News Release from Northwestern Michigan College 1701 E. Front St., Traverse City MI 49686 Contact: Paul Heaton, 231 995-1019, email: pheaton@nmc.edu Date: May 19, 2008 News Archive

tc Red's BBQ kicks off opening with NMC scholarship

TRAVERSE CITY – Besides signature Memphis-style pit barbecue fare, the family owners of the new tc Red’s BBQ restaurant in Traverse City are offering up a culinary scholarship to an NMC student.

Owned by Brandon Hofmeister, a 1995 NMC culinary arts graduate, and his parents Ron and Kathleen, tc Reds opened March 31. The restaurant dedicated two nights to hosting friends and family and fundraising for what has become the $1,000 Hofmeister Family Scholarship.

“I struggled when I went to NMC. I had to work and go to school at the same time like many others. This is why I'd like to give back, to give a future chef a chance to focus on school and not have to worry how he/she is going to pay for college,” said Hofmeister, who worked at the Park Place Hotel and Grand Traverse Resort as well as restaurants in Pittsburgh, Boston and Detroit before returning to Traverse City to open tc Red’s BBQ.

The restaurant is located at 3480-C S. Airport Road West, at the northeast corner of the intersection of South Airport Road and U.S. 31, by the Grand Traverse Mall. Memphis-style pit barbecue smoked with hickory from Tennessee, including ribs, chicken and pulled pork, is the specialty of the house.

The Hofmeister Family Scholarship will be awarded to a full- or part-time student enrolled in the Great Lakes Culinary Institute from the NMC service area (Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Antrim, Kalkaska, Benzie and Wexford counties) based primarily on financial need. To be considered, students must be admitted to the program and should contact Institute Director Fred Laughlin for information at flaughlin@nmc.edu or (231) 995-1197. Laughlin will also oversee selection of the recipient.

Scholarships are administered by the NMC Foundation. Thanks to the generosity of donors like the Hofmeister family, the NMC Foundation is proud to award more scholarships to more students than any other community college in Michigan. A record $1 million in scholarships will be awarded in the 2008-09 academic year.