Eating like a Local in Alpena, Part 3 of 3

This is the final installation of our three part series featuring the growing local food scene of the picturesque port of Alpena! Read on to find the best beer drinking hangout, locally roasted, fair trade coffee beans, fresh local produce, and more!

Final Top Five Locally-Sourced Food Venues in Alpena: 

1.With an industrial railroad track location (and a nod to Alpena’s blue collar manufacturing history), Austin Brothers Beer Company’s rustic and innovative location is hip and has proven time and again that their place is worth a stop. Serving lunch, dinner, and some of the best brews on the Sunrise Side, this brewery/restaurant never disappoints. Be sure to ask about their tours!

2. Cabin Creek Coffee is a family-owned coffee shop that takes organic, fair trade coffee beans and roasts them in Alpena. Plus, they offer a full sandwich, salad, and soup menu, and source produce from their manager (who also happens to be the farmer/owner of Coop Creations). 

3. The Courtyard, a landmark restaurant in Alpena just across the street from Lake Huron, has their own onsite garden and one of the only Catch and Cook programs in Alpena. Their rotating live bands and cocktail specials are pretty great, too.  

4. There’s a whole community of people that come from, or through Alpena, looking to stock up their lake cottages with groceries for the summer. One of your best bets in the summer, and year-round, is Neiman’s Family Market, sourcing from local TLD partners such as Standen Acres, Wandering Winds Farm, Leeseberg Farms, Pour Boy’s Honey, and Presque Isle Farm

5. Kipfmiller’s Produce and Meats is another amazing grocery option for those looking for Michigan-sourced goodies. They not only buy contracts for the production of substantial acreage to support fruit and veggie farmers throughout the state, but they also make spectacular sausages to boot. 

If you haven’t already, take a look at the Eating Like a Local in Alpena Part 1 and Part 2 of this series to see all the glory of this small town!

Molly Stepanski is the Local Food Coordinator for northeast Michigan. She enjoys reading with her six year old, planting and hiking in the dirt, cooking up her own recipes, drinking farmhouse cider, and eating lots of fresh, seasonal produce (and anything deep-fried, in accordance with her southern heritage). She owns and operates Presque Isle Farm with her family and is a founding member of the Huron Shores Local Food Coalition. Contact her at [email protected]