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Salt2Sugar

Salt2Sugar

sugar2salt.com
SHARE THIS SUCCESS STORY
My successes.

Almost 10 years ago, in January 2015, when we envisioned owning and operating a restaurant, we also set up our first appointment with our SCORE mentors. We worked with Andy Powell and Chuck Downey. One moment that stands out in my memory about our first meeting was the authentic enthusiasm that Andy and Chuck shared with us and our desire to be restaurateurs. They were the catalysts that helped us believe that we could get our business off the ground and do the work we love in kitchens and hospitality. 

Fast forward two rapid years later, on January 1st, 2017, our restaurant and catering company, Sugar 2 Salt (S2S), had a business plan, our first lease on a kitchen and dining space at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, and we were working on our business loan with Traverse City State Bank. With the encouragement and support of our family and community, we were finally taking the first steps to open Traverse City's newest restaurant, a concept dedicated to using a from-scratch cooking approach with local agricultural products and seasonal ingredients guiding our daily menu changes.

The first couple of years were a giant learning curve for us with all the details our SCORE mentors indicated we would be dealing with. Licensing, payroll, employee management, and paying our taxes were a challenge at first, though each year, it got easier. We survived COVID in 2020 purely with the determination to keep moving forward and being unwilling to give up our dream. Our family worked really hard during that time to make it all work, and we were fortunate to have a helpful crew to carry us through. 

Today, our dream has come true. When you walk through our restaurant's front door, you will see that our business is going great, and we are constantly thankful to be doing the work we love to do. We appreciate our S2S community of customers who have become our friends and getting to meet new visitors every single day. We are fortunate to have an incredible crew of hospitality and culinary professionals, our employees who show up and give their very best in service and attention to all details a busy restaurant and catering company demands. We feel proud to be part of a growing group of businesses supporting sustainable food service practices, from many fabulous farms and farmers to nonprofit organizations like Groundworks, who bring even more attention to the need for us to work together to create a healthier community.  

We know a foundational component of our success has been the many mentors we have been fortunate to work with from the very beginning. This includes our family, previous managers, and industry friends who have been there for us all along the way. Whenever someone reaches out to us with a request for advice about starting a restaurant or any business, we tell them to begin with SCORE. The best part is when we hear back from them that they listened to our advice and that SCORE helped them get their business idea off the ground.

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202 E Grandview Parkway Suite 201
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Traverse City MI 49684
1-800-634-0245

Copyright © 2025 SCORE Association, SCORE.org

Funded, in part, through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.

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