Karl's Cuisine closing after 20 years
SAULT STE. MARIE — Downtown Soo restaurant Karl's Cuisine, Winery and Brewery is closing its doors after 20 years.
The local restaurant has been a part of the Upper Peninsula for decades, beginning as a small restaurant the size of a bakery, before expanding to include a winery, brewery and mini golf course.
Karl and Paula Nelson were working at the same restaurant in Oakland County in 1980 when they met for the first time. She was a waitress and he was a cook with experience in French cuisine. It wasn't long until they were married. After they tied the knot they began working their way across the country.
The couple spent decades together, moving from city to city, working in various restaurants, including a restaurant in Lexington, Kentucky, a country club in West Bloomfield and many more.
In 1995, a job in Cedarville took the couple to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where they continue to live to this day.
When their three kids grew into teenagers, the couple decided they had enough time on their hands to open their own place.
Karl's Cuisine opened its doors for the first time in a renovated bakery in Pickford in 2002. The small restaurant mainly sold delivery and take-out food to nearby schools and other businesses. Eventually their delivery program became popular in the Soo, and the couple moved their business into downtown Sault Ste. Marie.
After moving to the Soo, the focus of Karl's Cuisine became their lunch menu. Then they moved locations to be further downtown. In 2015, the restaurant opened its doors in its new and current location in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, right next to the Soo Locks.
This new location presented the couple with many expansion options and within two years of opening its new location, Karl's Cuisine was also home to a winery, brewery and a mini golf course that already existed attached to the building.
For many years, the couple was happy to raise their kids in the Soo and make food for their neighbors and fellow residents.
"Some people eat to live, but we live to eat," said Paula Nelson. "We're really passionate about food and we love working together."
Now, with both Paula and Karl in their 60s and having been in the restaurant business for a combined 75 years, the couple has decided to close their doors for good.
"When you get to our age your body starts to wear out, it can be hard to keep up with the work," Paula said. "Most people try to move to an executive position and get out of the kitchen around 55."
The couple wants to take some time off and enjoy not working for the first time in decades, but they don't want to give up on their passion of making food for their community.
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"We want to continue, we love the food and we have no intention of leaving the area," said Paula. "We would love to see the Soo get its own food truck court we could be a part of."
The couple plans to open Karl's Cuisine food truck sometime in 2023. While they haven't decided on the name of the truck, they know it will be a continuation of the restaurant they built and will continue to be part of the community.
The location of their restaurant has been sold to new owners, who plan to lease it out to prospective new restaurants.
The Nelsons hope their building, and the equipment they leave behind, will provide an opportunity for other aspiring cooks and chefs in the community.
"I think it's really important that people realize how much we love our customers and that we have the best customers ever. It was wonderful being a part of our community," said Paula. "We've just been so blessed."
The restaurant is closed to the public now but open for reservations and catering through the end of 2022.
— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Karl's Cuisine is closing its doors and transitioning to a food truck
