Happy Camper Kitchen sets up in Channing
Our Town North Dickinson County Region
CHANNING — For Kathy Piasini and daughter Kristi Pickering, the summer has seen the glow of a major goal reached, somewhat tempered by an unexpected setback.
The family had looked to establish not one but two new businesses this year in Channing, the small community along M-95 in northern Dickinson County.
Happy Camper Kitchen opened in late August at 607 Railroad Ave., serving a surprising array of breakfast items, beverages, sandwiches and more out of a camper Piasini’s husband, Dave, converted for food preparation.
“We just felt like the area needed something,” Piasini said, especially in terms of eating establishments.
The other venture, however, got derailed just before it was set to finally become a reality.
A Hardwood native and Channing resident for 34 years, Piasini had seen the community lose some of its fixtures in the past decades, such as the local grocery store and the bait shop. “The mom and pop’s,” as she termed them.
So the Piasinis in 2019 purchased the empty Sonny’s Market building intending to reopen it as a small grocery store with bakery and fresh produce, something difficult to find without making the trip to Iron Mountain. The rise of COVID forced them to back off those plans.
But this past year, they focused on getting the store back up and running. Then, in June, the night before their final inspection, a produce cooler caught fire and destroyed everything inside.
“It was heartbreaking, to say the least,” Piasini said, later adding she still finds it difficult to go into the charred building.
It made them redouble their efforts on Happy Camper Kitchen.
While the original target of opening Memorial Day had to be pushed back, they did get everything in place in time to take advantage of some of the late summer season.
Because of the earlier delays, Pickering held off posting the announcement on their Facebook page and website that they’d start serving Friday, Aug. 23, until the last minute, “with barely any warning to the community — it was, ‘Surprise, we’re open.'”
“And to our pleasant surprise, people showed up, with a lot of support and encouragement and patience,” Piasini said.
She credits husband Dave, a carpenter, with making the camper into a commercial kitchen, including dropping the floor to accommodate the sales window. “He just had this vision … and he made it happen,” Piasini said.
In addition to the camper, the corner site now has a pergola they brought in from home, with fencing behind and a canvas windbreak on one side that can be zipped closed to keep out wind, rain and some of the highway noise. Inside is a table with chairs for sitting out of the sun. They have other, smaller tables with chairs, including a kiddie picnic table that’s proven popular.
“It seemed like people just wanted a place to come in and visit,” Piasini said.
A propane patio heater and half-barrel fire pit will keep patrons warm as fall temperatures set in, they said. They keep adjusting the layout, adding new pieces as they determine what’s needed, Piasini said — “It’s a work in progress … it’s coming together piece by piece,” she said.
Both maintain second jobs. Piasini works as a business manager for Carey-Sodergren Inc., formerly in Channing but now in Negaunee. Pickering bakes on Mondays at Marketplace Foods in Iron Mountain.
In addition, Pickering and her husband, Jeremy, has five children, including two sets of twins: Liam, 8; Maxwell and Natalie, 5; and Ondrea and Pamela, 1 1/2.
Having children was a major reason the North Dickinson County Class of 2011 graduate came back to Channing in 2019, Pickering said. She preferred a smaller school district and didn’t want them to start school elsewhere and then have to switch. Being close to the grandparents was attractive as well, both said.
Pickering always enjoyed baking growing up, which her mother said was much appreciated by the family. She studied food preparation at Lakeland University in Sheboygan, Wis., and later worked at the university and in other facilities such as residential care.
“We thought it would be good to share her talents,” Piasini said.
Using that background, Pickering developed much of Happy Camper Kitchen’s menu. She does all the baked goods — jumbo muffins, croissants, cinnamon rolls, danishes — almost daily when open.
Among the customers Thursday morning was a man stopping in to pick up fresh-made raspberry muffins for the evening, when he and family planned to “take the pontoon boat around the lake and have some snacks.”
Pickering also is the short-order cook, working solo for the breakfast crowd in the mornings and with Piasini’s assistance for the evening shift. While they started out with theme days — such as tacos or burgers — customers disappointed to miss a favorite convinced them to have all available when open.
Along with burgers — this week’s special is a quesadilla burger in a tortilla — they have barbecued pulled pork and grilled chicken sandwiches, brats, hot dogs, grilled cheese, tacos, nachos and the very popular grilled burritos, including a breakfast burrito. Fries or chips are available as sides. Those looking for lighter fare can get a chef, garden or taco salad.
Their flatbread pizzas can be ordered with a number of toppings, in family or personal sizes that can be baked on site or taken to be done at home.
For sweet treats, Happy Camper Kitchen serves Jilbert ice cream hand-scooped, homemade strawberry shortcake and brownies on their own or a la mode, milkshakes, popsicles and candy bars.
Perhaps the most unusual menu choice: rolled ice cream, made by spreading an ice cream mixture in a sheet pan, then adding toppings such as cookie crumbles, sprinkles, fruit or other flavor choices. The sheet is placed in a freezer, then a spatula used to scrape the frozen mixture into rolls that are served in a cup. The rolled ice cream can be further topped when purchased.
They have unique, freeze-dried items such as fruit, candy, some vegetables, even ice cream sandwiches and strawberry shortcake bars. Freeze-drying gives them an airy, crunchy texture and, of course, they don’t melt or spoil, Piasini said.
The beverage menu includes Contrast Coffee products, cappuccino, cafe latte and mocha, espresso, hot chocolate, chai, hot and iced tea, lemonade with options for adding other flavors, bottle juices and water, apple cider, smoothies blended on site.
Orders can be placed at the window, but since everything is made fresh, it’s probably better to phone in ahead of time at 906-828-5644 and avoid the wait, they said. The business has an online ordering option as well on their website, https://happycamperkitchen.square.site.
Happy Camper Kitchen is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, then open 7 to 11 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. They hope to continue serving through at least Thanksgiving, with possible winter dates and hours to be determined.
They’re already discussing future plans, such as a second, more mobile food trailer they could take to festivals and other events. They also want to move Happy Camper Kitchen closer to M-95 for better visibility.
But this fall, they’ll concentrate on building up the local customer base for as long as the weather allows, listening to what residents say they want from the business — and enjoying the positive reaction, Piasini said.
“It’s trying to support the local community,” she said of starting Happy Camper Kitchen, “and everyone’s been very welcoming.”