(upbeat music) - [Tom] On this two city installment of UTR, we start off in Grand Rapids with some Caribbean cuisine, a co-op with a conscience, and a mural with a message.

Then we travel to Traverse City for a grocery store with more, a resort that rocks, and a bagel that'll make your bubbie proud.

Get ready to explore two cool towns that make Michigan the best place to be.

- [Announcer 1] We all have one, that perfect spot, a special place we go to smooth out the ripples of the day.

Our perfect spot is calling, our perfect spot is Pure Michigan.

Your trip begins at michigan.org.

- [Announcer 2] A visit to the Stahls Auto Collection will take you back to a time when cars were more than just a way to get around.

A fantastic assortment of gas pumps, neon signs, and automated music machines dating back 150 years that must be seen and heard, info@stahlsauto.com.

♪ I've been on the road ♪ Out here with the squad ♪ Everybody trying go ♪ Yeah the party jumping off ♪ Ay we putting on a show ♪ Trying to catch a vibe ♪ We do this every time like ♪ Nana nana nana ♪ This is where I wanna be (nanana) ♪ ♪ Never ever gonna leave (nanana) ♪ ♪ You ain't taking it from me (nanana) ♪ ♪ I'm like nana nana nana (music continues) - I've been around the world, but there's one place I keep coming back to.

And the more I explore, the more I realize it's the place to be.

I'm Tom Daldin, and this is Under the Radar Michigan.

(rock music) Well, we're hitting the road again, in one of our official UTR mobiles, also known as my car.

Only this time, we're gonna give you two cities for the price of one.

So you can sit back, relax, and watch us have some Pure Michigan fun.

Yep, I rhyme that on purpose.

(hard slap sound) Aww!

- Grand Rapids is the kind of place that gives you life, but also leaves you breathless.

It's population continues to grow, because people who come here, know it's alive with incredible culture, commerce, energy, art, and endless eateries of every kind.

Well, we rolled into Grand Rapids, Eastown district, right around dinnertime.

And you know what that means, chao time for the UTR crew.

But we wanted something to help us broaden our culinary and cultural consciousness.

So we stepped into one of the coolest buildings you will ever see, for a taste of both the Caribbean and the Caribbean.

Olga and Dodlie Benoit, are the dynamic mother and daughter duo, who own a cool, casual and colorful eatery called Chez Olga.

And they put their heart and soul into every sweet and savory selection they serve.

Now what you guys serve, is it Caribbean or Caribbean food?

- Caribbean.

- Caribbean.

- That's what I thought, that's what I thought.

And we've heard wonderful things about the food.

- Oh, thank you.

- Thank you.

- And it comes from the heart.

And I understand it comes from your family.

- My family, yeah.

- You came from Haiti.

- Haiti, yes.

- Did you cook with your mom?

- Yeah, I cook with her when I was very younger.

Yeah, so it's a thing.

You go to school, helping her put stuff outside when we come back from school, helping finish selling the food.

And I was the counting to count the money, steal most of them.

(Tom and Olga laughing) - I understand the mural behind me represents- - Represent my mom business, yes.

- Yes.

- Your mom's business.

- That's my mom business, yeah.

- You're the chef, right?

- Yes.

- I mean, what's it like?

You love it?

- I love just making people happy with food in general.

So whatever it is, whether it's a catering, whether it's an event, I'm always there to cook.

- You sure you're not Italian?

(Tom and Dodlie laughing) - You would've thought so, right?

Yeah, so I always find an excuse to cook.

So yeah, I love working here, because at the end of the day, like the smile that people get on their face after every bite, it fills me.

- But you guys, I love this part of Grand Rapids too, it's a wealthy area.

- It's amazing, it's very cultural, it's very diverse, you get a little bit of everything.

You get businessmen, you get (laughs) the local bike rider, you get everything, so I love it.

- This place right here, when I opened this store, I don't know what I was putting myself to.

I would think like, "Oh, I like to cook, and I wanna open a business."

And I think that was the game only.

But after a couple years, I find out 5, 6, 7 years and whoa, starts now at 12 years.

I figured out food is something when you share food with people you just share in love.

Because most of people who come here, they might be coming with different attitude when they come, they leave with different one.

'Cause the food change people around.

- That is true.

People come in here really upset at the world, and they just leave happy.

- We're happy.

- So, it works, right?

- Yeah, you become a part of a big family.

- Oh, bigger than our hair was.

