Editor’s note: This article was published in Grand Traverse Scene magazine’s Fall 2025 issue. Pick up a free copy at area hotels, visitor’s centers, chambers of commerce or at the Record-Eagle building on Front Street. Click here to read GT Scene in its entirety online.
Most people know Jenni Scott as one of the co-owners of Little Bo restaurant on Front Street in downtown Traverse City, and now locals and visitors alike are getting to know her as the co-owner chef extraordinaire of Sisters, a new retro brunch joint right next to the infamous Little Bo.
She and her sister, Lisa Scott, came up with the brunch concept that occupies the former Little Bohemian Pub space. The menu includes a wide variety of fancy and creative egg dishes, as well as old-time classic brunch items that everyone loves. Jenni sat down with the Grand Traverse Scene magazine to talk about her new venture that opened April 28.
How did you come up with the concept of Sisters?
My sister and I are business partners with Little Bo, my parents also and her husband Matt, and so when we saw that this building was for sale we really needed to expand the kitchen for Little Bos, so this would provide the opportunity. We were saying ‘there’s a need for breakfast in town.’ There’s great restaurants, but there’s just not enough breakfast spots, so we thought it would fill in a void and it just naturally came together. Why not celebrate our relationship and our sisterhood and all sisters (all categories of sisters, not just blood born sisters). We have a brother, but we’re the only girls.
When you bought this place, how did you decide to come up with the design?
This is a pretty cool mix of my sister and I. She’s very clean lined, linear, and I like a little retro. It kinda just works out well together. We slowly picked things that meant things to us. The wall paper on the back really reminded us of my grandma’s Christmas ornaments she used to have, so that was a fun choice. (Above the windows) those are all things I’ve collected from my family, like my grandma’s china and old mixers and things like that.
How’s it been going since you opened?
It’s been full speed ahead. It’s been great and we anticipated summer being busy, and we’ve had a wonderful welcoming. The location has worked out really well for us.
What is the process like coming up with a brunch menu?
From my food truck years, I used to try to figure out based on where I was going and what was needed, so I changed the menu a lot. It’s kind of become one of my favorite things to do is build a menu and figure out how it is all pierced together. I waited tables for years and years, and you kind of see the pattern of how families order (food). You know you need something kinda simple for one and a little more exciting for others, so I just try to piece it all together that way.
On your current menu at Sisters, what dish is your favorite.
I think the crowd favorite right now is the crispy, crunchy french toast. It’s this beautiful brioche, and we roll it around in cornflake crumbles and fry it up so it’s gooey on the inside and crispy on the outside and it’s topped with roasted strawberries and our homemade cinnamon butter. The binedicts are an easy sell, everyone loves them. Our chicken and waffles, I think we kind of got known for them when we did Saturday morning cartoons to practice for brunch for a year (before Sisters opened).
Where did you learn to cook?
Kind of all over. I’ve been in the restaurant business since I was 13, so in my early 20s I wanted to focus on culinary and go to the back of the house. I just got jobs all over, learning different things. I ran little kitchens, in fact years ago, I used to run the kitchen here (where Sisters is located) when Mike Deering owned it and it was Maxbauer’s After Hours and Mahoney’s, so it became full circle. I (also) used to run the kitchen at Bahle Farms. My mom and my grandma are great cooks.
How long did it take to renovate this place?
It was about a year. The buildings connect in three places now, so the restaurants run really well together. To share the prep area and dish pit. (Little Bo’s) kitchen is really small. I used to run a food truck, so I understand how much you can get done in a small space. That’s been exciting to have the elbow room to do a little more. The whole thing has been fun. It’s been really exciting watching my staff merge and they’ve just done an incredible job.
So you run two restaurants, what do you do in your down time?
I sleep (she says while laughing). I also enjoy being with my family and relaxing when I can.