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09/20/2006Sisters think locally, cook globallyEthnic dishes featured at 'eclectic' eatery
Erika Pepellashi, co-owner of Silver Swan, prepares salad for lunch patrons at the restaurant in Greilickville. TRAVERSE CITY — Their upbringing by immigrant parents has everything to do with how sisters Petra, Erika and Yola Pepellashi run their eatery Silver Swan. "We were raised to really enjoy other cultures," said Yola, 42, who recalled not eating fast food until she was in her 20s. Their father is from Albania, while their mom grew up in Germany. "I think that's where the flair for what we do comes from." The sisters, with help from their mom, dad and other family members, operate the "eclectic" restaurant in a holistic way, Yola said. They believe in respecting where food comes from, using local produce and making dishes from scratch, she said. "We try to do things as basic and as natural as possible," she said. Silver Swan, just past M-72 west on S. West Bay Shore Drive, features deli sandwiches and wraps, soups, baked goods, salads, baba gahnouj, vegetarian grape leaves and daily special entrees like beef stroganoff, goulash over noodles and vegetables, meatloaf and Rouladen or Wiener schnitzel. "We make sure we have a vegetarian dish, a lamb, a chicken and beef dish," Yola said. "Most all of our food is ethnic. A lot of it is Mediterranean but some of it is Middle Eastern." Customers can eat in or take their food to go. Silver Swan offers catering services from casual to upscale and sells assorted gifts that are on display. "We like to buy things you don't see anywhere else," Yola said of the items that come from overseas, as well as from local artists. "We like to sell things that you'll keep forever." The Pepellashi sisters opened Silver Swan nine years ago, after their parents, Emma and Ziggy, closed their Suttons Bay full-service restaurant by the same name and retired. They decided to carry on with a smaller-scaled version of the business in a building their father owned. Running the business as a family is important to the sisters, who close Silver Swan on the weekends and holidays to be with their loved ones. "We're extraordinarily family-oriented," Yola said. "When you work you don't get to see your family that much. " Customers, some of whom dine at the eatery as often as twice a day, are considered family as well. Those who frequent the deli tell them eating there is "part food, part therapy." Some customers have even helped out in a pinch, offering to answer phones or make a delivery. [an error occurred while processing this directive] |