Reservoir: Inside the new restaurant opening near Holland State Park

PARK TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — A new restaurant is opening along the lakeshore near Holland State Park.

Corina Sepsakos and her husband are getting ready to open Reservoir at 2155 Ottawa Beach Rd. near 168th Avenue in Park Township. The building was the popular Ottawa Beach Inn for decades, before it closed and was replaced by Playa Tacos + Tequila in June of 2022. That concept only lasted about a year before it closed at the end of last year’s summer season.

Sepsakos has worked in the restaurant industry since she was 14 and had been with her last company for more than a decade.

“(I) didn’t have any intentions of leaving, but when this came up for option to lease, I decided it was time to do my own thing,” she said.

Eastown restaurant Matchbox Diner & Drinks files for bankruptcy

It’s her first endeavor as a restaurateur and the third for her husband, who also owns Brick and Porter and Brickyard Tavern in Grand Rapids.

“Doing this together has been amazing. It’s definitely a lot of time and energy, but I think we blend really well with what we are putting together,” she said.

Sepsakos grew up in the Holland area — she remembers dining at OBI as a kid — and moved back to the area around 10 years ago.

“Definitely felt like it was home this time,” she said. “Being part of the community has made a big difference in that feeling like I can create a place in the space for diversity and inclusion and really all the things that I wanted to see out of Holland.”

She said she’s enjoyed hearing people share their memories inside the building.

“I love hearing stories from people,” she said. “Coming here with grandparents, they’re bringing their kids here now. … It’s exciting to talk to them about that and see what we can do to have a tribute to old OBI at some point in the year. We’re bringing back comfort food in the offseason.”

Reservoir will be open year-round and will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner. It will be open late enough for beachgoers to stop by after watching the sunset, Sepsakos said.

The menu will offer a variety of items, with everything from pasta and a vegan chicken parmesan to a gyro and burgers. The owners’ goal was to offer something for everyone in order to be inclusive.

Inside WOODTV.com: Building West Michigan

There will be vegan and vegetarian options, gluten-free items and a kid-friendly menu with picks like a build-your-own pizza. There will also be a mocktail list to go along with Reservoir’s list of cocktails.

“I have sober friends, so it’s important to me that they have something that’s there for them,” she said. “We felt like we put a lot of good time into to creating something like that.”

Reservoir does not have a grand opening date set yet. The team will be focused on a soft opening through the holiday weekend and will set a grand opening date when they’re ready to roll out the full menu, Sepsakos said. She will want the celebration to focus on the community and the team.

The restaurant is fully staffed enough to open, and the team is excited to start, Sepsakos said.

“I really appreciate that every single person has been patient and given us grace as we float through all these opening procedures and making sure that we are ready to do that,” she said. “They’ve all been part of the helping us get started and get set up, so … I’m really grateful for this team.”

She added she hopes the community stops in to check Reservoir out.

“I think that the biggest draw here is that it hasn’t really been talked about a lot, and we haven’t talked about the menu a lot,” she said. “So that’s kind of like, ‘Come check it out.’ And that’s just it, come check it out.”

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com.