The Leelanau Enterprise reports that the village of Lake Leelanau is experiencing a new business boom:
The Lake Leelanau Renaissance, which began a couple years ago, is thriving today with two ventures open for business in the former Thunderbird store and another one planned to open in June.
And two more businesses — a wine tasting room and an Italian restaurant — are also preparing to open this spring.
...Trish’s Dish opened on the east side of the New Thunderbird building last October. And Northern Latitudes Distillery, in the middle of the building, is expected to open this summer.
Another example of the renaissance is the purchase of the former LeNaro Pub building by Jane Fortune and her partner Bob Hesse. Powell “Smitty” Smith of Venture Properties of Leland is guiding the remodeling of the former Powerhouse Tavern next to NJs Grocer.
Smith said the couple, based out of Indiana, have a residence near Leland. They have always wanted to own an Italian restaurant.
They plan on a soft opening of their new restaurant, Bella Fortuna North, in early June, with a grand opening at the end of the month.
In addition, David and Jane Albert of Leland will open the wine tasting room for their Boathouse Vineyards winery sometime this spring. The couple planted vineyards and have been producing wine from their Amore Road property for the last three years.
Read on at the Enterprise for details on these businesses and also how The Fish Hooked is capitalizing on the great fishing that Lake Leelanau offers!
Photo: The Narrows. by John Levanen
Here's a great photo posted in the Friends of Sugar Loaf group by Scott Hedberg. Left to right they are Peppi Teichner, Jean Sweeny Raymond, Pixie Hoffman, Corky Beals, Bruff LaVan, Tom Kuhnan & Art "Major" Huey.
Peppi Teichner was a legendary figure in the the development of Michigan's ski industry. The Leelanau Conservancy's Teichner Preserve honors him and explains:
Hans “Peppi” Teichner is best known locally for having taught a region to ski – everyone from Helen Milliken to children with disabilities – and as one of the founders of Sugarloaf. But his history before coming to this country is equally as compelling. Peppi was a national ski champion from Germany – and a Jew –who was coaching the Spanish Olympic Team when Hitler rose to power.
When the Spanish Civil War broke out, he helped guide those who were fleeing Franco’s fascist regime over the mountains to France. A patrol spotted him, but he managed to out-ski his would-be captors. Still, his face ended up on wanted posters in the Pyranees Mountains, which forced him to seek haven in the U.S. When World War II broke out he helped train U.S. Army troops in the 10th Mountain Division.
Ultimately, after the war and stints teaching skiing in Sun Valley and Aspen, he settled in Leelanau. An army buddy had convinced him to come help plan a ski area that would one day become Sugar Loaf Mountain.
Teichner also was instrumental in developing Holiday Hills in Traverse City. I'm thinking that his army buddy was Stanley Ball. Anyone? See another photo of him right here, read a little more about the early days of skiing in Leelanau from the Enterprise,  and share and see photos of Sugar Loaf through the Sugar Loaf Mountain Club.
The Sugar Loaf Mountain Club is hard at work, getting the Loaf ready for skiing this winter - connect with them on Facebook!
Last week the TC Ticker posted a cool feature on Farm 651 near Cedar. They report that the Farm 651 project was selected from thousands of applications for the "Pepsi Refresh Contest" for November. Each month, Pepsi gives away over $1 million to 60 ideas that move communities forward. You can vote once a day until a winner is awarded at the Farm 651 at Pepsi Refresh. They also write that:
While most farms are shutting down for winter, one area farm is plotting out a path to education.
Farm 651 - an 80-acre, eco-agricultural farm just south of Cedar - is working to become a learning campus for students in pursuit of agricultural skills and knowledge.
“We’ve received intern applications from all over the world - from as far away as Ghana, Chicago, California and, of course, locally,” says Jason Roggensee, who established “The 651 Project” as a licensed Michigan non-profit organization in August with his wife, Junie.
Students can apply to live and work on the functioning farm, while studying specific focuses: organic farming, viticulture, construction technology, agri-tourism, responsible landscape design, and green energy technology.
Housing will be provided, and product sales via farm markets and onsite retail facilities will serve as a living stipend.
The couple’s biggest priority? Building a student “nest.” Starting next spring, they plan to start construction on a two-story, super-efficient farmhouse-style structure that should house six students comfortably.
