What makes the local, unique restaurants better than most chain places is the story behind them, and the tale behind Bartlett’s Grill is one of those truly cool stories you just can’t make up.
Bartlett’s Gourmet Grill and Tavern is located at 131 E. Dunes Highway 12 in Beverly Shores. Nicole Bissonnette and her husband Gary Sanders, two chefs with two relaxed, hip styles of cooking, own the open-daily restaurant, while raising two young boys, also with their own styles of fixing meals.
Bartlett’s was the creation from the closing of Bissonette’s Valparaiso-based Bistro 157, which she owned for 14 years, and Sander’s Miller Bakery Café, an establishment he owned for 23. When the time came to close the two and begin again, they decided to open a more family-friendly, casual eatery. The cuisine is a mix of Sander’s classic homemade, comfort food with Bissonette’s French flair.
“We wanted to open something more casual, more approachable,” she said. “Everything is homemade, so we wanted more thoughtful food with a twist.”
That French twist is due to Bissonette’s former careers at some of the top restaurants in France.
She grew up in the Northwest Indiana, Southwest Michigan area and attended DePaul University in Chicago. Her junior year, she studied business and French in France, eventually getting a job in Chicago in a French bank.
Then one day, her Chicago apartment was robbed of everything in it, and Bissonnette decided to take off with the small amount of things she had left.
“I went to France to figure out what I wanted to do with my life,” she said. “I always enjoyed cooking for people and I decided to switch and went to culinary school in Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.”
She said she was very fortunate in France, and had the opportunity to work in very prestigious, classy French dining establishments, learning her technique from some of the best chefs in the world.
Yet, one trip back home to visit her family, completely changed her world once again.
She met Sanders at Miller Bakery Café and relocated back to the 219 area, taking her culinary skills to the Michael Jordan Steakhouse 160 Blue in Chicago. Around this time, she also opened the Bistro 157, and was driving back and forth from the city several times a week.
“We were living in Chicago and for months I was running the Bistro and I actually fell asleep at the wheel on the way back to Chicago late one night,” she said laughing. “Then we relocated to Valparaiso.”
When she had her boys, Ian now 10 and Lucien, 5, she and Sanders realized they wanted a restaurant that was more fun and open for families, something not so “white-linen table-covered.”
“We wanted that kick back atmosphere. In the summer, we have the playhouse in the back and the parents can just hang, drink beer and Bloody Mary’s while their kids play in the house,” she said.
Growing up inside the restaurant environment inspired their two sons to take on the family business. Starting Now.
Ian at the time was 8-years-old when he auditioned and was chosen to star on the Master Chef Jr. television show with Gordon Ramsay.
“He was watching a previous season online and clicked on a banner ad for the casting site. The auditions for the next season was the very next day in Chicago,” she recalled. “He said he wanted to go and I chuckled thinking, ‘you’re not even close to that level.’ He grew up in the restaurant business so he can talk the talk and cook a little bit. So, I took him to the auditions and they loved him.”
Ian was the youngest kid out of the 50 chosen. The producers flew all the kids and families to Los Angeles, telling the parents to pack for three days or one month, depending on if their child was chosen to continue.
“He had to cook his signature dish in front of a camera and crew, basically doing a 30-minute cooking demonstration in front of the judges,” she said. “That is hard for me to do, nerve-wracking, but he went and made Thai curry mussels.”
At the end of the three days, the kids were told to stay in the hotel and wait for a knock on the door.
“We were invited to a convention room to decide if we were to stay or go and I looked around me and thought, ‘holy crap I think he got on.’ I could tell the kids who could really cook,” she said. “Then the producer said pleasantries and then said ‘I am very sorry to tell you guys…’ and Ian just shut down. Then she followed with ‘That you have to stay another month with us!’ and he was like, ‘Mom, what just happened?’ He thought he was booted.”
She and Ian stayed for another month, where Ian made it onto seven out of the 12 episodes of season four of the show.
Bissonnette said he likes to make fish with couscous, Asian stir-fry, and can put together Blue Apron meals pretty easily. And, her little one, Luc, has learned how to make scrambled egg tacos with avocado for his own breakfast.
“That was pretty funny,” she said, watching him prepare his meal the other day. “He is super cute.”
The family now resides in Beverly Shores. She and Sanders are planning on opening another restaurant in the Northwest Indiana area (Look for that announcement in April) and are looking forward to another summer of being outside with their kids.
They travel to Michigan often for mini-vacations, and Bissonnette and Ian just got their scuba-diving certifications.
“As much as I hate the cold, I’m happy the kids are outside enjoying the four seasons,” she said. “They are growing up on the beach, they are growing up outside and not in front of a computer and our area really encourages that.”
Check out Bartlett’s Grill’s menu and website here.