Peterson opened his restaurant 14 years ago after returning from his stay on the west coast.

Being raised in Alpena, Peterson said choices of food are limited whether it’s fast food or pre-made. Therefore, he knew he wanted to bring a farm-to-table flare that was healthy and creative.

Surrounded by local farms, Peterson said he thought it would be easy to bring organic produce to the table. However, he found that Alpena farmers weren’t as knowledgeable on organics.

“I ended up educating the community about what organic was and how to use spices and herbs and all that kind of stuff,” Peterson said. “And then finally got my place opened, like years later, which was good because I actually had to train the community to understand what I was going to bring them.”

News Photo by Zipporah Abarca Founder of The Fresh Palate Eric Peterson poses in front of his bar as his crew prepares for the evening crowd.

Peterson works with farmers markets and local suppliers for most of his produce and meats. He said it is an elaborate process, but he tries to source everything from Michigan, even if it is the more expensive option.

“To keep the flavor growing, it’s about finding the best products that represent how I want to be seen in my community by knowing where they come from [and] supporting the Michigan economy if I can,” Peterson said.

He said he wanted to bring a cultural flare to the community because he thought it would become popular. There has been appreciation for the diverse dishes, but Peterson also acknowledged the small town being less open to trying new meals.

“…people grow up to be about, especially in America, they grow up to be about 35,” he said. “And then they’re set in their ways, and they don’t really change…

“And obviously, everybody’s supportive. I’ve been here for 14 years, and I can attribute that to the fact that I have pizzas and burgers on my menu that I never wanted to have on my menu. It was asked of me [and] I was like, ‘No, we’re a fine dining place’ and they’re like, well could you just like do pizzas and burgers … so finally I just put it on the menu. Now it’s like 45% of what I sell.”

News Photo by Zipporah Abarca The Fresh Palate’s indoor dining room awaits the evening rush of locals and tourists.

After being in business for many years, Peterson said he can feel good about the work he’s done with hosting events, educating the community and serving good food, but said “it’s not what I wanted to do.”

Stricter palates have forced Peterson to cater to what locals are looking for rather than what he originally set out to do.

“Some people would like it, but 70% of the people not so much,” he said. “So, it kind of like just dulled down my creative expression, honestly, which is sad … but I do it in other ways now.”

To adapt to the taste buds of Alpena residents, Peterson said he does feature menus consisting of five to six items that last for a month based on his travels around the world. That way, creativity is still being deployed without having to commit to a permanent menu.

Therefore, pizza and burgers will most likely always be available if the featured dishes do not appeal to customers.

Courtesy Photo One of the evening weekend specials, “Miso Hot, And Buttered”, features miso sriracha butter crusted white fish served with spanish rice and Fresh AJ’s Farm asparagus.

Additionally, Peterson said he has been hosting classes called “Conscious Eating with Eric.” These courses are an opportunity to learn about where foods are coming from and what is being done to the planet with certain fertilizers such as glyphosate.

“I think the educational side is really good because I think at this point in human history, we need to be pretty aware of what is happening with the environment around us,” he said.

By reinforcing new flavors and providing education courses, Peterson said he is pushing the boundaries of the community.

“I’ve channeled my creativity into another avenue…,” he said.

With being as local as possible, Peterson said he uses what he has and makes it shine. So why did he choose Alpena for a boundary-pushing restaurant?

Courtesy Photo A day special called “Swamp Stuffer” contains andouille and Polish Sausage with black beans, tomato, jalapeño, mild peppers, pepper-jack and chipotle ranch grilled on your choice flour tortilla with a side of New Orleans sausage and rice soup.

Peterson said it was important for him to have a place to create no matter where it is. He added that when he came back in 2009, there was not much going on in town.

“[I wanted to] showcase what I had learned and say that there’s more out there, you know that you guys should travel more, you should see and taste other places,” he said. “And if you’re not going to, then I’ll just bring it to you. That was the motivation.”

When talking about Alpena, Peterson said you can’t find a better, more giving community. Being in a small town, everybody knows everybody and looks out for one another – even if they do not have any correlation.

Peterson explained that people living in bigger cities are much more separated. He said the small town has shown him an example of how humankind should be.

“… Being raised here my whole life, as a kid, you don’t really think about it, you know, you’re just like, ‘I can’t wait to get out of this place,'” he said. “And then when I found myself back here, it was like, ‘Damn this is a (really) cool place.’ So that’s what’s kept me here, just community.”

You are as creative as your space will allow, Peterson said. He continued by saying Alpena has allowed him to be creative and expressive in different ways while also being supportive.

“I would give all that credit to the community, not me,” he said. “Because you are the sum of all the people around you. … Fresh Palate is the sum of the community itself. So, they’ve been supportive enough to put it on a pedestal and say, it’s okay.”

Looking to the future, Peterson said he continues to advocate for tourism to create more diversity among the population and its small businesses.

To be creative, he said a town has to create opportunities to allow that to happen by representing itself in different ways in order to receive a constant income from tourists.