News Bits & Bites
June 30, 2011
It’s summer time, and The Ticker newsroom is hoppin’. Here’s a round-up of the latest tips from around town:
The Epicurean Classic is moving … again.
The 2004-founded event, which briefly re-located downstate before coming back to its TC roots – most recently at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons – this year will be setting up shop in the Warehouse District.
“The best part about it, in my estimation, is that it really will be able to incorporate downtown quite nicely,” says Mark Dressler, founder and director of the Epicurean Classic. “I envision some really cool things happening there by being nested [in the Warehouse District].”
The event is slated September 8 through 11.
A downstate chain is sniffing around the former South City Limits.
Some $25,000 in inside demolition work is complete at the South Division Street property, which Otto Belovich, owner of Cherry Capital Cadillac Subaru and Traverse Motors purchased last year.
No offer has been made for the building yet, but Rick Deneweth, a broker with Three West Commercial Real Estate, tells The Ticker that Belovich has been approached by a downstate restaurant chain and is considering selling the property or leasing it.
“We still think a restaurant is perfect because of the large amount of parking spaces and high traffic count,” Deneweth says. The 7,200-square-foot building’s lease price: $18/square foot. Purchase price: $1.19 million.
Leaven Bros. Biga Better Bagels is open.
Ron Graham, former Omelette Shoppe manager and Good Harbor Coffee barista, has opened the shop on 506 W. Fourteenth St.
Graham’s marketing specialist, Tricia Bowden, tells The Ticker that “Biga” isn’t a size; it’s a a pre-ferment used in traditional Italian baking, which gives the bagels a “more developed flavor.”
The grab-and-go shop offers a dozen kinds of bagels made with certified organic flour, plus a limited line of sweets, cookies and cinnamon roll “centers.”
Annie’s Takes on Two Tenants.
Longtime Front Street staple Annie’s (208 E. Front St.) is renting out space to two new businesses: The Flop Stop, which lets you design your own flip flops, and Botanical Glamour, a shop that sells natural, fruit-based skin care products infused with the entire fruit, pulp and skin of local Montmorency cherries.
In addition, Annie’s Dollar Alley is now open in the back of the store. Pizza rolls, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, hot fudge ice cream sundaes are all just a buck.
Wilson Antiques has opened a second location>
The store occupies 5600 U.S. 31 N. in Acme, aka the former House of Denmark building. Offerings are similar to Wilson’s flagship store, which has been operating for some three decades in downtown Traverse City.
Buckley’s Southside Hideout has opened a 1,500-person outdoor pavilion.
The little Buckley bar that could just did: Southside Hideout recently erected a super stage and outdoor concert space (“Outside at the Southside”) that can accommodate audiences of up to 1,500 fans. Some summer highlights on the docket: platinum recording artist Mark Wills' Looking for America Tour (July 23), and “Rappin’ Redneck” Colt Ford (August 14).