Read on for more and cast your vote for Farm 651!
photo credit: squircle_7_cedar_michigan_farm_651_P_Petrat by Trish P. - K1000 Gal
After the leaves leave, Leelanau County works to build economy less dependent on tourism by Howard Lovy in Crains Detroit talks with J.T. "Chip" Hoagland of the Leelanau County Economic Development Corp and Matt McCauley of the Northwest Michigan Council of Governments about using agriculture, food processing and the growing interest in local foods to create a more robust economy on the Leelanau Peninsula.
According to a report produced by the Northwest Michigan Council of Governments "accommodation and food services" represented about one in six total jobs available in Leelanau County as of 2009. And, increasingly, these jobs are no longer seasonal only.
"It's really interesting how many restaurants are in the county and the fact that most of those stay open year round," said Matt McCauley, director of regional planning for the council of governments.
Like Hoagland, McCauley credits the local-food movement for a restaurant boom that is not so dependent on tourist season.
"Leelanau County is truly a leader in a resurgence around agriculture," McCauley said. "Because of the wineries, hops farms, all sorts of burgeoning agriculture and value-added activity, all sorts of people are choosing to locate here to be part of that."
By "value-added," he means businesses such as Cherry Republic in Glen Arbor, which not only uses local cherries but also turns them into chocolates, jam and other products that then are shipped around the world.
In addition, McCauley said, "The restaurants in the region — and we're getting more and more notoriety as a foodie destination — are choosing and actually seeking out local products for their menu items."
Click through to read the whole thing and share your thoughts about creating more of a year-round economy in Leelanau below!
Photo credit: Nic of 9 Bean Rows, Harvesting Greens by Ken Scott
A new article on the Glen Arbor Sun asks Will Sugar Loaf offer cross-country skiing this winter? It begins:
A breath of fresh air may have descended on Sugar Loaf. Just weeks before snow is likely to fall on the downtrodden Leelanau County ski hill whose chairlifts have sat idle for nearly 12 years, a local resort owner is developing a plan that would open the mountain to cross-country skiing and ice climbing — perhaps this winter.
Erik Zehender, fourth generation co-owner of Fountain Point Resort in nearby Lake Leelanau, is negotiating with Sugar Loaf owner Kate Wickstrom to lease the mountain from her and create the Sugar Loaf Mountain Club, a nonprofit that would offer backcountry and groomed trails to members of the club who, in Zehender’s words, “participate in the costs of insurance, grooming, outhouses, warming huts, parking, plowing, safety programs and other operating expenses.”
Empire resident and Director of Sales and Marketing at DW North, Rick Desrochers, and Glen Arborite Eric Luthardt, a Product Line Manager at Flow Snowboarding, have assisted Zehender. According to Wickstrom, those two “believe in Sugar Loaf and have stood by me. I wouldn’t go forward without them.” Desrochers and Luthardt have worked with Wickstrom for over a year, and she says they bring ideas to resurrect the resort lodge and mountain...
Read on at the Glen Arbor Sun for more about plans for this winter and share your thoughts on our Sugar Loaf thread!
Let me be the first to say "I doubt it," but in anticipation of a new burst of energy here, I'm rolling out a fresh post to replace the Turning the Page on Sugar Loaf post with its nearly 400 comments.
This week's Leelanau Enterprise reports that Sugar Loaf owner Kate Wickstrom met with Glen Dempsey, head of the Leelanau County Construction Authority. Dempsey intends to work with Wickstrom towards bringing the long-shuttered resort into compliance with county building codes.
Probably the highlight of the article - other than confirmation that Wickstrom now intends to sell the property - is Cleveland Township supervisor Rick Stein's statement to the township board that Sugar Loaf stands a "pretty good chance of being condemned if things don't happen there pretty quickly."
Thoughts? Comments? Post them below!
The photo is by Karl Kitchen and was posted to the Friends of Sugar Loaf Facebook group.
While I think the headline New Hope for Sugar Loaf? has been used two or twenty times before, this story from last week's Ticker has some positive news. They report:
The Leelanau County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (LCBRA) recently made a small but meaningful move in the hiring of AKT Peerless. The Saginaw-based consulting firm’s mission: to market and make use of a $1 million dollar revolving loan fund granted to LCBRA by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Roughly 80 percent of the fund would be available to developers to help with up-front and long-term environmental clean-up costs in the county, a tantalizing incentive LCBRA hopes will make redeveloping the resort more attractive to potential developers.