(all laughing) - Bigger than your hair!

I don't have any.

(Olga and Dodlie laugh loudly) Well, when it came to what to eat, you know us on UTR, we just went ahead and ordered the whole menu.

But the best part was Olga, Dodlie, and her awesome brother David, sat down and joined us for a heartfelt family style feast.

So next time you're only an appetite away from Grand Rapids, warm your whistle with some genuine Caribbean food at Chez Olga, your inner, and the actual Olga will thank you for it.

The next morning, we set out for a new adventure.

But first, we decided to go grocery shopping, in case we have to go about an hour or so without eating.

But we want the experience to mean something, say something and change something.

Sound like a strange thing to do in your grocery shopping, well, not if you go to this place.

South East Market in Grand Rapids, is a wonderful neighborhood grocery store, that's dedicated to changing the inequities inherent in our food system.

By doing so, they're changing people's health, their lives, and their futures.

Alita Kelly and Khara DeWit put their altruistic hearts and heads together, to create this innovative market.

And they're feeding the bodies, minds and souls of this entire community.

I caught up with Khara at the market, and decided to get even more insight into their mission.

When I was in Europe, one thing I loved, these people over there, they still stop at little markets on their way home and pick up fresh, real food to eat for dinner at night.

Now, you've got the same sort of thing here, only with a bit more of a mission, correct?

- Yes, correct?

Yes, so we're not just a little neighborhood market on the corner, although we do exist for our neighbors.

- [Tom] Yeah.

- Because historically, they've been separated from fresh and healthy food for decades now.

So we're here to support them, but also our deeper mission is not just to provide healthy, affordable food for them to access, but also, through a sustainable and equitable ends.

- Right, and you work exclusively with people of color.

Explain that to me.

I think that's wonderful.

- Yes, thank you.

Yeah, we work with what we call our priority vendors.

- [Tom] Yeah.

- They are BIPOC Led, so Black, Indigenous, People of Color led businesses, farms, female-led, local-led, and we want to give them first seat at the table.

- What was that moment like for you and Alita, when you both decided, let's do this.

- Yeah, so Alita and I both have like live in this neighborhood.

Alita grew up here and she saw firsthand, the way that healthy food was missing from access.

We saw food as being the vehicle for real lasting change, to like really address the underlying issues of why communities of color were really suffering disproportionately from COVID.

- You're not only making a difference in the world, but you're making people healthier, more aware, more enlightened.

So, I think it's wonderful what you're doing.

- [Khara] Thank you.

- Well, lucky for us, two of the market's most meaningful suppliers were there that day, to share their stories.

Shara Trierweiler from Agape Organic Farms, and Brianna Hill from Healthy 2 Go salads.

You look so healthy, you must make salads.

- I do, I do.

I am a local food producer, and I have a fresh food company called Healthy 2 Go.

And our motto is that we're on a mission to bring better food to the people.

- Well, I love what it says on your salad, says, "You won't miss the bad stuff".

- That's right, - What does it mean for you to have to be able to partner with the market?

- Partnering with this market has been really huge for me, this is actually my first opportunity to retail my meals.

And being part of a community that is focused on people of color, focus on women entrepreneurs, it provides a space to make it easier for us to enter the market.

And when you're small and you're growing, it's really hard to get into those bigger markets or those larger grocery stores.

There's lots of processes, lots of red tape.

And this market has been very welcoming, and on a mission to highlight people of color who are doing great things.

And so it's been a very valuable relationship.

- Well, I'm gonna try some of your salads, because, I mean, they look really, really good.

- I'm glad you enjoy them.

- So you're an actual real farmer?

- I am an actual real farmer.

- Did you park your track outside?

(laughs) - No, I only drive my tractor on Sundays, I'm on a field today.

- And what's it mean for you to have the collaboration you have with this market?

- I think it's been great for me in terms of visibility, as well as providing more opportunities.

Lately, they've been doing really great job of getting my mushrooms into restaurants in the Grand Rapids area, with chefs that are looking for fresh organic produce, as well as looking for maybe incorporating diversity in the menu in their supply chain.

And so, that's been really good for me.

And it has created a lot of visibility for me, kind of expanded my reach outside of the small area that I'm in, in the (indistinct) area.

- So if you're ever in the Grand Rapids area, and you wanna grab some healthy, locally sourced groceries, and help change the world all at the same time, check out South East Market.

