From surviving to thriving: Julienne Tomatoes celebrates 20 years

PETOSKEY — Having survived many crises and challenges, Julienne Tomatoes, 421 Howard St., celebrated 20 years of business by giving back to the community.

“I had a dream since I was a young lady to open a restaurant and it was very important to me that I followed through with my dream of opening a restaurant because I didn't want to have regret,” owner Julie Adams said.

“I didn't want to get to my 50s, 60s, 70s and say, ‘Gosh, I wonder what would have happened if I had done this,’ or ‘Geez, I wish I would have done that’ or kicking myself because I didn't do what was kind of always in my head, in my heart. I'm still passionate about it. It's still very rewarding. Has it gotten easier? Absolutely not, it never does. It's the restaurant business and it's tough, but you should know what you're getting into when you get in it. And I did.”

In 2003, Adams opened the restaurant with her then-husband Tom. The name for the restaurant came from their first names; Julie became Julienne, a method of cutting produce that creates matchstick sized slices, and Tom became Tomatoes.

More: Julienne Tomatoes partners with Northmen Den for food drive to fill youth pantries

More: After flood damage, Julienne Tomatoes receives 'overwhelmingly generous' community support

“It is hard to believe that it's 20 years and looking back say, wow, we survived the housing bubble and the economy crashed in 2008 and 2009. And then 2010 I had a pretty serious injury to my leg. And then, of course, I divorced in 2015. And then the pandemic for two years and then of course, the flood,” Adams said.

“For me personally, as a business owner, I have a commitment and that's to my crew, my community, my business and all my purveyors and I'm not a quitter, and I'm not one to give up. I'm a fighter.”

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged many local businesses, Julienne Tomatoes was one of the lucky restaurants that pulled through. Almost exactly a year ago, as the restaurant was starting the process of recovering from the impact of the pandemic, Adams and restaurant manager Cally Plummer got a call in the middle of the night that their basement had been flooded with sewer water.

The flood practically destroyed the basement and everything in it, including the coolers and freezers the business relied on to store their food. Adams, Plummer, their crew and a local cleaning company worked for weeks to clean and repair the damage.

The restaurant opened up again in July, halfway through their busiest season, the time they normally use to build up a financial cushion to make it through the colder months.

“We all just stuck together and honestly getting through the pandemic really trained us to be able to survive the flood. It sounds crazy now, but (we said) ‘OK, we know how to do this, we’ve got to adjust or pivot,’” Adams said.

One year later, Julienne Tomatoes is back to serving the community with good food and charitable work. Back in March, the business partnered with Northmen Den for the “Give a Kid A Chance” food drive and for their anniversary celebration, they hosted an event to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwestern Michigan.

On May 7, Julienne Tomatoes hosted a sold-out brunch, which they charged $25 per ticket to attend. That money went directly to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwestern Michigan, along with additional donations.

“We didn't really want to celebrate us,” Adams said. “The point was to recognize the fact that it's been 20 years, but not to spend a bunch of money on us for what? Balloons, flowers, cake? So we wanted to direct our spending toward something to benefit the community.”

More: 'We're back:' Julienne Tomatoes bounces back from basement flood

Subscribe: Check out our latest offers and read the local news that matters to you

According to Adams, the reason she chose to work with Big Brothers Big Sisters is because of the recent shooting at Michigan State.

“It's really hard to just send prayers or ‘Michigan State Strong’ or whatever, and then two days later you go on with your life and everyone down there is still suffering and their lives are changed forever," she said. "This is happening to our kids, and what can we do from an individual standpoint? Because you do feel helpless and so, this is what we thought we could do.”

Adams doesn’t have the final tally for the amount raised but she believes they surpassed their goal of $2,500 because there were many donations made in addition to the sold-out ticket sales.

Since reopening last summer and recently getting back to working with the community through charity, Julienne Tomatoes customers have been letting Adams and the restaurant crew know that they are grateful to have them in Petoskey.

“That's what keeps me going. When I hear things like that, it's like I know why I'm doing it, but when I hear people say, ‘Oh, my gosh, we're so glad that you made it through the flood,’ that made me feel good,” Adams said. “We put our heads down and busted it out and got through that and that we are still there and that we are still offering that place where you can bring your friend or your family when they're in town — that feels good to hear people say and that they're still saying it, that keeps me going.”

— Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter, @Tess_Petoskey.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Julienne Tomatoes celebrates 20 years by giving back to community