But what exactly needs to be cleaned up? And how much will it cost?
Leelanau County Planning Director Trudy Galla tells The Ticker that the project wouldn’t be easy – or cheap: “The buildings are falling into disrepair … There are issues with mold, water intrusion and a bit of asbestos. There was also a septic backup in one of the buildings. It looks like the Tennis Barn will need to come down, and there are old underground storage tanks that need to be removed.”
Photo by Karl Kitchen from the Friends of Sugar Loaf group on Facebook - see more of the condition of the resort in his Sugar Loaf - April 2010 Album on Facebook!
Pat Stinson has a nice feature in the Glen Arbor Sun on how Sugarfoot Saloon has formed a beer-making partnership with homebrewer Brian Bartos and is serving microbrewed beer:
“I thought it would be really nice to have crafted beer for our customers,” said Sugarfoot owner Pete Bardenhagen, who persevered through paperwork required for brewpub licensing, (which took seven months), while Bartos selected equipment and fine-tuned his brew recipes.
When he isn’t controlling sea lamprey populations in Michigan streams as a US Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, Bartos brews up trial batches of beer for the ’Foots. Currently on tap are “Liquid Sunshine” (4.5 percent ABV), described as a citrusy, Belgian wit (wheat) style ale with clementine zest and summery spices, “a taste of sunshine for those cloudy days;” “Bavarian Hefeweizen” (4.5 percent ABV), a light-bodied wheat beer brewed in the German tradition with a smooth, banana flavor and a hint of clove; and a higher octane porter (5.2 percent ABV) that’s “filled with flavor yet deceptively smooth.”
“It’s a good, rich, dark beer,” said porter drinker John Rabideau, a Sugarfoot neighbor and patron and the owner of Grand Traverse Timberpeg, a builder of timber homes.
Next up on the brew menu is a chocolate ale, soon to replace the vanishing “Hefi,” and too new to appear on the bar’s whiteboard descriptions. The saloon’s brew menu currently changes about every three weeks, which is a point of pride for the “pub” and a note of caution for those who fall in love with a particular style. Enjoy it while you can, because it may be gone all too soon.
Read more at the Sun and I have to say that Right Brain in Traverse City has done very well indeed with a similar format - good thinking Pete!
The Leelanau Enterprise reports that a new Processing Renaissance Zone in Grand Traverse County is expected to help many Leelanau growers by expanding what is already one of the world's largest cherry processing facilities:
The owners of one of Leelanau County's largest fruit growing operations - Bob and Don Gregory of Cherry Bay Orchards - are among principal owners of Shoreline Fruit, L.L.C. which operates a processing facility in Grand Traverse County's Acme Township.
Officials of Shoreline Fruit this week announced that Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder approved establishment of an Agricultural Processing Renaissance Zone (an APRZ) for the expansion of the facility in Acme. The APRZ designation waives most state and local taxes for up to 15 years for an expanded area of the plant only. The designation is expected to save Shoreline Fruit up to $1.9 million as part of a $7.5 million plan to expand the facility.
"Shoreline has been processing cherries from many more growers than just Cherry Bay Orchards," Don Gregory told the Enterprise this week. "We expect that a very high percentage of cherries that will be processed at the expanded facility will come from throughout northwestern lower Michigan in general and most of them from Leelanau County in particular."
..."We're in the right place in terms of food trends, too, because cherries are considered to be 'locally grown,'" Gregory added. "In the national market, 'locally grown' means anywhere in the U.S., and cherries along with blueberries and grapes seem to be gaining market share in comparison to some of the more exotic fruits grown in other countries."
Read more at the Enterprise and also check out the Shoreline Fruit website.
Photo credit: Cherry Blossoms by leelanau2010 (and yes, we have Cherry Blossoms!)
The Leelanau Enterprise notes that the Leelanau Chamber of Commerce is holding a Community Business Forum Wednesday morning (April 18) from 7-9 AM at the Leelanau Sands Showroom. The forum is designed to help local business owners develop strategies for this year and beyond.
The cost will be $10 for Chamber members and $15 for non-members and includes breakfast. Sponsor tables can be purchased for $100. Make your reservation by calling the Chamber at 271-9895 or emailing info@leelanauchamber.com.
Great Indoor Folk Festival ~ Feb 12, 2012
