One thing we've learned from the coronavirus is how to adapt, and one Michigan bed and breakfast has found a way to have outdoor dining in the winter: ice shanties.

Anyone who has ever gone ice fishing is familiar with the shelters used to fight off the winter wind, and an ice shanty in Michigan can mean anything from a simple wood structure that reeks of stale beer, to a luxurious room with a TV and a fridge.

The iconic structures are now a weirdly Michigan way to skirt around the outdoor dining limitations presented by colder winter weather.

A bed and breakfast in Lake Leelanau is serving its meal in ice shanties. Little Traverse Inn owner Graeme Leask told UpNorthLive.com that he and his staff hatched the idea this summer while worrying about winter restrictions. “What’s more northern Michigan than ice shanties? So, we built them, and here we are."

Leask sunk $25,000 into the five shanties which are set up outside his restaurant, although not (yet) out on the ice of Lake Leelanau.

Local artists decorated the shanties, which can hold six people at a time.

“Fortunately, with the shanties open now we’ve managed to bring four people back to work and hire somebody,” Leask said. “That’s wonderful. I thank everybody for their support in keeping local people working.”

If they ever get the shanties out on the ice, no word if you can fish while dining, or whether they'll broil your lake trout for you.

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