What Were Traverse City's Biggest News Stories In 2023?
As we count down the minutes to midnight and prepare to welcome in 2024, The Ticker had to ask: What were the biggest news stories of the year in Traverse City? Based on our metrics, these six stories caught the most eyes and generated the most discussion.
6. Cherry Capital Airport plots expansion of daily service to Charlotte
The growth of our hometown airport has been a consistent topic of interest for local Traverse Citians, and that trend continued this year. As Cherry Capital Airport (TVC) notches its highest passenger count in history – Airport Director Kevin Klein recently told Ticker sister publication Northern Express that the airport would likely tally 680,000 passengers for 2023 – the airport is also continuing to grow its destinations.
The latest addition? Daily service to Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), which will begin on June 5, 2024 and operate all summer, through September 3. TVC has offered flights to Charlotte in the past, but only on Saturdays.
When The Ticker reported the news on October 17, it clocked nearly 800 reactions on Facebook, and generated some lively discussion in the comments – much of it from readers requesting other destinations that should get the same daily service treatment.
5. Kilwins and Great Lakes Potato Chips sell to private equity firms
Ticker readers certainly had a lot to say when news broke that two of northern Michigan’s most iconic food brands were selling majority ownership stakes to out-of-state private equity firms.
We shared the news in March, and heard from the leaders of both businesses about how the transactions would generate crucial investment cash and supercharge growth. “There's only so much debt we can bring on personally,” Great Lakes Potato Chips CEO Chris Girrbach told us. “It was always the plan to get the company to a level where we could bring on a strategic partner that could really help us continue to grow, help us keep rewarding the staff, and just help us do all the things that businesses do.”
Despite Girrbach’s assurances, this particular story didn’t get a happy reception from our readers: On Facebook, the article drew nearly 600 reactions, and half of them were literally the sad-face emoji. “Neither company will ever be the same,” one reader wrote in the comment section. “Once you sell to a private equity firm, quality goes down.”
Regardless of where things go from here, there’s no doubt that two major local brands selling to private equity was splashy news: This article had a reach of more than 107,000 people, traveling well beyond the bounds of northern Michigan to a nationwide audience.
4. Le Macaron French Pastries and Lululemon headed for Front Street
The Ticker’s roundups of retail and restaurant news are reliable generators of traffic, conversation, and general interest, so it’s no surprise to see one of those amongst our top stories of the year. In this one from January – our very first restaurant/retail roundup of 2023, in fact – we reported on the arrival of Le Macaron French Pastries in downtown Traverse City, the news that Lululemon would be moving into the former Nest space at 218 East Front Street, and more.
3. Two new Hilton hotels bound for major local intersection
How about a few more hotels?! We reported in September that a major new hospitality development featuring two Hilton properties – a Hilton Garden Inn and a Homewood Suites by Hilton – was in the works for the southeast corner of the US-31 and Three Mile Road intersection in East Bay Township. The project will ultimately bring 186 new hotel rooms to an already crowded – and rapidly growing – TC hotel scene.
Most readers weren’t particularly thrilled: Our Facebook post for this story drew nearly 600 comments, with locals raising concerns about hotel oversaturation in East Bay Township, potential traffic impacts on an already-gridlocked intersection, and more.
2. Diversions to close after nearly 40 years
There was an outpouring of love for Diversions when we broke the news in November that the hat store and downtown mainstay would be closing its Traverse City location after nearly 40 years. Owner Phil Anderson told The Ticker that the new owners of the Masonic Building – who bought the property in January and converted most of its units into short-term rentals – would not be renewing his lease. Today (December 31) marks the store’s last day in business – though Anderson has said he will continue to operate his other Diversions location in Leland, which he opened in 1972.
The response for this story about a little hat shop in Traverse City was anything but little: It reached 137,000 people and drew quite the response on social media, including 1,500 reactions, nearly 400 comments, and over 170 shares. While some commenters expressed sadness or anger at the closure, most wished Anderson well and shared fond memories of visiting his store over the years.
1. Is Amazon coming to northern Michigan
Unsurprisingly, the news that one of the biggest companies on the planet was likely plotting an expansion into Traverse City turned out to be our single most-read article of 2023. The story, “Amazon Appears Headed to Traverse City,” published on October 18 broke the massive news on The Ticker first. Amazon declined official comment, but the evidence is overwhelming.
Our reporting on the matter certainly touched off a firestorm, with other publications throughout the state picking up the story and citing The Ticker’s article as the key source. All told, the story notched a reach of 159,000 people and kicked off a lively social media discussion about job creation, workforce housing, salary rates, cost of living, and more. If Amazon does indeed move into the Traverse City market, we have a feeling that would be one of the big news stories of 2024 as well.