At the End of the Road

by

At the northern tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula, Copper Harbor might be considered the end of the road, but for George Twardzik, his family and for Dan Harri and his wife, it turned out to be the beginning of a mid-life career adventure when they bought the Harbor Haus restaurant in 2015.

George and Dan were originally from the Keweenaw Peninsula – George from Copper Harbor and Calumet and Dan from Copper City. Both had pursued careers away from the Upper Peninsula, but by the time the Harbor Haus was for sale, both had returned. 

Dan had already had a career in hospitality, mainly culinary, that spanned from California to Miami to

the Caribbean. He returned to run the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge at Copper Harbor for a time. 

George had worked in education for 26 years and for eight years was the principal at Calumet High School, which he also had attended. His parents owned the Pine Resort for 32 years in Copper Harbor and they would winter in Calumet. “When you leave Lake Superior, you realize how special it is,” George says of wanting to return to his home area.

In 2015, the question was, would he and Dan want to get back into a new  business. “We had talked about the Harbor Haus many times,” George says. “Dan came in, and he said – maybe over a beer or maybe not – ‘Are you serious about this? Should I reach out and see if we could put a plan together?’”

George was (serious) and Dan did (put a plan together). Dan and his wife, Mabel, and George, along with his wife, Lisa, and his parents, Ken and Nancy, all bought the popular waterfront restaurant.

The Harbor Haus was established in 1974, but it has an even longer history. It originally was the

Johnson’s Coral Inn Restaurant, owned by Willard and Iona Johnson through the 1960s. When Fritz and Maiken Ehlers bought it in 1974, they created the German-based menu and atmosphere for which the restaurant was noted at the time it was sold in 2015.

The new owners wanted to build a core business on fine dining, expanding from the focus on German foods “to more worldly culinary cuisine with different items,” says Dan. It is a mission accomplished for

Head Chef Dan. “We have white tablecloth dining to a full spectrum of every animal on the farm to every creature in the sea,” he says of the menu. 

They grew the business in a variety of ways, expanding from the core restaurant to add an event center that accommodates business gatherings to receptions for families or weddings, many of which have taken place outside by the Lake and on the extended private pier outside. The Vue, as its called, was added in 2020.

The operation now covers an entire block by the water. There is also lodging available in the Crow’s Nest Luxury Suite on site, where “Guests are encouraged to relax and enjoy the spectacular show

nature provides, so no television services are provided in the room.”

The restaurant remains the mainstay.

“The Harbor Haus was a single-spoke wheel,” Dan says. Adding the event center, expanding the bar, broadening the menu, “We grew the business about 110 to 120%.”

During the summer season, as many as 200 people come in to dine from 3 to 8 p.m., the restaurant’s open hours.

“It’s worked out great – knock on wood,” George says of the numerous improvements. “All the adventures we sort of went down the path have had a positive impact on our business, and, I think,

Last year, the Harbor Haus celebrated its 50th anniversary, with a wealth of congratulations and kudos filled with exclamation points posted from fans on the Facebook anniversary announcement:

“So excited for our annual dinner this year!! We look forward to it every year!!”

“Definitely a diamond! Amazing food and staff!”

“Yes! We will be there! Awesome food and service!”

For Dan and George, the staff, the customers and the community make the operation worthwhile,

“It’s still fun,” says Dan. “I have a great staff that wants to learn, some of them have been with me since Day 1.”

After a decade with the business, the owners of Harbor Haus are looking to transfer that fun to new owners.

The business and properties went up for sale in June, listed through Mike Jurkuri with North Country Agency Appraisals, a Century 21 affiliate in Houghton. “It’s like an honor and a privilege to manage this,” says Mike. “The charm  of it is just being able to be part of transferring a little bit of a history and an icon to the next ownership. It’s not just a sale. It will have a long-term affect on the area, and we don’t take that lightly.”

George and Lisa and Chef Dan, he adds with awe, “They’re like the senior elders of the community.”

Listed at $1.7 million, the business includes properties amenities such as 270+ feet of shoreline plus 12 lots. “The restaurant is known not just for its food, but for its unbeatable setting,” notes the listing. “Huge windows in the two  dining levels give guests a front-row view of Lake Superior, the Copper Harbor Lighthouse, and the harbor itself.”

George says this would be an exciting time for new owners because just as Harbor Haus has grown in the 10 years since he and the others purchased it, Copper Harbor itself has blossomed.

“The transformation in the town and the business, just the sheer number of people since my years as a kid growing up here to today is just astonishing,” he says. 

Remembering his childhood at his parents’ resort, George says, the town doesn’t need to be Disneyland to attract visitors. “My dad said Copper Harbor needs to promote what it is, not what it’s not.”

What Copper Harbor is today, he adds, is a destination magnet for those who love the outdoors, love recreation, love a true getaway.

“The mountain biking has really become the major catalyst for that, and the kayaking and the hiking.”

The area is also highly popular with snowmobilers and winter-rec sports, but if Dan and George offered any advice to would-be owners, it might be to keep the operation seasonal.

“Part of the whole lure of our business here is we have to have a staff – those people don’t fit in a square box – here for 150 days and then they’ve got 200 days off, and they can come back and do it again next year,” says Dan.

George adds another perk for owners. “We have the greatest office on the planet. We get to look out on the Lake every day and it’s different every day.”

Contacts: Harbor Haus Restaurant: harborhaus.com

Century 21 Affiliated in Houghton: c21affiliated.com/directory/offices/affiliated-4