Sarah Welch

Can you describe Marrow in a nutshell?

I like to say that we are the Clark Kent of retail and restaurant shops. We’re a butcher shop by day and a restaurant by night. And the food experience varies widely. We are a vendor for food, but we’re also the preparers of that food and the shepherds of the experience. When people come to Marrow, they can get a dry-aged steak that they cook at home or a classic burger for lunch or the experience of our evening tasting menu.

What are some of the benefits of having a butcher in-house?

When we first opened, we weren’t exactly sure how the butcher shop would collaborate and share space with the restaurant. After almost six years now, it’s the muse for what we do. We’re using cuts that are unfamiliar to us and unfamiliar to our client base, and we’re educating ourselves so we can educate others. And whatever we do, we know that it’s rooted in quality because we see the whole process from farm to table.

What makes Marrow’s butchering environmentally responsible?

Regenerative agriculture involves putting back into the soil what you’re taking out of it. And that’s a practice that our beef farmers at Moraine Park Farms in Zeeland take really seriously, so they leave the ground as good for the planet as they found it. Also, our Michigan-raised meat doesn’t travel very far. It’s good for the planet and it’s good for us because we can visit the farm.

What are some of your favorite Michigan-grown ingredients?

Ones that can’t be grown or cultivated, like hyper-seasonal morel mushrooms or ramps. We have this beautiful seasonality in Michigan and we try to preserve that. So we’re pickling, we’re fermenting, we’re trying to preserve all these delicious flavors throughout the year.

Do you have a favorite item on the menu right now?

We love the mushroom dumplings year-round; they highlight the locally sourced mushrooms available here, as well as local corn. They’re spicy and sweet and special to us!

How do your relationships with local farms work?

We have a ton of small farms that have cropped up during the six years that we’ve been in Detroit. Our relationships with farms like Fisheye function differently than most farm-to-table restaurants. Oftentimes, restaurants reach out to farms and say, “I need this.” We function the opposite, so Andy Chae at Fisheye says, “I have this,” and we take what he has and turn it into something really exceptional.

What’s something you’ve learned from a farming partner?

We often take trips to visit farms, and once a year we spend an overnight with a partner to see their operations. One of my favorite things I learned when we spent the night at Moraine Park Farms, our primary beef supplier, was that our cattle eat Michigan cherry pulp as a primary component of their diet. This sugar adds to their fat content and gives pasture-raised beef beautiful marbling. It also enhances the deep color of the meat. This method is so unique to Michigan and to our beef. I just love that.

With Marrow, how do you hope to set an example for other places that want to be stewards of Michigan’s lands and waters?

Michigan is a huge agricultural state, so there’s good food all over. We’re blessed to be in a state where so many people know how to grow food. I think Marrow functions as an educational pillar. We are both the supplier and the educator, and for those who aren’t wanting to dip their toes in either of those things, we are a comfortable restaurant where you can get a great burger. We’re trying to provide a community space where people can engage with food in whatever ways they are most comfortable. Because food can be intimidating sometimes.

What types of educational experiences do you offer at Marrow?

Our workshops are my favorite part of what we do here. I love sharing what I know and also learning from the experience of the people attending our workshops. We host educational experiences on pasta-making, soapmaking with our beef tallow and more. We do full-animal butchery and sausage-making—basically anything where people have come through our doors and have asked, “How do you do that?” We turn it into a class and incorporate wine and snacks. It’s my favorite way to connect with people.

What’s your proudest achievement so far with Marrow?

Creating a space that I wanted to work in when I was younger. Oftentimes in this industry, you are left feeling that it’s not for you or that it’s not sustainable for you or that it’s too hard for you. Those are things that I grappled with a lot in my career. At Marrow, I’ve tried to troubleshoot aspects of that to make this a more tenable lifestyle—making sure people aren’t working more than 40 hours, that they have access to health care and that they have creative input on the food that we’re serving. So much of what I love about Marrow has nothing to do with my impact on it, but on the impact this space has allowed others to have.

Is there anything on your bucket list?

I would love to live and work on a farm for a period of time. I’ve never had the opportunity to do that, and the time that I do spend on farms, I always find inspiring. Those kinds of things really fill my tank for being in this industry.

How would you describe Detroit to someone who’s never been here?

Detroit is so special in so many ways. It’s one of the few places in the country where young people are given a lot of opportunity. There are a lot of creatives who live here. I think the first people to come back to communities are creatives, and the growth is incredible to watch. Sometimes when you’re in it, you don’t see it as much, but you leave a little while and then come back and you’re like, “Whoa, I can’t believe this has grown here.”

If you can try to sum up the food scene in Detroit, what makes it unique?

Detroit’s food scene is constantly evolving. There are so many different voices, cultures and perspectives being brought to food. And there are so many small businesses because of that entrepreneurial spirit: pop-ups and food trucks and little rib shops on the corner. The tricky part is finding it. You’ve got to know Detroit or know somebody here. Lucky for the world, Detroit folks are excited to share.

Why did you choose to come back to Detroit after spending time in New York?

The New York food scene was really cutthroat. I thought food wasn’t for me. And what I learned is that it’s a lot about the people you choose to surround yourself with. When I came back to Michigan and started cooking here, the community of people that I landed with was generous with information and willing to mentor me. That kind of information sharing is reminiscent of Midwestern hospitality: wanting people to feel welcome and wanting to share what you have with others.

What are some other areas of Michigan that you enjoy exploring?

Traverse City and the Northwest in general have a pretty big hold on my heart. My husband and I often go to Fisherman’s Island State Park near Charlevoix. It’s where he proposed to me over a huge ribeye that we were cooking on the campfire. Anything water-based is for me. We hiked the full length of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore a couple of years ago and that was exceptional.

What does Pure Michigan mean to you?

Having been born and raised in Michigan, it’s all those little moments in my life that I keep close to the chest. It’s river floats and farm campfires. It’s fireflies and making strawberry jam with my parents. And when you’re raised in a community that’s so deeply rooted in food, it’s not hard to want to hold on to that forever.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.