By Brian Larsen - Cook County News Herald - June 12, 2026

Reprinted with permission from the Cook County News Herald. 


Funding and permitting are all in the final stages, with work projected to begin this summer on the mixed-use hotel & event center in downtown Grand Marais.

Joel and Amy Saint John, owners of The Mayhew Inn, came by the newspaper to talk about the latest developments regarding the project. “Our funding partners are all on board, but we still have a few more hurdles to get over before we can start,” said Joel.

Working through the State Plan Review with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry is also in the final stages, he noted. The lodging and restaurant portions of the business have been approved by the MN Department of Health as of last week.

The 29,000-foot mixed-use commercial building on Wisconsin Street and First Avenue will sit on land acquired by Joel and Amy that once housed the Crooked Spoon Café, Picnic & Pine, and White Pine North, which all burned in a fire six years ago. The building will also encompass the corner “Joynes” Parking Lot.

The two-story building will have a restaurant, three retail shops—one for guest services—and a cocktail lounge and bar with two fireplaces in a cozy space on the first floor. The second story will have two event spaces; one will be smaller that can be opened into the larger space to make one large event room. The lodging will also be located on the 2nd floor and will include two and three-bedroom suites with balconies. There will also be a courtyard rooftop deck featuring views of Lake Superior.

“We’re very excited about the restaurant,” said Joel & Amy, “It will be something in the world of an elevated supper club style/comfort food. It’s still a work in progress, but the menu will always be changing, with some staples always on it. The Event Center and The Rooftop Deck, said the Saint John’s, “Will be accessible to everyone. It will be Americans with Disabilities (ADA) compliant. This has been a very important element to Amy & Joel. There will also be a smaller meeting room for 10-15 people off of the restaurant on the main level.” Hotel parking will take place in the large lot next to Superior Creamery on land purchased from Sid Backlund. It is currently fenced off.

The couple has been working with the neighboring businesses who use the alley for deliveries and other day-to-day operations because over the next two years, a portion of it will be closed while construction is taking place. “So far, everybody we have talked to has been great and extremely cooperative,” said Joel.

Currently, there are only about 5-6 weddings that occur every year at the Mayhew Inn, with at least 30-40 more inquiries per year without doing any advertising. We have to turn most of those weddings away due to logistics and the lack of indoor space,” said The Saint Johns. Amy and Joel hope to attract more weddings, corporate retreats, as well as arts & music events in the larger event space. “We want to keep that a busy place. We will be hiring an events manager,” Joel said. And with Amy’s 25 years’ experience in the Commercial Real Estate Industry, she will act as the Property Manager. Kerry and Dustin Boen will be the general contractors on the project, with Aaron Lindberg acting as Project Executive. “Our plan is to source as many of the building materials here in Grand Marais”. When the Mayhew Inn was constructed, most of the materials were all purchased locally, other than the steel deck railings and stairs, and steel siding. “This is a very large project,” said Amy & Joel, adding, “We want to thank people for being so patient.”

As the project gets close to completion, Joel and Amy will relocate to their house/cabin on Devil Track Lake. They will be very present during the construction phase as well. “We plan on living here full-time and running the businesses. It’s imperative that we be here to manage the day-to-day operations to ensure the success of all of the different business components,” said Amy and Joel.