We recently connected with Alexandria Palzewicz and have shared our conversation below.
Alexandria, appreciate you joining us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.
Northwoods Test Kitchen (NTK) operates under the umbrella of Barrel + Beam, a farmhouse and barrel-aged focused brewery located in Marquette, Michigan. Our kitchen is small 12 by 17 feet in dimension, and was previously an unused space for the establishment. The kitchen is all electric, with no gas stoves or deep fryers. We use a few induction burners, and half-size electric convection ovens to do our cooking. We like to keep things simple, though you’d be surprised what we can do out of the small space.
Although our space is simple, our sourcing is not. We focus on local sourcing as much as possible for a multitude of reasons. Our kitchen sources on average 70% regional and local ingredients from cheeses and maple sugar, to produce, meats and value added items. We purchase through local food distributors like the Upper Peninsula Food Exchange in the UP and Cherry Capital Foods of Traverse City. We patron local grocery stores for Wisconsin summer sausage, local dairy products and dried Michigan fruit. Lastly, we source directly from growers and producers by picking up orders at the weekly Downtown Marquette Farmers Market, or getting deliveries from our egg supplier.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I grew up in the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan, where I raised chickens, rabbits, goats and sheep for 4-H. In the fall I’d sit in the deer blind with family, and when I was sixteen I got my first job as an ice cream parlor server inside a resort nestled on an Island on the Menominee River. I ended up working at the job for almost 7 years (taking breaks for college). I worked almost every front of house position on the food and beverage side of the resort, including banquets, bartender, server and restaurant manager.
In 2013, I graduated from Northern Michigan University’s Hospitality Management program. In the program, you were required to take a few culinary classes, the one aspect of the industry I didn’t really have experience in. Only a week or two into classes I had fallen in love with the back of the house and being in the kitchen.
After graduating, and spending some time in Europe traveling, I moved to Seattle where I got a my first ever kitchen job in a downtown hotel restaurant. For a side hustle and to get more exposure to the PNW local food scene I got a job as a server at a well known farm to table focused restaurant, the London Plane. I eventually snagged a kitchen job at Stateside, a fine-dining French-Vietnamese restaurant in a well known neighborhood. They had just been announced 2016 Restaurant of the Year by Seattle Met Magazine when I applied. I didn’t get the job at first (something I found out months later). But things worked out that they needed more help, so they called me in. I remember my second day training was New Year’s Day brunch shift. I watched my co-worker getting plumpeted with sandwich orders, so before I knew it I was making bánh mì sandwiches next to him. I didn’t blame them for not hiring me, my knife skills left a lot to be desired and I was really green – but I kept my head down and by the time I left that job I had worked every position on the line (some of which I was better at than others for sure).
Eventually I moved back to the Upper Peninsula, where I spent 4 years working as the Local Food Coordinator for Taste the Local Difference. My job involved getting to know the farmers, growers, produces, brewers, chefs and food focused folks of the UP.
At Barrel and Beam, I get to see the brewers pour their hearts and passion into brewing great beers that I myself love to drink because they are both delicous, and they also source 70% Michigan ingredients in their recipes. After thinking about adding a kitchen space for over three years, we’ve finally designed and built a space where we can create food to compliment all that effort in the brewery. I strive to provide a menu of accessible and thoughtful food. Food that considers diet restrictions, that utilizes local sources and supports local community while trying to keep costs affordable. We call ourselves Northwoods Test Kitchen because we want to always be creative, and have space to adapt and grow, hence the ‘Test.’ We are privileged to be in the old Northwoods Supper Club, a space that once was a community hub for events, something Barrel + Beam strives to continue.
In the Summer, Northwoods Test Kitchen is open when Barrel + Beam is open (Tuesday – Sunday; 12noon – 10pm). Hot food is served until 9pm, with a late night menu available until 10pm. Additionally we provide on and off-site catering services for small events, or appetizers for larger events.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I think my reputation has been built by all the time I give to my community, our customers and our amazing staff. I’ll admit that I know I work too much sometimes, but I love to do it. In my job, I get to be surrounded by community, friends and folks who feel like family. You’ll see me catering events around town, helping organizations host fundraisers at Barrel + Beam or lugging heavy bags of produce and meat purchases around the Saturday farmers market.
To me, investing my time and my purchasing power in my community is the best way to create longevity for our business and purpose in life.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
Nick VanCourt and Marina Dupler, co-owners of Barrel and Beam Brewery are from the same hometown area as me, us all growing up in Menominee County in the Upper Peninsula. I went to school with Marina’s younger sister, and remember the first time I met them was actually when I was with her sister and we stopped to visit them on our way to a music festival when I was in high school in the late 2000’s.
My first opportunity to interact with Nick as a brewer was in Marquette in 2013, when I was finishing college, was the first time I really got a chance to interact with Nick. It was at a beer dinner I had organized at the Wild Rover in Downtown Marquette. Nick had been head brewer at the Ore Dock at the time, and I was the restaurant manager. Listening to Nick talk about beer was incredible, and the dinner was a big success. 10 years later, this past winter we were able to host our own beer dinner in our Barrel Room at the brewery.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://barrelandbeam.com/northwoods-test-kitchen/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/northwoodstestkitchen/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/northwoodstestkitchen