TAHQUAMENON FALLS BREWERY & PUB
Tahquamenon Falls State Park
M-123
Paradise
906-492-3300
OWNER: Lark Ludlow
BREWER: Lark Ludlow
FLAGSHIP BEERS: Black Bear Stout, a drinkable stout on the lighter side; Porcupine Pale Ale, a smooth, slightly hoppy beer; Blueberry Ale, a beer made for the annual Paradise Blueberry Festival; Falls Tannin, a red
There may be no better place to drink a beer in our great state than outside on the deck at Tahquamenon Falls Brewery & Pub.
On a winter afternoon, order a beer and stand by the fire. Sip and stare at the fire. Laugh at a joke made by someone you’ve never met before. Sip and stare at the fire. Watch the snow fall. Sip and stare at the fire. Glance up every now and then to see the snow getting deeper. Sip and stare at the fire.
That’s exactly the kind of experience owner Lark Ludlow was going for when she and her brother Barrett designed Tahquamenon Falls Brewery & Pub. They wanted a place that would combine the beautiful scenery of the northern Michigan woods with good food and beer to create an experience like no other. And they wanted to do it in a way that their grandfather, John Barrett, would appreciate.
The land now occupied by the entrance to the state park, the parking lot, and the brewpub once belonged to Barrett. He was a lumberman who bought 164 acres of northern Michigan woods around the famous falls with plans to establish a logging camp. But when Barrett learned that the state was acquiring land for a park, he donated all but two acres of his property to the state.
Graced with an outdoor fireplace that always has a roaring fire, Tahquamenon Falls Brewery & Pub might be the best brewery to visit in the middle of winter.
Barrett appreciated the need to preserve the area around the falls, but he was also a businessman. In talks with the state, he negotiated a deed restriction that mandated the road and parking lot would end three-quarters of a mile from the falls, leaving the falls accessible only by foot. Those two acres he kept would be contiguous to the parking lot so he could build lumber camp–style buildings from which to sell food and souvenirs to tourists. Barrett reasoned that the falls were so remote that people who came to see them would be in need of a drink and a meal after a long drive and hike. Barrett built a large outdoor fireplace, a feature of every lumber camp, to serve as the focal point.
The concessions operated until 1987, when Ludlow and her brother, Barrett, acquired the property. The initial plan was for Barrett to quit his job as a meteorologist to run the concessions while Lark continued her work as a human resources professional in Ithaca, New York. But when they got their first look at the property, they were shocked to find the buildings were beyond repair. Nobody had maintained them over the years, and water had seeped in, rotting the wooden structures. The best option was to tear them down and start over. On the spot of the old camp, they built new lumber camp–style structures for concessions. And, in a nod to their grandfather, they built a large fireplace.
In the mid-1990s, Lark left her job and came to Michigan to help her brother run the concession stand. Soon the two began to think about other ways they could serve the park’s visitors, eventually deciding that a brewpub would be a great addition that would allow them to stay open year-round. Lark would take on brewing responsibilities while Barrett continued to run the concessions.
The siblings designed the brewpub to be upscale rustic. They chose a green and brownish-red color scheme for the interior to bring in elements that reflect the outdoors and the lumber industry. They painted the chairs the same red tone as the iron ore boats that ply Lake Superior a few miles to the north. They built the footrest at the bar out of a piece of salvaged railroad track from a twenty-five-mile dead-straight stretch between Seney and Singleton. The fireplace was built with local stone, and they mounted animal skins and deer and moose heads on the wall.
The result? Lark and Barrett never dreamed they would be so successful. People come for the falls and stay for the beer. “I love it when people walk in the door and say, ‘Wow!’” Lark comments.
Tahquamenon Falls Brewery & Pub owner Lark Ludlow.
Summer brings visitors from all over the world, and the deck is packed with people who sometimes have to wait more than an hour to be seated. Winter brings the most repeat customers—mostly people from the Lower Peninsula, Ohio, Indiana, or Wisconsin who come to snowshoe, cross-country ski, or ride the trails on snowmobiles. (The brewery and pub are open year-round, although they do close for a few weeks in the fall and spring.)
Despite the brewery’s success, there’s a note of regret in Ludlow’s voice when she talks about her grandfather. She knows this brewery would not be here without his vision, and she wishes he had lived long enough to see what his grandchildren have accomplished. Ludlow says he would have appreciated the way the restaurant, gift shop, and covered deck work in harmony with the beautiful forest he helped preserve.