Bringing Old World Glamor to the Art Coast®
When Shaun Glynn and his partner Pete Ta opened the Belvedere Inn and Restaurant in 2003, their vision for the sprawling estate included Gilded Age elegance, bed and breakfast warmth, and boutique hotel amenities. The resulting hospitality experience is unlike any other in the area. As a former Chicagoan (by way of Ireland), Glynn uniquely understands how escaping to the Art Coast and staying at a European-inspired country estate can do wonders for your well-being—especially when you don’t have to sacrifice the culture and convenience of big city living.
How did you get started in the culinary world?
I was born in Galway, Ireland, and after high school, I went to a French-style culinary school. I worked in many places around Europe after that, and then, in 1988, I had the opportunity to move to Chicago to work for Hilton Hotels. This is when I really fell in love with French cooking.
In the 1990s, I worked for a catering company doing large-scale events at some of the great Chicago museums, including the Princess Diana gala at the Field Museum in 1996. It was quite an exciting time for a young kid from Ireland to be living and working in Chicago.
Why did you decide to open an inn and restaurant in Saugatuck?
While I was working as a Chef/ Opening Manager for a major restaurant group, my partner, Pete, and I would visit Saugatuck on the weekends. We loved how friendly and welcoming the town was. And, since I was in food service and he was in finance, we would tinker with the idea of opening a restaurant and inn. We wanted something large-scale, European-style.
We went to check out the Belvedere, and it immediately reminded me of a stately country manor you would find in Ireland, England, or France, with a cavernous interior and gorgeous grounds. It was the perfect place for us and also somewhere I could showcase my love for French cooking. So in 2003, we left our corporate careers to buy the Belvedere and make Saugatuck our home.
How would you describe the inn’s ambiance?
When we took over the Belvedere, we wanted to offer the amenities of a five-star hotel but maintain the laid-back feeling of Saugatuck. We didn’t want the people visiting from bigger cities to have to sacrifice the conveniences of a modern hotel for the experience of a bed and breakfast. We redid everything from the furniture to the linens and the drapery in a very sophisticated style and added amenities like whirpool tubs, WIFI, and fireplaces. We also opened a restaurant, and today our motto is “Come for dinner, stay for breakfast!”
What was your inspiration for the restaurant?
The very first time I visited the Belvedere, I knew the menu had to be French cuisine: Chateaubriand (a fine cut of beef for two), seared scallops au gratin, tarte tatin. We have a chicken dish known as a “Belvedere Chicken,” which I created when I was still living in Ireland. It uses the whole chicken, including the bones, for the stock—very sustainable. Many of these items are still on the menu today because people come to experience classic French dishes in a sophisticated, old-world environment.
We source as local as possible and do a lot of farm-to-table, especially with herbs from our own garden. We also change the menu seasonally—the fish, dessert, and vegetables might change, but the core menu remains the same due to demand.
Holidays are also a very popular time here. At Christmas, there are garlands and decorations everywhere. The restaurant is open for Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Eve, and we have special menus with five-course meals.
If you have friends visiting the area, what activities do you recommend?
When people visit from Detroit or Chicago, they look forward to quiet and downtime. The natural beauty of the area is ideal for that—especially in the summer, we recommend Lake Michigan and visiting places like Oval Beach. Even our art galleries aren’t huge and overwhelming—they are intimate, boutique-style. And although it’s a quiet little town, people can still enjoy good restaurants and nice places to stay. That’s a big reason why Pete and I—just two guys from Chicago—opened the Belvedere in Saugatuck. You can feel like you are a world away and still have the sophistication of a bigger city.
