Coast 236 Restaurant & Bar

What Coast 236 Restaurant & Bar does

Coast 236 Restaurant & Bar is a privately held fine-dining restaurant located at 236 Culver Street in Saugatuck, Michigan, founded in 2018 and operated by co-owners Mary Fechtig and Elizabeth Estes. The restaurant operates dinner-only service Wednesdays through Saturdays from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM, offering both à la carte selections and curated tasting menus in six and nine course formats with optional wine pairings. Executive Chef & Partner Rick Bower brings over 20 years of culinary expertise and oversees a sourcing program built on longstanding relationships with local farmers, foragers, and sustainable fisheries, formalized through the James Beard Foundation's Smart Catch program (Leader designation 2021-2023, Ambassador 2023-2025). Sommelier Tanna Knapp curates an Old World-focused wine program that has earned the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for five consecutive years (2021-2025).

The business generates revenue across five streams: dinner service (the core), a beverage program including craft cocktails and the award-winning wine list, Chef Series special dinner events ($130 per person for six courses plus six wine pairings), private dining for groups of 10-20 guests (weddings, birthdays, corporate events, holiday parties), and gift cards in both physical and electronic form ranging from $5 to $500. The technology stack is limited to industry-standard SaaS platforms: Toast Tab powers gift card processing and OpenTable manages reservations. There is no proprietary technology, no mobile application, and no AI/ML capabilities disclosed.

The customer base is entirely consumer/hospitality, split across general fine-dining guests, private event hosts, and wine enthusiasts. Marketing blends earned media (Midwest Living, Thrillist, Grand Rapids Magazine) with organic social media across five platforms, review platforms (OpenTable, TripAdvisor, Yelp, Google, Foursquare), and an email newsletter ("First to Know") for event and seasonal announcements. The restaurant has earned TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice and OpenTable Diners' Choice recognition. Headcount is reported in the 11-50 range, consistent with a small independent fine-dining establishment.

Name

Coast 236 Restaurant & Bar

Legal name

Coast 236 Restaurant & Bar

Website

https://www.coast236.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Coast 236 Restaurant & Bar is an air of freshness and wonder, an inspiration in every ebb and flow.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fine Dining Restaurant

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Fine Dining Restaurants (THAFACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Special Occasion & Destination Restaurants (THAFACAK), Chef’s Table & Tasting Menu Restaurants (THAFACAG)

Keywords

• Fine dining restaurant
• Tasting menu service
• Wine program service
• Private dining events
• Seasonal american cuisine

Headquarters

HQ city

Saugatuck

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Dinner Service - À la carte and Tasting Menus: The primary revenue stream is dinner service offering both à la carte selections and curated tasting menus (six and nine course options). The menu changes seasonally to reflect the freshest available offerings from local farms and sustainable fisheries.
2. Beverage Program: Revenue from craft cocktails, an award-winning Old World-focused wine program, and spirits. The wine program has earned Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence.
3. Special Events and Chef Series Dinners: Exclusive dinner series featuring visiting chefs and food and wine pairings. The inaugural Chef Series event was priced at $130 per person for six courses plus six wine pairings.
4. Private Dining: Private dining room rental for groups of 10-20 guests for special occasions including birthday dinners, wedding receptions, rehearsal dinners, business meetings, and holiday parties.
5. Gift Cards: Sale of physical and e-gift cards through Toast Tab platform, ranging from $5 to $500 in value.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Coast 236 Restaurant & Bar is a fine dining establishment operating dinner-only service Wednesdays through Saturdays from 5-10 PM at 236 Culver Street, Saugatuck, Michigan. The restaurant sells à la carte selections and curated six- and nine-course tasting menus featuring contemporary American cuisine built on locally-sourced seasonal ingredients and sustainable seafood, complemented by an award-winning Old World-focused wine program, craft cocktails, private dining for groups of 10-20, and gift cards.

