With the many challenges that face any new restaurant, Blue Wolf Grill co-owner Charles Molina knew one thing wouldn't be a problem with his new Washtenaw Avenue restaurant.
"No one has trouble finding us," he says. "You tell everybody you're in the old Taco Bell, and they know what that means. That building is iconic."
While the building may still resemble the well-known fast food restaurant, everything else about the
Blue Wolf Grill is entirely different. The 1,400 square foot restaurant has a focus on fresh, locally sourced ingredients, such as cherries from Traverse City, whitefish from the Great Lakes and coffee from Cadillac.
"The food is American new," says Molina. "It has a lot of different influences, like comfort food, and there is some Asian influence too."
Molina and his girlfriend Cheri Jackson aren't newcomers to the food business or the neighborhood. Their We Cater To U catering company is right on the other side of Washtenaw from the Blue Wolf Grill. And, according to Molina, the rush of new restaurants popping up along the busy avenue has only endeared them to the location even more.
"We welcome it," he says. "The strip between Hewitt and Golfside has been dead for awhile. We look at it as, the more businesses that are here, the more traffic, and the more potential customers who can try our food."
The Blue Wolf Grill opened in mid-December with a staff of 12, and Molina says business is already doing quite well. He has plans to create an outdoor patio to supplement his indoor seating for 34 diners, including landscaping to shelter outdoor diners from Washtenaw traffic.
Source: Charles Molina, Blue Wolf Grill
Writer: Natalie Burg
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