. There had been two competing heating systems cobbled together. Now there's brand new heating and cooling, new lights, new floor, a handicap-accessible bathroom… Everything is new… We've heard so many positive comments."
The Jakubiszyns say business has been better than expected in the first month of operation. "I think it's a great location," Ed says. "It might have been cheaper to build a new building, but then you don't get the location. And location is everything. Sometimes you have to buy the gut-job if the location is worth it."
Spirits offers a broad spectrum of beer, wine, liquor, soft drinks, and snacks. The craft beer selection features several products from Michigan brewers, including from Ore Dock and Blackrocks in Marquette and Upper Hand in Escanaba. Customers also have the ability to build their own six-pack of craft beers. "That has been a pretty popular feature," Joe says. "People can get a taste of what they like."
The wine section at Spirits includes foreign and domestic selections. Joe says several Michigan wines have been popular among customers, including those from St. Charles Winery in Marquette. And the liquor prices, he adds, are the lowest allowed by state law.
"This is a work in progress," Ed says. "It's evolving. I always listen to what the customer is saying. … Our name, Spirits, is what we're all about. When people come in here, we want to be able to lift their spirits."
Spirits is open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 8 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. Check out the store's Facebook page for details about a grand opening celebration in early February.
One Way or Another
About a mile from Spirits, at 106 West Washington Street in downtown Marquette, another NMU alumni couple recently entered the city's retail scene.
In some ways, Mike and Carolyn Carl, owners of Spice Merchants of Marquette, have been planning this business venture since the 1970s.
Originally from downstate, Mike and Carolyn attended NMU and earned degrees in education. Along the way, they fell in love with Marquette. When they couldn't find teaching jobs after graduating, they headed south--way south, to the Florida Keys.
They taught in the Keys for 26 years but visited Marquette every year. They came back at least once during each winter and stayed every summer in their fifth-wheel at Tourist Park. And they intended all along to move back to the area at some point.
"We were going to get back to Marquette one way or another," Mike says. "We wanted our kids [a daughter and a son] to be up here." So 11 years ago, the Carl family moved to Marquette.
And five years ago, Mike and Carolyn visited a Spice Merchants store in Traverse City. They immediately recognized the possibilities in opening a franchise in their adopted hometown. Spice Merchants fills a niche by offering spices (in small amounts), teas, rubs, blends, tea-related gadgets, soups, pastas, chowders, pots, cookbooks, and a variety of other products, including gifts.
"We both love food and love cooking," Mike says. "There's nothing like this here."
Carolyn adds, "We've wanted to do this for a while now, but the problem is we could never find a place that we thought would be suitable. We wanted to be downtown, we wanted to be on Washington, so when this became available [last fall], we jumped on it. … Timing is everything. We got lucky."
After signing the lease on the 975-square-foot space, Mike and Carolyn worked quickly to transform the store. In less than three weeks, they ripped out the wall-to-wall carpet, sanded the wood floors, painted the ceiling and walls, installed 500-plus-pound barn-wood beams, and installed shelves. "We worked really fast," Mike says. "We wanted to be open for Black Friday, and we got it done."
The Carls say business has been better than they thought it would be. "We were really hoping Christmas would be good, and it was fantastic," Mike says. "And then right after Christmas, it's still going. … There are a lot of foodies here, and we've seen a lot of repeat customers. Some people have been in five or six times."
Spice Merchants is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visit their Facebook page for recipe ideas and to keep up with what's happening there.
Michael Murray lives in Marquette and writes about sports, history, business, and intriguing people. He's new to Twitter @mgm906.
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