Walloon Lake Village, MI
Storied Michigan village enjoys a second life.
I
n the minutes following northwest Michigan’s notoriously
late summer sunsets (think 10 p.m.), stand on the shore of
Walloon Lake. When the dusk swallows up the fiery sky and
an ashy violet settles on the cottages lining the shore, inhale
that ever-present sweet scent of cedar trees, and then listen.
What you’ll hear — the creak of a nearby porch swing,
the clink of toasting cocktail glasses, maybe a hearty guffaw
bouncing across the water, or simply the hushed slap of a
wave against sand — isn’t just the sound of the good life.
It’s the sound of a place whose heyday has come again.
Beginning in 1886, when railroad station agent C.J. Mizner
erected the first hotel at the “foot” of the lake, Walloon became
a popular destination for wealthy families from cities south
and west: Detroit, Chicago, Cincinnati and beyond. Eager
to escape the cities’ summer swelter, folks flocked in by train
and flooded the area resorts, with many — like young Ernest
Hemingway’s family in 1899 — building cottages of their own.
Steamboats crisscrossed Walloon Lake day and night, ferrying
hordes of passengers to and from lodging and pulling gents in
rowboats to their favorite fishing holes. One steamboat, The
Tourist, sometimes hosted a 14-piece band on its upper deck.
By all accounts, Walloon at the turn of the 20th century was
the place to be. And it remained so for years. But in 1928, the
railroad stopped service. As the decades wore on, vacationers
and the myriad businesses they supported petered out, leaving
the once-bustling village a shell of its former self by the ’80s.
That is, until 2012, when father-son duo Jonathan and Matt
Borisch stepped in. With the proceeds from the successful 2010
sale of their Grand Rapids electronics manufacturing company,
the pair set out to revitalize their beloved childhood playground.
Today, Hotel Walloon general manager Marc Jacobssays the reborn Walloon Lake Village can be summed up
in a single word: Spectacular.
The Borisch’s reconstruction began with Walloon Village
Marina, a full-service marina with a 4,000-gallon fuel
dock, plenty of transient slips, and Tommy’s pro shop, as
water-lover’s retail dream. Here, you can buy gear for any
watersport and rent pleasurecraft for the day. Choose from
three sizes of pontoon boats, 2017 or newer models of ski
and surf boats, or paddleboards and kayaks. If you’re ready
to commit or just spend an afternoon drooling, Tommy’s
5,000-square-foot Malibu and Axis ski boat showroom is
just around the corner.Fine dining and casual fare
Perched on top of Tommy’s is Matt Borisch’s Barrel Back
Restaurant, home to casual yet outstanding breakfast, lunch
and dinner seven days a week and the most stunning public
overlook of Walloon’s crystalline waters. Plenty of indoor
and outdoor seating is available, but even inside you’ll
catch a breeze off the water when the staff rolls up the glass
boathouse-style doors. The view might be the draw, but the
extensive bar and menu keep locals and visitors coming back
for libations and wood-fired favorites from the pizza oven,
grill and rotisserie smoker. One must-try is Barrel Back’s
chicken wings, which Jacobs claims are “as big as your head.”
General Manager Laura Kowalke credits the popular wings’
preparation: A dry rub, a long smoke, then a quick flash fry
that she says keeps “that big smoke flavor” intact. Pair it with
the Black Water Bloody Mary, a mix of jalapeno- and black
peppercorn-infused vodka and gluten-free Bloody Mary mix,
served with a sidecar of Barrel Back IPA. PHOTOS COURTESY OF HOTEL WALLOONSHORELEAVE
BY LYNDA WHEATLEYHotel Walloon Barrel Back Restaurant MAY 2018 | LAKELANDBOATING.COMShoreleave_Walloon_MAY18.indd 24 5/23/18 11:18 AM