MUNISING, Mich. (WZMQ) – Two Munising businesses, Gallery Coffee and Earl E. Byrds Family Restaurant are planning a future move to Marquette.
Ana Dolaskie and her husband Tom have owned the businesses for years. After a successful partnership in 2024 with the Base Hospitality Group to create the popular Marquette Restaurant ‘Slabz,’ they knew they wanted to expand more to the area.
“In a lot of the sense, you don’t anticipate the sort of welcome that you receive,” said Ana. “That sort of boosted our confidence, if you will, to do a little more in Marquette.”
At the moment, the Dolaskie’s are in early stages of securing funding. Both new locations have been selected, but a large focus has been towards adjusting the venues’ artistic styles to their new and smaller settings, while also bringing their own uniqueness to Marquette.
“The Gallery Coffee space is going to be on a much smaller scale than our 8,000-square-foot Gallery Coffee in Munising, so we definitely have to make it feel cozy, intimate, and just right,” said Ana. “It’ll be interesting to see what we come up with, we’re studying the spaces at the moment, trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t, a lot of creative ideas coming around.”
The couple are hoping for a continued welcoming environment they have seen already. Ana says that even with differences in location, customers can still expect the same quality in service, food, and coffee.
“We’ve had great response with Slabz, we’ve been very fortunate to have found amazing staff and an amazing management team to run that restaurant,” said Ana. “We’re hoping to duplicate that.”
The new spaces in downtown Marquette will be on the corner of West Washington and Front Street. No exact arrival date has been released yet.
To find out more about the businesses and what they have to offer, visit their websites at gallerycoffeeco.com and earlebyrds.com.
