L’ATTITUDE IS BEING reborn.
A couple of months after suspending operations, the troubled restaurant/bar with arguably the most attractive space and best location in Marquette will reopen in mid-May.
Restaurateur Joe Constance and the most recent general manager of L’Attitude, Jill Hayes, are the partners in the new venture. Hayes will be the managing partner.
They’ve worked out a management agreement with Steve Nagelkirk who owns the business and the property. Nagelkirk, who had previously taken an active role in L’Attitude, will instead be devoting his full energies to his landscaping business. He recently took over Meisters on M-28. He admits he’s far more comfortable dealing with landscaping than with food and beverage.
So what can we expect at the new L’Attitude?
Constance says 1) small plates, 2) quick service, 3) good service, 4) an extensive drink list. He calls it a “bistro.” It will not be a full service restaurant with big meals, it will not be family diner. It’ll be a place to casually snack on good food, while drinking and enjoying the view across from Mattson Park and Lake Superior.
Hayes is now working on a re-design of the menu.
She’s also interviewing prospective employees this weekend. Constance says some of L’Attitude’s former employees will be rehired.
Will this new version of L’Attitude work? Cliche alert!! Only time will tell.
In the past, L’Attitude has been troubled by bad or inconsistent service, a changing menu, truncated hours, and a lack of identity. It started essentially as a high class coffee bar serving breakfasts, then passed through phases as a dinner spot, a bar, a bistro, a…it was hard to say exactly what it was and what it would serve. It was just a great space in a great location.
And it was forbiddingly cold…and empty…in the winter.
That’ll be the challenge for Constance and Hayes. Summers are wonderful at L’Attitude (Singular! It is not L’Attitudes or L’Attitude’s) when you can eat and drink outside and feel the sun warming your face. The crowds will be there.
But it’ll need more to succeed when the sun disappears and the temperatures drop. An identity. A brand. A uniqueness.
It would seem to be the ideal venue for a young professionals happy hour, five days a week, doesn’t it? Half price drinks, half price appetizers? Something to consistently attract a local crowd, rather than just the tourists.
That’s something for Constance and Hayes to figure out. Good luck to them.
Now, about the Upfront…..
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