Shady Creek Winery in Michigan City celebrated renovations with a sold-out, ticketed ribbon-cutting ceremony and a grand re-opening event. This family-owned establishment worked with many community leaders and partners to make their ideas a reality. Owners Jenna and JT Schwartz explain how these renovations make the winery a one-of-a-kind experience and will bring many people to the Michigan City area.
“The Schwartz family really has a passion and a love for both hospitality and wine, and for really curating knowledge and experience. That was the goal. We didn't just want to be a winery, we wanted to have a really cool winery experience,” Jenna Schwartz said.
The process of turning the winery into the destination of their dreams was a long one due to COVID-19. The construction process took 27 months, but the renovations and additions to the facility were well worth the wait. Jenna Schwartz explained exactly what was added to the facility over the past two years.
“We have added a brand new state-of-the-art wine production facility, which really allows us to produce a lot more wine and really control the quality of the wine that we're producing. It is fully outfitted with new winemaking equipment and with an automated bottling line. We also have a barrel room that has over 140 red wine barrels; that's where we store and age our red wine,” Jenna Schwartz said. “We also added a wine shop, a backyard bar, and an upstairs event center with a rooftop patio. We added a full commercial kitchen and then we really redefined and reimagined the backyard space. We added a lot of seating, a creek, some waterside seating as well as amenities like an outdoor stage, some outdoor fire pits, and some covered patios.”
These high-quality additions make the facility another one of Michigan City’s top destinations for tourists and locals alike. Mayor Duane Parry explained the importance of having attractions that people are able to attend all year round, instead of focusing on the warm season. He also emphasized the reintroduction of clean industry back into the city.
“This grand reopening means so much because of our location and our history. We are redefining the image of Michigan City. I am dedicated to bringing industry back to Michigan City, but not the smokestack industry like we used to have, but a clean industry. We are right on the cusp of doing that,” Mayor Duane Parry said.
Shady Creek Winery will bring positive industry to Michigan City, as well as bring in tourists and economic development. Linda Simmons is both the director of marketing for Visit Michigan City Laporte, the County Convention and Visitor's Bureau (CVB), and the board chair for the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) of Michigan City. She has worked with Jenna and JT since the groundbreaking of this project over two years ago and cannot wait to further promote it to people outside of the state.
“I've been most excited with the growth from where it was to where it is today. They're gonna be able to host so many different functions here. And that's something we do need here in Michigan City and a location there's plenty of parking, easy to get to, which is always a priority,” Simmons said. “It's a really friendly atmosphere, Jenna and JT are a dynamic couple, and they obviously love what they do. We're looking forward to them growing into our community and working with us at the CVB to continue getting the word out regionally outside of the state. We have the best winery here at Shady Creek Winery.”
Along with working alongside the EDC and CVB, the Schwartz family had to work with city officials in order to get the proper approvals for the project. Countless members of the Michigan City community came together in order to make this project come to life.
“Clarence Hulse, the executive director for EDC MC, worked with Jenna and JT to make this a reality. Obviously, you have to go through different city groups to get approvals including the city council, and that all came together. They saw the vision here and so the reason we're here today is to celebrate, do the ribbon-cutting, and have a chance to take a tour of this fabulous facility,” Simmons said.
The grand re-opening of Shady Creek Winery will allow for substantial growth for the community’s economy along with bringing in a unique attraction to the area. This winery is said to be the best winery in the midwest.
“We believed in the Michigan City area, we believed in the community and we really felt like we could bring an awesome experience to this area. We're really excited to share this first-class facility and this really incredible high-quality wine and high-quality food with the Michigan City community. We're really excited to be able to bring such an awesome experience to the area,” Jenna Schwartz said.
For more information regarding Shady Creek Winery, visit www.shadycreekwinery.com.
