Coyote Joe’s Pub & Grill Coming to Former Mr. C’s Space, CuTea Boba & Ride Leelanau Expanding, More Restaurant/Retail News

A new restaurant called Coyote Joe’s Pub & Grill is opening soon in the former Mr. C’s Pub & Grill space in Williamsburg, Ride Leelanau and CuTea Boba are both expanding in Traverse City, Gardner White is taking over the Value City Furniture space, and more businesses are on the move in The Ticker’s latest look at restaurant and retail news.

Coyote Joe’s Pub & Grill
The owner of a popular country music nightclub in Shelby Township – Coyote Joe’s – is bringing the same name but a different concept to the former Mr. C’s space on M-72 in Williamsburg.

Joe Hellebuyck is planning an early March soft opening of Coyote Joe’s Pub & Grill. “I call it a pub and grill with fine dining specials,” he tells The Ticker. “It’s more than just bar food. Most everything we do will have fresh ingredients. That includes hand-cut onion rings and wings that are fresh, never frozen. We’ll also have hand-tossed pizzas with our own sauce and dough.” In addition to a full bar and nearly a dozen draft beers on tap, the menu will feature smash burgers, sandwiches like Reubens and patty melts, filets, ribs, lamb chops, and more, plus a kids’ menu with Northwoods Soda fountain drinks.

Hellebuyck, who has been in the industry for over 30 years, says he’s been visiting the area the last three decades. He hadn’t anticipated opening a restaurant here but got a “fair price” on the Mr. C’s property and “needed a challenge,” he chuckles. Though shuttered for several years, the building was in “very good shape,” according to Hellebuyck. “We’ve cleaned everything up and made a few changes to the kitchen.”

With a property size just under seven acres, the owner plans to put a 3,000-4,000 square-foot tent outside in the summer for live music and special events like a Nashville Summer Fest and an Oktoberfest. Restaurant hours to start will be Tuesday-Thursday 11am-8pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-9pm, and Sunday 11am-8pm (closed Monday). Hours will likely be expanded in the summer, Hellebuyck notes.

Ride Leelanau & CuTea Boba
Two local companies are opening second locations in Traverse City.

Ride Leelanau, which offers e-bike rentals next to Bayside Gallery in downtown Suttons Bay, is taking over the former Classic Consignment building at 13680 South West Bay Shore Drive across from Apache Trout Grill. Owner Lee Millns is targeting a March 20 opening for Ride Leelanau Traverse City (the original location will become Ride Leelanau Suttons Bay), which will offer e-bike rentals, sales, and service. His rental fleet will include 90 e-bikes – 50 in Traverse City and 40 in Suttons Bay – with almost 5,000 square feet of showroom and service space in Traverse City. Featured brands will include Velotric and Lectric.

Millns says e-bikes have “skyrocketed” in popularity in Asia and Europe, with growing demand here in the U.S. “I saw a need,” he says. “There’s a gap to be filled here. They’re a ton of fun, but people want to come see them or test drive them before they put down the money to buy one. Service is also a big issue. We have a big warehouse in the back, so we’re looking at layering in e-bike storage (for customers) with battery management in the winter.” Millns says the new location is “geographically in a great spot,” with cyclists able to head out from the shop either toward Suttons Bay on the Leelanau Trail or toward Traverse City on the recently expanded TART Trail.

CuTea Boba is also adding another location in Traverse City, expanding from its original spot in Kids Creek Marketplace on Division Street to a second space at 124 Cochlin Street (formerly Crocodile Palace). Owner George Heydlauff says the new location – called for now CuTea Boba and Vietnamese Street Food – will feature not only boba but a “carefully crafted, limited Hanoian street food menu. We’re intentionally keeping it small so we can focus on quality, flavor, and authenticity.”

The menu will include beef brisket pho and chicken pho “on weekends only so we can do it right,” Heydlauff says. “Our broth takes about 8 hours to prepare, and we’re not cutting corners.” Other menu highlights include fried spring rolls, ramen stir fry, caramelized pork belly, braised pork chop, and stuffed Roma tomatoes with rice. The eatery is open now, with Heydlauff hosting a soft launch over the weekend. Posted hours are Monday-Tuesday 11am-8pm, Wednesday-Saturday 9am-8pm, and Sunday 11am-6pm.

More updates from around the region…
Michigan furniture and mattress retailer Gardner White is taking over the Value City Furniture space on Oak Hollow Drive. As reported by The Ticker in January, Value City Furniture is closing all of its stores – including its Traverse City location – after parent company American Signature Inc. filed for bankruptcy. Gardner White, meanwhile, is adding nine new store locations in Michigan including its expansion into the 63,400-square-foot Traverse City space. The company has both designer brands and budget-friendly options, according to a release, and offers same-day and nighttime delivery.

Great Lakes Sailing Company is under new ownership, with longtime employee John Dykhuis-Deely and his wife Brooke Dykhuis-Deely recently purchasing the business from Dave Conrad. The business, located on South West Bay Shore Drive, plans to “plans to grow its presence in northern Michigan by expanding the charter base in Bay Harbor” and “introduce new learning opportunities designed specifically for women, expanding inclusive and supportive sailing education programs” through its ASA sailing school, according to a company release.

Two prominent properties have hit the market in Traverse City. The Grand Traverse Motel has been listed for sale for $2.3 million on East Front Street. The 8,062-square-foot property includes 18 hotel rooms on .49 acres. Also, after The Ticker  previously reported on the Traverse City Record-Eagle’s plans to relocate its offices to another to-be-announced location locally, its West Front Street property has hit the market for $6.1 million. The listing includes not only the riverfront office building but a parking lot across the street, a “a rare and highly valuable combination in a dense, supply-constrained downtown market,” according to the listing.

Several businesses previously covered in The Ticker have made progress toward openings or new locations. Artemis Books & Goods, a new bookselling venture from four former booksellers of the closed Brilliant Books, has found a new brick-and-mortar home inside Warehouse MRKT on Hall Street. The bookstore held its soft launch this weekend and will be open in the market Friday-Sunday to start “with hours expanding as the store is built out with seating, shelves, and lots more books,” the owners said.

Also in the Warehouse District, new Korean BBQ restaurant The Three Pigs – going into the former Mammoth Distilling space – is now targeting the first week of April for its soft opening. “The permitting process took a bit longer than anticipated with plans having to be redrawn multiple times,” says owner Chad Perreault. “As for the liquor license, we’re now in the final stages pending a final vote at the MLCC level.” The company is now hiring for all positions (threepigstc@gmail.com).

Resale shop Penny Lane has now officially opened the doors at its second location at 528 West Fourteenth Street (next to Crusted Creations), with the same hours as its East Front Street store, while Lake Ann Brewing Company recently completed its new four-season music pavilion outside and has begun hosting events in the space. Finally, The Ticker checked in with the new owner of the former Macy’s space at the Grand Traverse Mall on progress at that site. “Construction has commenced,” Daniel Stern of Lormax Stern said by email. “We are splitting the building into three to four spaces. Anticipated opening for some tenants is 2027 and others 2028.” The tenants have not yet been announced, but the company previously said it planned to bring in a gourmet food store, national bookstore, and national popular apparel brands.