Elf Cafe Coming to GT Commons

Family-friendly café and play place Elf is coming to the Village at Grand Traverse Commons.

At a Grand Traverse Brownfield Redevelopment Authority meeting Wednesday, Raymond Minervini of The Minervini Group – which manages the Commons – told board members Elf (Eat, Learn, Frolic) owners had signed a lease to join the commercial redevelopment at Buildings 60 and 56 on the property, also slated to be the new home of Oneupweb. A third tenant is also in negotiations to occupy the premises, Minervini said. The Minervini Group was approved for a $119,400 Local Site Mediation Fund loan from the BRA for environmental clean-up at the site, which will now be held to stricter soil standards due to the planned presence of an outdoor playground at the property.

Elf was originally set to open on Randolph Street at the former site of Hampel’s Locksmith and Gun Shop; however, the company recently posted on its Facebook account that it “couldn’t make the Elf space work” at that location. Owners stated, however, that they were “still on track for a 2015 opening" in the new venue.