Welcome to Walloon Watershed

Walloon Lake’s new bar is three months in and ready to be your go-to spot for a good drink

By Craig Manning | Nov. 30, 2024

Do something different.

From the start, that was the goal husband-and-wife team Matt and Meghan Thatcher were chasing with Walloon Watershed, a new restaurant and bar that opened Walloon Lake in September.

Mission accomplished. From the design of the space to the cocktails, and from the food menu to the beer and wine program, Walloon Watershed is not quite like anything else in northern Michigan.

Thank the business’s origin for that spark of originality. While the Thatchers have deep roots in Walloon Lake—Matt says Meghan’s family “has been on the lake for 42 years”—they aren’t restaurateurs by trade. Walloon Watershed isn’t even the couple’s first local business; that title belongs to the Walloon Lake Boat Company, the private charter boat tour business they started in 2023.

In fact, the only reason Walloon Watershed exists is because the pair noticed what they thought was an unmet need in the village of Walloon Lake.

Finding a Niche

“We’ve always had the Barrel Back [an American-themed bar restaurant], and the Walloon Lake Inn [a more upscale spot], which are both fantastic,” Matt says. “And then there’s a new general store that just opened, and we also have the Hotel Walloon. But I felt like there was room for one more bar/restaurant that would split the difference between, let’s say, what the Barrel Back is and what the Walloon Lake Inn is.”

It was in conversations with boat charter clients that Matt started getting the sense that “people in the village were looking for somewhere to go and something to do besides what was there.” Add a post-COVID spike in Walloon Lake tourism and a “local wine boom” that Matt credits to the Petoskey Wine Trail, and the time seemed ripe for a new restaurant.

“Plus, the building we moved into was basically the last space in the village,” Matt adds. “There are basically no more vacancies anywhere in the village. So, Meghan and I decided that this was the last opportunity for us to do something like this. And if we didn’t, someone else would.”

The idea of bridging the gap between the existing offerings in Walloon Lake informed many of the decisions the Thatchers have made about their new business. Take the design of the space, which Matt describes as “if Ralph Lauren had a baby with northern Michigan”—in other words, a mix between swanky upscale and relaxed, lakeside approachability.

Put the restaurant’s “wine cellar” space in the swanky column. That glassed-in room is apportioned off from the main part of the restaurant by wrought-iron-frame sliding doors and is appointed with custom-made bookcases that hold every bottle of wine Walloon Watershed has to offer. Matt says it’s already become a popular spot for private wine tastings.

The wine cellar is not the only very custom thing in the restaurant either. Per Matt, every single piece of furniture is also custom-built.

“We didn’t use any commercial bars or tables,” he says. “Our equipment, our tables, chairs, it’s all custom. We’ve got a beautiful 15-chair marble bar with a triple waterfall front edge. Everything’s totally unique.”

Many of those custom pieces are designed to temper the more luxurious aspects of Walloon Watershed with a homier feel. Most of the tables, for instance, were made from reclaimed wood. Add circular booths with cushy seating areas and a floor “layered with antique Persian rugs,” and you start to get the cozier vibe.

Discovery Mode

The Thatchers have tried to strike a similar balance between upscale and approach with their food and drink menus.

The food is all “elevated shared plates” with a seasonal spin. Autumn inclusions include a house-made chili, nachos made with seasoned short rib meat, and a trio of pizza-like flatbreads. Spring and summer menus, meanwhile, will likely pivot more toward seafood; think oysters, caviar, shrimp, and light sandwiches made to be enjoyed on Walloon Watershed’s 1,300-square-foot patio space.

On the beer and wine side, Matt tells Northern Express that his goal was to take customers on a journey and “expand their horizons.” Rather than stocking the beers every local restaurant seems to have on tap—a Bell’s Two Hearted, for instance, or a Short’s Local’s Light—the beer choices lean less familiar. Highlights include the Rezolute IPA from Drafting Table Brewing Company in Wixom, Michigan, or the Million Dollar Dog, a house-made lager only available at Walloon Watershed.

It’s a similar story for wine.

“There’s so many good smaller vineyards, whether it’s Napa, Sonoma, Oregon, Washington, or even local Petoskey wines, and that stuff deserves to be recognized,” Matt says. “When you come in and look at my wine menu, you may recognize a few names, but there’s going to be a lot of names on there that are less familiar. But they are all fantastic wines that I myself have hand-picked, because I think they’re just off-the-charts amazing.”

Cocktail Corner

Given that you’re currently reading Northern Express’s annual spirits issue, we’d be remiss if we didn’t spend some time talking about cocktails. The goal there, Matt says, was to find ways to spotlight the distilleries that exist right out Walloon Watershed’s back door.

“We have so many good distilleries in the area, whether it's Foggy Mountain over in Boyne Falls, Mammoth Distillery down in Central Lake, or Gypsy Distillery and High Five Spirits, both in Petoskey,” he says. “We really wanted to showcase as much local stuff as possible.”

Similar to the food menu, the cocktail list will shift from season to season. Earlier in the fall, the Watershed had a series of spooky, Halloween-themed cocktails on the menu (think lots of pumpkin spice). “Now we’re moving into our winter stuff—so, Spanish coffees and Christmas-inspired cocktails that get you in the holiday mood,” Matt says.

Some cocktails will likely stick around no matter the season, though, thanks to their quickly-growing status as fan favorites.

“We’re becoming famous for our Espresso Martini,” Matt says, laughing. “When one person orders one, I feel like the whole bar starts ordering them.”

Fantastic Fall

Whether it’s thanks to the food, the drinks, or the atmosphere, things seem to be off to a strong start at Walloon Watershed since the restaurant opened its doors on September 15.

“I think we got a boost in business because of the hurricane coming through in Florida, which meant a lot of people who summer here stayed up in northern Michigan a lot longer,” Matt muses. “Normally, they would have traveled back to their homes in Florida a little sooner. So, as a result, September was crazy busy, October was really good, and even November has been fantastic.”

While Matt fully expects business to slow down as winter arrives, he’s feeling positive about the off-season for two reasons.

“I think it helps that my wife and I are always in here, so we’re always the first ones to say hi to you and greet you, or to come over and hang out and chat and get to know you,” he says. “I think we’ve created a really warm environment, and we feel really optimistic that our regular customers will continue to visit us all winter.”

The other reason?

“Once we get snow on the ground, we’re only 12 minutes away from Boyne Mountain, so we’re expecting a lot of ski traffic.”

Find Walloon Watershed at 4128 M-75 in Walloon Lake. (231) 535-6048; walloonwatershed.com