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Tabor Hill is Top Four at USA Today

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Paul Landeck says he has a new Top 10 Bucket List he’ll have to get to work on, so he can further check out the rarified air that he and his colleagues at Tabor Hill Winery & Restaurant in Buchanan are in. Well, actually he’ll only have to check out nine of the properties, inasmuch as he is intimately familiar with #4 on the list. His own Tabor Hill Winery & Restaurant was revealed today to have finished fourth overall in the USA Today Readers’ Choice poll for Best Winery Restaurant in the USA.

It has been a wild couple of weeks since the popular wine country restaurant was placed into the Top 20 nationwide by a panel of experts and then turned over to the general voting public to whittle things down to the overall Top 10. It was a spirited battle, too, as they advanced from an original slot around 14th and steadily marched toward the top.

Landeck says he hasn’t personally been to any of the other properties, but has heard from family and friends that have, “and they report that we are in fantastic company, so I now look at that Top 10 as a bucket list of places to experience yet in my lifetime.”

I asked Paul for his reaction to being rated #4 in the nation to which he replied, “Fourth in the nation? Really? What an honor for Tabor Hill and Southwest Michigan overall. Our restaurant team has been led in the front of the house by long time manager Cathy Fielding and in the back of the house/kitchen by Chef JohnPaul VerHage and have all worked extremely hard for many years to continue to raise our own bar of standards.” He adds, “Successful restaurants require vigilant and attentive care, and we’ve been very fortunate to have Cathy and JohnPaul to lead us.”

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Landeck says that USA Today released the results to everyone today at the same time and they sent a congratulatory email along with the overall results. The newspaper does not provide specific vote totals, but he says that the 10 Best will be printed “soon.” Paul says, “We won’t brag, but our team does deserve recognition for their accomplishment. We are fortunate to have many long time staff members, several of which have been with Tabor Hill for more than 30 years.” He says, “THEY deserve this recognition.”

Landeck says he is amazed at how far spread the USA Today competition has reached. He tells me, “I have received emails from friends and fans from all over the world.” He notes, “Even guests that visited us decades ago when we had a 12′ x 14′ kitchen and about 25 seats overall.” He says, “Again, this is nice for Tabor Hill, but its even bigger than us…it’s about the vision that the late Dave Upton had for Southwest Michigan’s wine country. He, along with his wife Linda and our extremely talented winemaker Mike Merchant, stayed the course and helped create what is now one of the world’s largest and finest wine producing areas — the Lake Michigan Shore Appellation.”

Landeck says he has well over 100 dedicated, hard-working, employees between the restaurant and three retail locations, and “for them to receive this recognition is certainly a morale booster, but also something to feel very proud of.” He tells me, “Chef JohnPaul has worked very hard to continue to keep our menu fresh and local whenever possible. He has also mentored many other successful chefs who work right here in Southwest Michigan.”

The attention has certainly paid off. Paul says, “Having been in this location for more than 50 years has made us a destination for many loyal returning guests for decades, but we’ve certainly noticed and appreciate the many new faces and phone calls that have graced us since this accolade began.” He says, “Website traffic along with Facebook and Twitter activity has been WAY up as well.”

Congratulations to the entire Tabor Hill Winery & Restaurant for their final four win…taking 4th overall, behind restaurants in California, Texas and Oregon. USA Today will print the final list in the near future, but these were the Top 5 winners:

  • #1 — Restaurant at Leoness Cellars in Temecula, California
  • #2 — Fork and Spoon at Los Pinos Ranch Vineyards in Pittsburg, Texas
  • #3 — The Restaurant at King Estate Winery in Eugene, Oregon
  • #4 — Tabor Hill Winery & Restaurant in Buchanan, Michigan
  • #5 — Flower Hill Bistro at Miramonte Winery in Temecula, California

In closing, Landeck says, “We’d like to sincerely thank everyone who has supported us not only with this USA Today competition, but also for their decades of patronage not only in our restaurant, but also by purchasing and enjoying our fine wines.”

He concludes, “Finally and equally important is to note the fact that the Upton family who owns Tabor Hill have provided, in some cases, generations of families with honest, solid and meaningful employment. Furthermore, and in many ways like our appliance making ‘Big Brother’ out on M-63 north of town, the Upton’s have always strived to produce quality products and experiences for friends and guests. Speaking on behalf of all of us here at Tabor Hill, I’d like to say a big thank you to the late Dave Upton and his surviving wife Linda. They have truly been caring hosts, owners and employers and we’re proud to be part of your team.”

Dave’s wife, Linda, by the way, is now married to British artist Graham Davis, and they continue to provide great love and guidance to the Tabor Hill team. Tabor Hill is located at 180 Mount Tabor Road in Buchanan.

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