As a player in the tough Detroit advertising market for nearly 35 years,
Keith Jolly knew he had to get off the hamster wheel. Besides selling
and schmoozing, the ad man knew he had a talent for cookies -- and not
just any cookies, mind you, Jolly's cookies were Michigan State Fair
Blue Ribbon-winning wonders.
It took him five years of dogged
research to make the move, during which time he learned the ins and outs
of running a commercial kitchen, the perils and pleasures of food
handling and how to make a mean latte like a barrista.
Jolly and
his wife Betsy split their time between the Detroit area and
northwestern Michigan, so when the perfect space at 440 E. Mitchell
Street presented itself – a cozy pine-walled former pizzeria in a
100-year-old building with soaring tin ceilings and wood floors – and
after extensive remodeling in the kitchen, Jolly started living his
long-time fantasy.
Jolly's Cookies and Café opened
last month with five employees, including pastry chef Laura Clark,
formerly of the upscale
Boathouse Restaurant on Traverse City's Old
Mission Peninsula, who makes heavenly cupcakes. Add to that Jolly's
excelsior cookies, plus a mouthwatering array of deli sandwiches, fresh
salads, soups, coffee drinks, smoothies, and tables where you can scarf
it all down, about all that's left to do here is stoke up your Bluetooth
device and surf away on the free Wi-Fi.
As soon as his website
is up and running, Jolly plans to offer shipping via Internet.
Writer: Patty LaNoue StearnsSource: Keith Jolly,
Laura Clark
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