![]() In the kitchen, Chef Anton follows the same training philosophy for his brigade and shares the same commitment as the Danielsons in showcasing foods grown and raised in northern Michigan. “The staff finds out from the guests where they’d like to go, and using the familiar ‘maps’ as references,” guides them toward an exceptional experience that suits them, whether by the straightest route or exploring the back roads.” “Each menu - food and beverage - serves as a navigational tool,” said Danielson. And given the longevity of the core front of the house crew, many of the classes are now at master level. In addition to writing the beverage list (she is an accomplished sommelier), Danielson manages a continual, intensive training program for Stella’s servers and bartenders that includes every aspect of hospitality, with a particular focus on wine. “I learn everything with the intention of teaching, which necessitates much more than gaining a superficial knowledge.” “I have always been a reader, writer, and teacher, no matter what the subject,” said Danielson. “And Maureen Loftus has been a server since day one - she continues to be our doyenne of fine service.” Many other employees have been with the restaurant for over a decade. Other culinary industry colleagues from Detroit followed, contributing their expertise to getting the restaurant off the ground: “Alfiero Silveri came to help train staff and open the restaurant, returning a couple years later as our general manager,” said Danielson. On our way out, Myles paused, standing on the terrazzo, and said, ‘So, this is my kitchen.’ That was how he accepted the position, and he has since become our partner.” We picked our way through the mess, with Paul and I describing our vision to Myles while no doubt being dusted with asbestos and lead-laden paint chips. The arches were crumbling, and there were holes in the ceiling that allowed glimpses of the floor upstairs. “The three of us went in and crossed the original terrazzo floor in what is now the kitchen and navigated the dining room over a series of wooden planks set over the trenches where the in-floor heating would eventually be laid under concrete. “Walking across the lawn toward the back door before any real work had been done was like a scene in a post-apocalyptic film,” said Amanda Danielson, co-owner and beverage director of Trattoria Stella. When it came to choosing an executive chef, Myles Anton, a talented and experienced culinary professional and old friend from Detroit, was at the top of a very short list, so they reached out and invited him to come and see the space – in its original condition. “Not only the exterior but also the physical atmosphere of the interior - exposed brick, concrete floors, and arches - could be down a small street in an Italian town,” said Danielson.īut the aspiring restaurateurs realized a daunting task lay ahead them before “what was” became “what would be,” and before getting too far into it, they wanted to make sure they had the right team in place to create their dream. And in the end, that turned out to be the best choice. Finding that their first choice of venue within the structure was beyond what they could afford, they settled on the basement of the long-abandoned asylum, a former root cellar, which in its future incarnation would be known as the garden level. They knew they wanted someplace historic - at least for the New World - and when they came upon the stately 19th-century yellow brick, Victorian-Italianate style Building 50 in what is now the Village at Grand Traverse Commons, they knew they had found it.Īlthough the property was in a dismal state of disrepair, as fate would have it, the Minervini Group had just started an extensive renovation. When Detroit native Amanda Danielson and her husband, Paul, moved to Traverse City in March of 2000 with a five-year plan to open an Italian restaurant, they immediately began exploring possible locations for it. The owners knew they had to create a total experience that would enable guests to suspend reality once they sat down and allow themselves to be transported to a cozy trattoria in Italy. Although the whole property was under redevelopment at the time, many windows on the floors above the restaurant were still broken, and caged porches loomed above its front door. Opening back in 2004, it was the first and only business in Building 50, part of the former State Hospital - also known as the Northern Michigan Asylum. Without a lot of vision and a big leap of faith, this well-loved and highly respected Traverse City eatery would never have come to be. Trattoria Stella Old World Italian in one of Traverse City's coziest spaces.
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