Traverse City Record Eagle
LAKE LEELANAU — Peninsula Provisions opened to customers a little more than a week ago on the Leelanau Peninsula.
The wine and food shop is owned by Kate Vilter Stassen, previously of the Riverside Inn in Leland. She sold that business and started looking for a building.
“I always wanted to have a wine shop,” Stassen said. “I’m passionate about food and wine. I wanted to still be part of that world after leaving the restaurant industry.”
Most wines come from around the world, though a section features local varieties.
“Ninety-five percent of it is sustainable or organic,” she said. “We try to find producers who are family owned and who do it with the environment in mind.”
Stassen said wine is their main beverage offering, but they also sell beer and some readyto- drink cocktails alongside world cheeses, meats and other prepackaged items.
In the Peninsula Provisions kitchen, Chef Brad Roth creates a variety of items — from cheese boards to dips to salads. Roth said he aims to use seasonal ingredients — like local cheese and produce — whenever possible.
Raised in Leelanau County, he recently moved back to Michigan after working in restaurants in San Francisco.
“My main history is cooking French,” Roth said. “It’s a lot of pates, terrines (similar to a pate) and mousses. This is more deli, more of a cold kitchen.”
He makes a country pate (venison, pork, beef, cherry, apricots and pistachios) and a chicken liver mousse. The salads, he said, are smaller so they are easier to transport. One variety is the pesto couscous, which includes asparagus, cranberries and pine nuts.
“It’s a build-a-picnicbasket kind of place,” Roth said. “Eventually, I hope to do more plated items.”
Stassen added that they hope to host events like tastings, wine education and dinners in the future.
“There is a lot of flexibility,” she said of their new space.
Peninsula Provisions is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 7 p.m. Sundays at 25 S. Lake Leelanau Drive.
Platters for two to 10 people can be ordered from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information and a full menu, visit http://peninsulaprovsionsmi. com/.