Feeling Good, Eating Well

The ethos behind BeeSmooth Cafe (and the coming-soon Buzz Cafe and Bakery!)

By Geri Dietze | March 22, 2025

A conscious effort to provide healthy, flavorful food is what drives BeeSmooth Café, Manistee’s light, bright, and eclectic eatery.

Operating since 2023, the café serves fresh and tasty traditional café fare, including vegan, gluten-, sugar-, and allergen-free options. (One person’s restrictions are another person’s choices!) Food allergies are serious business; according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, six percent of adults and an estimated eight percent of children have one or more food allergies. Crunch the numbers and that adds up to millions of Americans.

BeeSmooth is the dream of Natasha Partridge, a Flint native who learned her craft working just about every restaurant job there is, from the drive-through window to management-level positions, gaining experience in top tier restaurants and in catering jobs both large and small throughout the state. She is a certified personal chef through IAP Career College, and her business plan includes a super menu with amazing—aka reasonable—pricing.

So how does she do it? “I can run the whole place myself,” she explains, “so my labor costs are not high.” (Partridge maintains a small part-time staff to handle busy times.)

A New Start in a New Spot

Before we dive into the delicious menu, an important announcement! The Buzz Café and Bakery, the new iteration of BeeSmooth, will open in May, at 390 River Street in downtown Manistee.

The new place will have a fresh palette of pink, green, gold, and while the menu will be very similar, there will be some modifications and additions. Burgers, for example, are off the menu, but new bowl choices and expanded baked goods will be added. Along with the three current local beekeepers, The Buzz Café will add premium fruit and honey products from Wee Bee Jammin of Bear Lake, as well as flax seed, oils, spirulina, collagen, and plant protein powder.

The Buzz Café and Bakery will be a “more intimate setting,” Partridge explains, “with counter access and guest wifi.” Outdoor tables, in season, will increase seating to around 25, about half of the current BeeSmooth site, but with a grab and go deli, as well as table service, Partridge is confident The Buzz Café will handle the numbers with aplomb.

“It’s the perfect location, with Riverwalk in the back,” she says, “and it’s quite beautiful.” The new Buzz Café and Bakery will be open 6am to 4pm, seven days a week.

Healthy Food You WANT to Eat

Now, back to the food.

There is something for everyone at BeeSmooth/soon to be Buzz. All day breakfast includes combos of eggs, meats, potatoes, pancakes, or waffles, regular and GF. For something different, order the Shakshuka Eggs, two fried eggs on a rich tomato base with seasoned chickpeas, feta, kale, and a side of pita. Or try a breakfast Busy Bee Bowl, with interesting flavor variations like Biscuits & Gravy Bowl, Southwest Bowl, and Chorizo Bowl. We like the Sweet Potato Bowl, with a sweet potato base and your choice of sweet and fruity (with flax, chia, peanut butter, and maple syrup) or savory (with kale, quinoa, crispy chickpeas, avocado, soft boiled egg, and side of tahini dressing).

House-made sandwiches, salads, and soups are flavorful and creative. Go for the Bee A Brie, with grilled brie, special mayo, Granny Smith apple, red onion, bacon, and turkey; or the Salmon Sub, made with lightly blackened salmon on a buttered bun with garlic aioli, spring mix, and mango slaw. Vegans will love the Chickpea Quinoa Patty or the Coconut Turmeric Curry, featuring veggies in sweet and savory curry sauce served over quinoa. (Add shrimp or chicken if so desired.)

An array of baked goods—cakes, pies, breads, muffins, and cookies—are both traditionally made and made allergen-free for those with dietary restrictions. For example, the delicious Honeycomb Cakes are always gluten-free. And look for vegan muffins and pie every week.

Where did Partridge get the idea for the alternative baked goods? “[There’s] been an increase in customer requests,” Partridge explains. “I think health has been on a lot of people’s minds, especially since 2020.”

Baked goods go on sale every week, so watch for running specials. And because everyone has a fur buddy, house-made Doggy Treats, with sales donated to Repo’s Rescues, and Cat Treats, with sales going to the Little Rascals Cat Sanctuary, are always available.

More to Explore

The menu is big and deserves a longer look, so also know that you will find specialty drinks, including hot or cold lattes, cold brew coffee, flavored fruit lemonades, Italian sodas, fresh fruit smoothies, and smoothie bowls on the list. The café’s juice cleanses, made from fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices, are good any time, including before or after big events and holidays.

And save room for the Sweet Dessert Bowls—vegan ice cream and your choice of toppings.

And still, there is more. Partridge offers catering for groups of 10 to 200, with a special entrees selection. (At Thanksgiving, keep BeeSmooth/Buzz in mind: They have a traditional Thanksgiving to go with oven roasted turkey, apple-sage stuffing, gravy, sweet potato casserole, plus more, and some special sides such as Baked Mac and Cheese.)

Personal Chef Natasha also provides in-home services, both for those who are too busy to shop and cook and for those who are making healthy lifestyle changes. Menu planning, grocery shopping, in-home cooking, refrigerator/freezer packaging, heating instructions, and clean-up are included.

One client, for example, had survived a heart attack, but realized that he did not know how to plan and cook healthy meals. Partridge stepped in and created a plan for heart-healthy breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.

Find BeeSmooth Café at 215 Arthur St. Manistee (and the future Buzz Café and Bakery at 390 River Street). (231) 299-1144; beesmoothcafe.com