Pellston Market
Learn and lounge at this laid-back gourmet grocery.
By Patty LaNoue Stearns
In a remote outpost where specialty items are scarce, Pellston Market is an epicurean’s oasis. Food adventurers find old-fashioned cases and gleaming refrigerated counters filled with lusciously prepared foods such as fresh-fruit tartlets, scones, organic baguettes, crusty sandwiches, crème fraîche, and curry-seasoned chicken breasts and fresh tuna steaks to take home for dinner. Everywhere, antiques mingle with fine art, brightly colored faience pottery, flowers and baskets brimming with fresh produce.
Nancy Kelly admits to acting on impulse when she opened a gourmet shop last summer in a former gas station in the tiny village of Pellston (population 771), famed for its record-low temperatures.
"I thought that the icebox of the nation would be a great place to put a food business," Kelly says.
Since opening in July 2004 Kelly has added indoor seating for 26, group cooking classes and lavish private dinner parties with Kelly’s collection of antique silver, china, glassware and fresh flowers adorning each table. Kelly is the goddess of cheese and olive oil and Venezuelan chocolate and loves introducing her customers to her favorite brands. A fragrant secret garden grows outside, where you can sip on organic coffee or lunch on Kelly’s exquisite sandwiches, such as the pan-seared roast beef with caramelized onions.
It’s a sweet breath of Paris in Pellston, and Kelly can pull it off, having spent seven years working in Paris under teacher, author and chef John Desmond, then returning every summer to Northern Michigan to cater in Harbor Springs. She also cheffed with Pete Peterson at Tapawingo and was featured in the HGTV series The Good Life.
Try one of her Belgian chocolate-chip cookies or a salmon sandwich on the garden patio. Pellston Market is at U.S. 31 and State Street. Call 231-539-7100 for more information. For upcoming dinners and events, visit www.chefnancykelly.com.

Patty LaNoue Stearns is a contributing editor for TRAVERSE. patty@traversemagazine.com