New restaurant offers fresh dining options for Manchester

Two Black Sheep will offer a “casual” fine dining experience right in the heart of downtown Manchester.

Last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, Manchester’s newest restaurant, Two Black Sheep, offered six tasting events–two each evening–to introduce a few of their offerings to the community.

The events were an unqualified success, and the restaurant will officially open this morning (Monday, June 11) with offerings for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Owners Cheryl Coleman of Manchester and Anabel Ramirez Rodriguez of Ypsilanti had started working together about a year ago at Glass House Catering, and hit it off right away.

Cheryl soon found that the catering business was going in a different direction than she wanted, and considered that the Black Sheep Tavern building, right here in her home town, was available. As she and Ana talked, they realized they had many of the same goals and ideas for a business and they decided to do this together.

“We’ve done a lot of casual dining and some fine dining at Glass House,” Cheryl continued. “I knew I didn’t just want to do burgers and dogs, sandwiches and pizza … we said, let’s do a nice casual dining experience.” So, as they waited to see if the building was still available and affordable, they started to plan and develop a potential menu. They each knew that there were things they wanted on the menu, and incorporated those items into their planning process. They found that they had a common mindset, that helped them come easily to agreement on many issues they faced, a situation Cheryl calls, “very cool.”

“Between the two of us, we have about 30 years of cooking experience, in all different kinds of venues, from catering, breakfast places, bars, and fine dining,” Cheryl says. In addition to their shared catering experience, Cheryl has worked at Evans Street Station for several years, cooked at the Bridgewater Bank, and for a local bed and breakfast. Ana has worked at the Twisted Rooster in Belleville as well as at several restaurants in Ann Arbor.

“Eventually, we hope to do theme nights,” Cheryl said. “I’ve heard a lot of talk around town that people wish we had a Mexican restaurant, so one of the things we will do is a Mexican night with authentic Mexican food.”

But mostly, their goal is to just have people come in and enjoy a good meal and good company.

“Chit-chat,” Cheryl says. “No one does that anymore. We won’t have a TV or WiFi in the restaurant; we really want our customers to have a relaxing time, enjoying each others’ company.”

Breakfast menu item featuring crispy hash browns and eggs.

The foods they serve at Two Black Sheep are all made ‘from scratch;’ even the salad dressings are not from a mix or a jar. And while the restaurant will serve mostly typical breakfast and lunch fare, with daily specials, the dinner menu will have a number of specialty dishes that will rival many other fine dining establishments in the area. As their website says, “Picky eaters, adventurous eaters–whatever your taste, we have something for you.”

How did they come up with the unique name? “Well, we wanted to keep the tradition of the former Black Sheep Tavern,” Cheryl explains. “But that name is already licensed. So, we were looking for a name that worked for us, and we realized that both of us are sort of ‘black sheep’ in our own lives and families … and so we came up with the name Two Black Sheep. That kind of tied it all together.”

The Black Sheep name has a tradition of being a destination in downtown Manchester and Cheryl and Ana look forward to being part of the traditions–old and new–that make Manchester such a unique place. They are excited about the opportunities offered by the Third Thursday events and the accompanying Tastes of Manchester. They have received great support from other local businesses and are eager to welcome old and new friends to their new venture.

Hours for the new eatery will be Monday-Thursday, 7 am-9 pm; Friday-Saturday, 7 am-10 pm; and Sunday, 9 am-7 pm. The restaurant will be closed on holidays. A menu for all three meals can be found at http://twoblacksheeprestaurant.com/

For reservations, call 734-212-3110. 

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.