A downtown Traverse City restaurant could soon expand into a new location while a Front Street crosswalk has been designated for a makeover – both upgrades made possible by online crowdfunding campaigns.

New Home for Edany B.L.T.
Thanks to a $15,000 donation from a stranger, owners Eddie and Dani Walker of Edany B.L.T. are in lease negotiations to relocate and expand their West Front Street eatery into the former House of Doggs space at 120 South Union Street.

On Tuesday night, the Walkers launched an Indiegogo campaign to help raise $15,000 to cover relocation costs and equipment upgrades. In a campaign video, Eddie explains that a lack of public restrooms at the restaurant’s current space has limited seating capacity to 18. Uneven floors, recurring flooding due to the building’s proximity to Kid's Creek and repeated bouts of frozen pipes have also hampered business. “It’s an old building that’s had nothing but complications since we’ve moved in,” Dani tells The Ticker.

Just three hours after the restaurant’s crowdfunding campaign went live, a Texas donor named Ancel Langford contributed $15,000 – the entire goal amount. “We were in complete shock,” says Dani. “We kept asking ourselves, ‘Is this real?’” For his part, Langford - who says he wanted to make the donation anonymously but didn't realize Indiegogo would publish his name - visited Traverse City several years when his company helped renovate the Park Place Hotel and "loved the place."

"I'm friends with (Edany employee) Paul Salvatore and have followed some of their struggles," Langford says. "I felt like I needed to do it. TC is like a second home to me. I hope they can get into their new place, and that it establishes a long-term business there."

Though lease discussions for the House of Doggs space are not finalized, Dani says the couple is “confident” a deal will be reached (campaign funds – still being accepted through March 31 – can also be used to renovate the existing restaurant space as a back-up plan). The Union Street location features 45 seats and two public restrooms.

“We’re going to have the same hours and same menu, but we’ll offer late-night bar food on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays,” Dani says. “We’ll also offer dinners a couple times a month to start…then hopefully expand into full-time dinner service.”

Front Street "Bumpout"
The second stage of a crowdfunding campaign to install a new bumpout near Robert Frost and Miner’s North Jewelers on Front Street is now underway.

The Downtown Development Authority (DDA) raised $1,300 last fall in the project’s first stage, and will seek to raise another $3,700 to qualify for a matching Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) grant.

“The final step is to do another crowdfunding campaign, and we’re also doing a few offline events to reach that minimum $5,000 amount,” says DDA Deputy and Marketing Director Colleen Paveglio. Events include the upcoming Tour Through Time on March 21 and a screening of The Human Scale at the State Theatre on March 16.

If funding is secured, the new bumpout could be installed by this summer, according to Paveglio.

More Local Crowdfunding
Several other crowdfunding campaigns are also now underway in Traverse City:

The Accidentals have already raised $11,485 of their $10,000 Indiegogo goal to spend a year on the road touring the U.S. The campaign still has eight days left and offers rewards ranging from albums to hand-written lyrics to concerts. Funds raised will help cover lodging, gas and other road expenses.

Sushi company White On Rice, meanwhile, is hoping to raise $30,000 on Kickstarter to purchase a food trailer for year-round use. “Help us bring quality and innovative sushi and Japanese classics…to Traverse City!” write owners Eric & Amy Kolden. The campaign runs through March 21.