“We came, we found Paw Paw, and we fell in love with it.”
That’s Jason Deibler-Love, one of the owners of The Lucky Wolf at 404 East Michigan Avenue in Paw Paw. In the town-so-nice-they-named-it-twice, there’s a beautiful main street with literally tons of fascinating history woven into the structures of each building. In the heart of downtown sits one of the most beautiful and historic buildings, the former First Baptist Church built in 1857 — now owned by Jason and his wife India.
“We weren’t too familiar with this the village until we got here. We got very lucky with it because it’s just picturesque (with) the wineries and grapes and vineyards everywhere. It’s just a beautiful spot.”
Finding Home
Jason and India had traveled the world, working in the hospitality industry in some of the most populated places on the planet. Jason amassed more than two decades in the hotel and hospitality trade. India’s background is in specialty coffee and a passion for healthy eating. Even with their rich experience, they knew they wanted something more.
Originally from Royal Oak, Jason said when he and India made the decision to move back to Michigan, they already had three children and twins on the way. Rather than spend more than the cost of a home mortgage on daycare, the couple decided to pursue better flexibility by owning their own business. In December 2021, they purchased the Paw Paw Playhouse.
Food Options for All
When it was clear the world was over the pandemic, Jason and India moved on their vision to turn the historic Baptist church building into a community gathering place, something that served food and coffee, and a place that supported the arts. Jason said that was when they started working on what would become The Lucky Wolf at the Paw Paw Playhouse.
“It’s a café, a (coffee) roaster, and a wine shop. There are craft cocktails, craft beers, and food options. People have meetings here. People come here and work out of the lounge every day if they need a place (to sit) and they need free Wi-Fi. They’ll even bring their kids here.”
The café is deliberately inclusive, meaning they have a wide selection of vegan and non-vegan options. Jason explained there are even two panini presses.
“…so that toast or sandwiches can be either on the vegan press or the non-vegan one. We have a gluten-free option for every sandwich or toast. We have a soft-serve machine with really good quality ice cream. We deliberately have one side that is always a dairy milk-ice cream option, but then you also have some really great nondairy options.”
Near the entrance and next to the café is a substantial wine and fine food accoutrement section.
“Our wines are all either low intervention or natural or organic or women-owned or smaller plots, just with less, less or no additives,” said Jason, pointing out that many are Michigan-made.
A Perfectly Brewed Partnership
Their coffee is roasted on-site thanks to a recent partnership between the Deibler-Loves and Colin and Michelle Vestrand of Greenglass Coffee Company.
Five years ago, the Vestrands started their coffee shop just down the road from The Lucky Wolf. In January of this year, they officially joined forces and moved operations into the same space.
“We weren’t really interested in getting a full food license or really expanding beyond coffee just to start out because we bootstrapped our business a hundred percent ourselves, no loans or anything,” said Colin Vestrand. He added that after five years at their former location, they maxed out wholesale accounts and retail sales in terms of the size of their coffee roaster.
“We had to do one of two things. Either move to a new location and get a bigger roaster or start thinking about more of a café setting. I had met Jason because he had been coming in to get coffee and we just kind of realized they had the same vision as we did.”
From there, Colin said there was no sense in “duking it out with each other” business-wise.
Jason and India agreed.
“We were two small family businesses and we just started talking. We said, ‘Why don’t we look at how we can merge and bring you in over here and combine forces?’ And so we moved the coffee roaster over here in January and we’ve been roasting the coffee here and combining our forces,” said Jason.
A Historic Space to Support the Arts
Jason said The Lucky Wolf is more than a café, coffee shop and roaster, wine shop, and meeting place. It’s also a theatre and playhouse.
Upstairs from the café and coffee-roasting operation is a full historic theatre, complete with a stage, professional sound and lighting, and seating for up to 170.
“Our focus for the theater is trying to make a place where people can come to see quality art. We believe that there’s a lot of talent within Southwest Michigan. You shouldn’t have to go to a larger city to get something special like this, whether it’s the food, the wine, the community, or the opportunity to do something special.”
Nearly every wall and open cabinet of The Lucky Wolf has historical photos and artifacts that represent Paw Paw’s founding, establishment, and development over the years.
“We’ve worked with the Village and with different people from around town. We have photos going back to the 1800s on the walls, just showing the history of Paw Paw because there’s so much history entwined within the building and also what’s happened here. Whether it was the church back in 1857 or Jerry Mitchell who got his start here who ended up being a two-time Tony award winner on Broadway.”
Establishing a Community Vision
As if a café, coffee shop, and theatre playhouse weren’t enough, the Deibler-Loves also invested in other downtown locations.
“I didn’t want to be on the road for two weeks of every month in the hotel and venue industry. So, we decided to put that money into another building here that houses a hardware store, and then hopefully develop that into something for hospitality to bring some places for people to stay while they’re in town.”
Overall, Deibler-Love appears excited and gratified for the opportunity to bring those things he loves to Paw Paw, in a way that’s family-friendly, inspiring, and available to all.
“There’s something for everybody here. We’ve been living abroad, and we’ve been in Europe and New York and Austin and New Orleans and Los Angeles and all these places working and opening venues and restaurants and hotels for other people. Two things that stood out is the food from all those places is fantastic. Also, the type of people who come, whether it’s kids or whatever, we wanted a place that is family friendly, but also, if you’re not with a family, you’re still very comfortable.”
Where did the name The Lucky Wolf come from? Jason said it comes from his son Sebastian Wolf.
“Everything about The Lucky Wolf is that it’s creative. We really support and embrace the arts and so we’re very artist centric. We believe that if you can really stoke creativity and community that you’ll get the customers.”
The Lucky Wolf is located at 404 E. Michigan Ave, Paw Paw, Michigan.
