Mackinac Island's J.L. Beanery Now To Offer Evening Meals
By Eric Fish

New J.L. Beanery owner Jason Klonowski serves coffee to a customer on May 15. He and his wife, Suzanne, purchased the business last December from previous owners Bruce and Diana Rochowiak. The Klonowskis have upgraded the facility to wireless Internet and plan to extend business hours in peak tourist season with nightly dinner specials.

He worked 12 summers on Mackinac Island, nine of them at the Mustang Lounge. His parents owned a business, the Forget Me Not Shop, for 10 seasons. Now, Jason Klonowski and his wife, Suzanne, are, themselves, business owners.

The couple, who reside during the winter in Brighton, purchased J.L. Beanery last December from Bruce and Diana Rochowiak, who owned the coffee and muffin shop for five years.

"Really, what intrigued us was the location here right on the water, which we love, and the fact it's Mackinac Island," Mr. Klonowski said.

Nestled just east of the marina, the little restaurant is a place many go in the morning to read the paper and meet friends. Now they will be able to stop by for dinner, because the Klonowskis plan to incorporate a slightly different business scheme.

Before Memorial Day weekend, the Klonowskis will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the week and from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. Once tourist season picks up, the hours will be extended to 9 p.m. each night, later than in past years.

"We're going to have some dinner, some light dinner special type things, every night in the season," Mr. Klonowski said. "The dinner thing will add a new twist to it; it will set us apart a little bit."

Evening dinner specials and a variety of drinks, smoothies, and freshly baked sweets will keep the business competitive with the other coffee shops on the Island, he said.

"Mackinac Island is known for the uniqueness," Mr. Klonowski said. "You have the horse driven carriages, no cars, all that good stuff. You have the beautiful charm of this community, and that's why I think J.L Beanery fits in so nicely."

The Klonowskis will be operating the business with four or five helpers during the summer months and plan to operate the business until the end of October. Mr. Klonowski will be handling the main duties until June 10, when Mrs. Klonowski and their children come up for the summer, instead of just weekends. Their four children are Jacob, 5, Jillian, 3, Joseph, 2, and Joshua, six months.

"I miss them," Mr. Klonowski said. "I talk to them on the phone a lot. That's why it's really great that she's such a trooper and comes up on the weekends. Four little ones like that and back and fourth, it's not easy."

But for the new owners, maintaining J.L. Beanery has been a pleasure since they opened May 5.

"We've got a lot of positive feedback," Mr. Klonowski said. "We're excited for the season, it has already been a great start."