We had the good fortune of connecting with Kwin Morris and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kwin, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Twin birch was actually not our first business we decided to start. We co founded a non profit in 2015 called stand up for Great Lakes and a Rental Property business in 2020. This one was by far the biggest. With me being a teach and Megan being a nurse, 2020 was super hard on me ( Kwin) and I started looking elsewhere on what we could do as a family. we had owned the golf course for several years but decided to tear down the existing clubhouse and build a brand new restaurant and event center. While we were building it, we thought many times, what the heck did we get ourselves into? We both had very little hospitality experience, building experience or golf course experience. We set out to not only do something with our family but something Kalkaska had never seen. A place to not only get an amazing chef crafted meal, a spectacular experience int he restaurant but also outside where we have golfing, hiking and biking in the summer, and skating, fat bikes, groomed trails and igloos int he winter!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Twin Birch is a place that brings people together. We set out to not only have delicious food but also an experience for all. The restaurant includes live music, 7 huge TV’s for games, a gorgeous golf course, hiking and biking trails, winter time activities including fat bikes, cross country skiing, igloos and an ice skating rink. We are really still in our infancy as a business. Opening in May, we had to learn a ton and made some mistakes of growing pain. One of the challenges was training a completely new staff and opening before we were completely ready. Our first Friday night we were so busy that it caused some issues to arise that we had to address quickly! The community was amazing and understanding but lessons were learned and we are continuing to fine tune and get better each day.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Day one we would spend time around Kalkaska, We would visit the new restaurant Twin Birch, hike the trails, enjoy an igloo and head home for a sauna/ ice bath session.

Day two we would head out to the Sand Dunes. We would hike all the beautiful trails out in that area, and get food in Glen Arbor at Cherry Republic.

Day three we would spend time in the cute town of Elk Rapids. There is a lot of great shopping; Our favorites are Northwinds Blooms, Goldenhill Farms and Myrtle&Maudes. We would then get dinner and drinks at Shorts Pull Barn.

Day four we would do more hikes, specifically Maple Bay and Maplehurst. Both beautiful hikes with great views.

Day five we would relax on the boat. Probably take a cruise from Torch Lake and along the chain of lakes ending in Elk Lake. We would park our boat on Elk Lake and grab dinner at Riverwalk. It has an awesome sunset view, good food and good drinks.

Day six we would head back to Twin Birch and play a round of golf then grab more food there!

Day seven we would explore around downtown Traverse City. There are a lot of fun shops to get souvenirs at, grab lunch at Taproot Cider House and an afternoon pick me up coffee from Espresso Bay.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First off, my dad and mom Greg and Jo morris for the support and being great Co owners. My Brother Tyler Morris for helping with the construction process. Joe Short of shorts brewery for all of the in-site on starting a restaurant and obviously my wife Megan for being an awesome partner in this whole process.

Website: twinbirchgolf.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twinbirch_/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Twin.Birch.Golf

Image Credits
Mike Tinkle, Rec Creation Media, Kwin Morris, Kristen Turick Photo, EM Creative Photography

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