Product overview

Coast 236 is a fine dining restaurant offering contemporary American cuisine shaped by seasonal and regional ingredients. The core offering is dinner service (Wednesday-Saturday) featuring both à la carte selections and curated tasting menus (6 and 9 course options) with optional wine pairings. Supporting offerings include private dining for groups of 10-20 guests, gift cards (physical and e-gift cards via Toast Tab), and an award-winning wine program (Wine Spectator Award of Excellence).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Menu sustainability exceeds 80% with no more than two Red List items totaling 8% volume or less per Smart Catch Leader requirements
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• OpenTablecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOpenTable serves as the primary reservation platform for Coast 236, enabling guests to book tables online. The integration appears on the restaurant's website and allows real-time availability checking and booking confirmation.
• James Beard FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoast 236 participates in the James Beard Foundation's Smart Catch program, an educational initiative to increase seafood sustainability in restaurants. Chef Rick Bower has been recognized as Smart Catch Leader (2021-2023) and Smart Catch Ambassador (2023-2025), representing the highest recognition level. The program requires menus to meet 80%+ sustainability standards.
• Where Food Comes FromcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWhere Food Comes From now manages the Smart Catch program (formerly led by the James Beard Foundation in partnership with Postelsia). The organization certifies Coast 236 as a Smart Catch Ambassador, providing third-party verification of the restaurant's sustainable seafood sourcing practices.
• Wine SpectatorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWine Spectator has recognized Coast 236 with its Restaurant Award of Excellence for five consecutive years (2021-2025). This recognition is based on the quality and depth of the restaurant's wine program, which is Old World-focused and curated by certified sommelier Tanna Knapp.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Salt of the Earth: Salt of the Earth is a farm-to-table restaurant in Fennville, MI — the same Southwest Michigan lake-shore corridor as Coast 236 — serving seasonal, locally-sourced contemporary cuisine with a strong beverage program. It is the closest geographic and conceptual peer, competing directly for destination diners visiting Saugatuck–Douglas–Fennville.
• Blue Hill at Stone Barns: Blue Hill at Stone Barns (Pocantico Hills, NY) is a destination farm-to-table fine dining restaurant built around relationships with a specific farm and seasonal foraging, with a tasting menu format and chef-led sustainability ethos. It is the highest-profile North American parallel to Coast 236's "chef + local sourcing + tasting menu" model.
• Single Thread Farmhouse: Single Thread (Healdsburg, CA) is a destination tasting-menu restaurant in a small Sonoma County town, built on an adjacent farm and a tightly curated wine and sake program. Its small-town destination format, seasonal farm-driven menu, and high per-cover pricing closely mirror Coast 236's positioning and operating model.
• Manka's Inverness Lodge: Manka's is a remote destination restaurant and inn in Inverness, CA (Marin County coast) built around seasonal, locally-sourced cuisine with a curated wine program and a small, intimate dining room. It mirrors Coast 236's "destination village + chef-driven seasonal menu + wine focus" combination.
• The Inn at Little Washington: The Inn at Little Washington (Washington, VA) is a destination fine dining restaurant in a small town that relies on chef reputation, a deep wine program, and a tasting-menu format to draw travelers. It is a strong conceptual parallel for how Coast 236 monetizes its Saugatuck location as a destination experience.
• Cyrus Restaurant: Cyrus is a tasting-menu fine dining restaurant in Healdsburg, CA (small wine-country town) offering multi-course menus with curated wine pairings. Its small-town destination tasting-menu model and reliance on chef-driven seasonal cuisine make it a directly comparable operating model to Coast 236.
• Smyth: Smyth (Chicago, IL) is an independent tasting-menu fine dining restaurant with a chef-driven seasonal menu and curated beverage pairings. It is a strong peer for Coast 236's tasting-menu format, Midwestern setting, and chef-anchored brand, though at larger scale.
• Oriole: Oriole (Chicago, IL) is a tasting-menu fine dining restaurant serving a multi-course prix fixe with optional beverage pairings. Its tasting-menu-first model and chef-led positioning make it a directly comparable operator to Coast 236 at a larger Midwestern metropolitan scale.

Broad incumbents

• Chez Panisse: Chez Panisse (Berkeley, CA) pioneered the California farm-to-table tasting-menu format that Coast 236 operates within, with a long-standing wine program and a chef-led sourcing philosophy. It is a more established, longer-tenured incumbent in the same conceptual category.

Regional players

• The Chop House: The Chop House is an upscale steakhouse in Grand Rapids, MI serving the same West Michigan market that Coast 236 targets for destination and special-occasion dining. It represents the regional upscale-dining competitor Coast 236 must win against for Michigan fine dining occasions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Coast236
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@coast236
• Facebookfacebook.com/Coast236
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/coast236
• Instagraminstagram.com/coast236

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Coast 236 Restaurant & Bar