There's a whole community here, that'll be grateful you did.

One of the best ways to shout out to the world about your awesome community, is to do it with art.

Besides, it's a lot easier on your voice.

The West Side of Grand Rapids, is exploding with new energy, life, businesses and community pride.

And that's because quite frankly, this is an awesome part of the city.

There's great shops, cool restaurants, and even the amazing John Ball Zoo, which is one of the coolest animal adventures you'll ever have.

Well, the West Side community collaborated, and came up with a cool and creative way to share their excitement.

And lo and behold, Lisa Hovinger, Carla Flanders, and I are standing right in front of it.

Okay, the first thing I have to say, is it's really cold out and you're not wearing a coat, and I'm worried about you.

- I'm okay, I'm a Michigander, I'm strong.

- Another thing, this part of the city... A lot of people come to Grand Rapids, they go downtown, they don't realize that there's a whole city over here with great shops, restaurants, breweries, this is a wonderful, vibrant place to be.

And what I love about this mural, is if you look at a close, looks like it's a big butterfly, right?

But if you look closer, there's the Blue Bridge from the city, I mean, go through the things that are in here, it's amazing.

- Yeah, so when we put together the artwork, when we worked with Kelsey and her team, we wanted to incorporate things that were West Side.

I mean, Grand Rapids as a whole, but also West Side.

So like you mentioned, the Blue Bridge is there, we have a nice fish on there for our Fish Ladder and fishing.

We have tulips, which also kind of represents our Dutch community and heritage.

We had a falcon up there, represents the Polish culture in the West Side, because it was settled early on with that.

And then of course, the Balian hops, we are in front of a bar, and is Beer City, USA, right?

So we wanted to incorporate that as well.

And don't forget, you are part of the art, that's the whole intention of this piece, right?

So, you can come by, you can look at it, you can feel those warm fields and all those good things, but then also, we want you to step into the art, we want you to be a part of it, you'll notice on the bottom corner over there, there's a hashtag What lifts you, West Side beautify, which is our Facebook page.

And so, we encourage people to come on down, take a photo, hashtag it, tweet it- - Put it on Instagram.

- Instagram.

Put it out there and share it.

- What if your name is art, and you become part of the art, and you are art.

- Even better, even better.

- That is a triple threat, and absolutely.

- (indistinct) in the house.

(laughing) Next time you're in Grand Rapids, head over the Grand River and do some exploring West Side style.

I think you'll find that the longer you're here, the longer it'll take you to leave.

So with Grand Rapids disappearing into the rear view, we headed about two hours north on US 131 to well, paradise found.

That's right, whether it's winter, spring, summer, or fall, Traverse City is the kind of place that'll remind you why Michigan has it all.

Ow, darn it!

Traverse City is a creative and vibrant place surrounded by tons of natural beauty, a bountiful bay, and more cool things to see, shop and do, than you can shake an action packed itinerary at.

Now, speaking of coming to Traverse City hungry, there's a whole food culture up here, that has exactly that, culture.

Yep, if you're looking for a heap, and help and of heritage and tradition with your next meal, a great place to gather your ingredients is T.C.

Latino Grocery.

This is where north eats south, and where your next food adventure can begin.

Sandra Rios and Adolfo Mendez are the owners and energy behind not only this festive food filled grocery store, but also two Taqueria restaurants, and even the hair salon next door.

And when it comes to sharing their culture and cuisine, they're more than generous.

This place is a feast for all your senses.

I mean, you can't come in here and not smile.

- [Sandra] Right.

- And think you're at a party somewhere.

I was looking for a pinata to hit.

Whose idea was this?

How fast is this?

- This is the creator, his dream.

- Yeah, where do you get all this stuff?

- 11 years ago, we discover in this area we need the Latino produce.

And always, when we want to do something like food and home, like traditional food, example, you go to Walmart or Meijer They no have dried pepper - I wish you were down the street from my house, because just to come in here, it just improves your mood, and to see the foods.

And this is fresh really good food.

- Yes so, we've heard anybody that has traveled out of the country.

This is something more likely that will remind you as hope at home, because we have a little bit of everything.

But not only do we carry Latino products, but pretty much all of our flags here represent, we basically sell a product from any of this flags.

- Really?

- So countries.

- I understand that you sander are famous for your tamales.

- Yes, and it's actually my mom's recipe.

My mom's tamale recipe.

It's becoming more and more popular, and now we have 'em for sale here, but they're cold.

