Pere Marquette opened in 2004 as a bistro and catering service and has been a major part of the community ever since.
Herald photo/Dylan SchwartzREED CITY — Pere Marquette is a catering business and bistro in Reed City that has made a name for itself as a source of community engagement and collaboration.
Started in 2004 by Deb Ahlich, the business was originally advertised as just a catering service, despite also being a sit-down restaurant, so Ahlich added "bistro" to the storefront in 2014.
"The community is very important to us. Because it's a community that I grew up in," Ahlich said.
After 49 years in the food business, and 18 years at Pere Marquette, Ahlich still loves what she does and appreciates the fact that there's "never a dull moment."
"You take care of the community that you work with, because the community that you work in also takes care of you," Ahlich said. "We try to be involved with the city as much as we can."
Ahlich is part of the Downtown Development Authority for Reed City and wants to see the community grow, as growth in the community will help her business, and vice versa.
Pere Marquette supports other small businesses in the area, and Ahlich hopes that they will support them in return. They try to look locally for products before they look elsewhere.
Any time the Reed City Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring an event, Pere Marquette is usually the one to cater. Ahlich hopes that Pere Marquette leads more people to settle down in the Reed City area, and open local businesses of their own.
"It's a great place to work. It's a good way to support the school system, and the health care, Spectrum. It goes back to, the Spectrum staff supports us and we support them," Ahlich said.
Ahlich hires lots of young people from the area community and tries to instill life skills in them, so whether or not they pursue a career in food service or catering, they will have learned something valuable from their time at Pere Marquette.
"We try to instill with them the values of pleases, and thank you. So yes, ma'am. No, ma'am," Ahlich said. "We try to instill that team aspect in life," she said.
Ahlich said the restaurant sees a lot of business people, usually dressed nicely, but wants people to know that they don't necessarily have to wear fancy clothes to come in and eat, as the dress code is casual despite the higher end vibe of the restaurant and fancier decor.
"All are welcome," she said.
Seeing different parts of Michigan, which Ahlich thinks is a beautiful state, is one of her favorite parts of the job. Despite being situated in Reed City, the catering business goes all across West Michigan, to places like Pentwater, Traverse City, Lansing, and Ludington.
"We have a lot of what we call extended family," Ahlich said about the expansive community she's become a part of since catering for events all across West Michigan.
Ahlich wants people to know that Pere Marquette's doors are always open for all customers.
"Everybody should be made to feel like they're part of the party," Ahlich said.
