Grand Traverse County Approves $50,000 Loan for New Downtown Restaurant

Owners of a new bar and restaurant in downtown Traverse City intend to boost inventory and create new jobs with a $50,000 Community Development Block Grant loan recently approved by Grand Traverse County commissioners.

The restaurant is Umbo, a seafood-driven concept being launched by chef Sarah Welch, a four-time James Beard nominee and Top Chef finalist known for helming Marrow in Detroit, and chef Cameron Rolka, the culinary force behind Mink, Detroit's critically acclaimed raw bar. Umbo is slated for 430 E. Front St. Both chefs are relocating to northern Michigan to open the restaurant on Front Street in 2026.

The county board received the CDBG application, along with a presentation by Venture North Funding and Development President Laura Galbraith, who helps run the loan program on behalf of the county. As revolving loan fund administrator for Grand Traverse County CDBG funds, Venture North provides low-cost loans to businesses creating jobs within the county.

The CDBG program carries a specific mandate tied to economic equity. Under the county's Citizen Participation Plan, adopted as Resolution 119-2014 and approved September 24, 2014, CDBG grants come before the county board for public input and comment, with approval of applications occurring only after that public comment period closes. The plan requires the county to allow at least 30 days for citizens to weigh in on any proposed Consolidated Plan or Annual Action Plan before submission to HUD.

Venture North is a nonprofit, certified Community Development Financial Institution based in Traverse City whose primary mission is to support economic growth and community development. The organization offers small business loans and resources across Emmet, Charlevoix, Antrim, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Manistee, Wexford, and Missaukee counties.

Traverse City Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Harry Burkholder has said that rising lease rates have pushed some restaurants out of downtown, with those spaces then converted to retail or office, and that "once the kitchen is removed, it becomes significantly more difficult and costly for that space to be returned to restaurant use in the future."

Umbo is one of the more closely watched restaurant openings on Front Street in years. Welch stepped down as chef at Marrow, the acclaimed Detroit restaurant and butcher shop she helped launch in 2018, which was a James Beard Foundation semi-finalist for Best New Restaurant in 2019, with Welch nominated three times in the Best Chef in the Great Lakes category. The county's loan gives the project a foothold to build out its inventory before opening its doors to the public.