And I just tell 'em you don't don't, you don't have to do all the work, just heat 'em up and re-steam them, and you're good to go.

- Are they as good as she says they are?

- Yes, yes.

- And you even own the beauty parlor next door.

- Yes, we also have the beauty salon next door.

So, if you wanna come in, do grocery shopping, but you also want to get your hair done.

- I don't need to fix this.

(laughs) Well, after shopping for some informative answers to my thought provoking questions, I decided to shut up and shop for some authentic Mexican munchables.

There were so many things here I didn't even know I loved yet, and the spices, oh my gosh!

So if you love the taste and traditions of Mexico, don't put off to tamale what you can eat today.

Heck, if you need to get your hair done, you can even do that at their salon right next door.

Mmm tamales!

Now, if you've ever been to Traverse City before you know that just Northeast of town is a classic Michigan stay and play place.

That stands head and shoulders above Grand Traverse Bay.

Yep, Grand Traverse Resort and Spa is a world class resort that offers more fun than you, your family, your friends, or even your company can stand to plan for.

And Caroline Rizzo, is one of the passionate people that makes this place per with Pure Michigan Pleasures.

We have been here so many times, because this is such a jewel, in not only in this part of the state, but in the state in general, this is an amazing world class resort, in one of the most amazing parts of Michigan.

- I agree, this is home, right?

This is paradise.

- Yeah, it really is.

And I mean everything and anything you wanna do, four seasons, winter, spring, summer, or fall, you can do it here, and I love it.

We're here filming right now during spring break.

And it's so neat to see all the families that are here, little kids.

Instead of going to Florida where you don't have to go south, which camera do I look at, you don't have to go south.

Just 'cause it's spring break, take your family someplace like Grand Traverse Resort and Spa.

- Yeah, we love it up here.

- Yeah, so people have never been here.

Yeah, give people an idea.

- Three golf courses.

- Yeah.

- [Caroline] So golf in the spring, summer and fall, we have an amazing spa.

I am guilty of spending a lot of my time down there and a lot of my paychecks.

- [Tom] No somebody's gotta do it, it's a living.

- And that's at the end, where the health club is too, so if you're a tennis player or looking to take a dip in the pools and hot tubs, or get in a cool workout class while you're here too, we've got a full service health club.

- Restaurant's great.

And you've got an arcade here, right?

- We do, it's called the Den, and the best part about the Den, and actually a lot of our amenities here, is they are open to resort guests, but also the public.

So say you are a local in Traverse City, or even just somewhere half hour down the road, and you're looking for something fun to do, come out and check out our gallery of shops we have eight different shops right here.

A candy store, is a lot of fun, - Yeah, I was gonna see it, which is full right now with kids.

But I was gonna say, it's like a little downtown here of itself.

- Absolutely.

- Got all these little shops.

But yeah, the candy stores full of kids are right now.

- The candy's resort, the hot spot.

- Another thing I love about this resort, is you're a proximity to Traverse City downtown.

You can in a couple of minutes, be at the Theater on The Bay, that's beautiful here.

In the summertime, you can do the tall ships.

You can cruise on the bay and have dinner cruises.

- [Caroline] Out to the Peninsula for the wineries.

- Oh yes.

- Yep, we love that area.

- Oh yeah, I've done that many times.

The suites you have here, the views here of the bay, amazing.

In the winter, you can go fat tire biking trails.

- We have trails right around property.

We'll do snowshoe and cross country skiing, and it's around our Spruce Run Golf Course.

We can be your home base for the whole weekend, you don't ever have to leave this property.

- All week.

- You can do it all week, you wanna stay the whole summer.

- Okay.

- You can just stay here, or we can be your launchpad into Traverse City.

- Yeah.

- Come and stay here, but then get out and explore the area.

And we want you to come back and experience something different every single time, which you can do.

I mean, there's still things I experience new every day at work or in the area, and I've lived here, I've lived here twice.

I lived here, left and came back for many reasons.

- See, I've been here for big corporate events too, and it's just, yeah.

I mean, sorry, it took us so long to feature you guys.

(Caroline laughing) Sorry.

- We got it.

- I'm sorry.

Well, Caroline and I had so much fun talking about all the fun you can have here, that decided to go get us some.

So we hit the Den Arcade with a vengeance.

We raced motorcycles, she won.

And then we did some awesome axe throwing and she won, and then we even hit the mini bowling alley and yeah, she still won.

Then we weaved our way through the many shops and all the way down to the classic candy store.

It's there where we witnessed some of the happiest young angel ever encounter enthusiastically selecting sweets.

Heck, I even grabbed little candy for my inner child, bonus.

If you're looking for Michigan's paradise found, check in and then check out Grand Traverse Resort and Spa.

It's a great place to create some pure Michigan memories.

And just remember though, who told you about it?

The next morning we were scheduled to hit the road, but we needed something to both satisfy and sustain us for the long drive home.

So we headed to a place that Traverse City swear by.

Bubbie's Bagels is where you go when you want a real, authentic, genuine bagel.

'Cause let's face it, there's really nothing better.

Well, unless you put cream cheese on it, that's better.

That's right, bagels from Bubbie's is our plan, and Sam Brickman is the man who will settle for nothing less than the best.

And by that, I mean warm, crusty, chewy, pillows of palette, pleasing perfection.

How early do you have to get up in the morning?

- Well, I don't get up as early anymore.

My bakers who start the oven are here at about 4:30 in the morning.

That used to be me back in the early days.

- [Tom] Right.

- [Sam] But yeah, it's definitely an early morning for bakers.

- Well, the word bubbie is grandma in Yiddish, right?

- Yeah, correct.

Yeah, so Bubbie is...

This whole place is kind of a dedication to my grandmother who I called Bubbie.

She was the cook of the family, any holiday, she was making all the food, making all the desserts.

- [Tom] She's a good Bubbie.

- Yeah, great Bubbie.

You always left full and with snacks to go.

So it was kind of something where I wanted to embrace her memory, have some of her food and the pastries that we do, and then kinda dedicate just the idea of what we do here to her.

- [Tom] 'Cause you guys also do so much more than bagels.

- [Sam] Yeah, I mean, we obviously have the bagels, we do all different kinds of cream cheeses and schmears.

So we do homemade tuna salad, egg salad, white fish salad, smoked white fish salad.

We do different types of seasonal cream cheeses.

- [Tom] Nova Lox?

- [Sam] Yeah, we have Nova Lox, we have Pastrami Lox, we do a smoke salmon cream cheese as well.

So kinda all your typical bagel fair.

And then we'll switch it up a little bit.

We're about to change into, for Easter time, we're gonna do a carrot cake cream cheese.

So it's fun to be able to kinda change things up a little bit, play around with flavors, and be able to express some of that culinary side of things into what we do.

- Well, you're from downstate.

- [Sam] Yeah.

- How did you end up in Traverse City and what do you love about the area?

- So yeah, I grew up downstate, in the suburban Detroit area.

I worked in Detroit in some restaurants for a while, and was kinda just ready to get out of the city.

I'm definitely more of a nature person, I like to be outdoors.

Obviously, the area is beautiful, but the community is pretty awesome too.

There's a lot of support between different businesses, community members, there's tons of events and fundraisers and local things to get involved.

So it's a place that I really feel a part of, and it's nice to see the community aspect as well.

- Well, we came, we saw, we smeared cream cheese all over it and we were happily on our way with a couple of big bags of bonafide bagels to energize our drive home.

If an authentic, warm, chewy bagel is part of your happy place, Bubbie's Bagels is a place you need to visit.

So if food, fun and adventure is something that makes you feel alive, Traverse City is a place where you'll thrive.

And that ain't no jive.

You'll find out when you arrive (laughs) bonus.

Ow, darn it!

That hurt.

- [Announcer 1] We all have one, that perfect spot, a special place we go to smooth out the ripples of the day.

Our perfect spot is calling.

Our perfect spot is Pure Michigan.

Your trip begins@michigan.org.

- [Announcer 2] A visit to the Stahls Auto Collection will take you back to a time when cars were more than just a way to get around.

A fantastic assortment of gas pumps, neon signs, and automated music machines, dating back 150 years, that must be seen and heard.

info@stahlsauto.com.

♪ I've been on the road ♪ Out here with the squad ♪ Everybody trying go ♪ Yeah the party jumping off ♪ Ay we putting on a show ♪ Trying to catch a vibe ♪ We do this every time like ♪ Nana nana nana ♪ This is where I wanna be (nanana) ♪ ♪ Never ever gonna leave (nanana) ♪ ♪ You ain't taking it from me (nanana) ♪ ♪ Nana nana nana (rock music)