Becky Tranchell, owner of the former neighborhood café Rose and Fern on Eighth Street, is launching a new venture this spring: a coffee and juice bar called Rough Pony in the former BLK MRKT space in the Warehouse Market building. The Ticker has an exclusive first look at the project plans, plus other restaurant and retail news from across the region, including plans to demolish the former Ruby Tuesday on US-31 to make way for a new drive-thru year-round Dairy Queen, ownership changes at Thirlby Automotive and That’sa Pizza, and a lineup of food trucks coming soon to both The Little Fleet and the Green Mitt car wash.

Rough Pony
After closing the doors to Rose and Fern in December, Becky Tranchell is ready to return to the market with a new location and new concept. Tranchell is targeting a May opening of Rough Pony, a coffee and juice bar that will feature Stockist Coffee Company – the in-house roasting partner of Rose and Fern – along with a full espresso bar, juices, teas, smoothies, and housemade sodas. Tranchell will take over occupancy of the 720-square-foot space formerly held by BLK MRKT in the Warehouse Market building on Hall Street.

Tranchell says Rough Pony will feature some of the same staff and vendors as Rose and Fern, with plans to offer produce from Lakeview Hill Farm and Michigan Farm to Freezer in the juices and smoothies and local teas from Bear Earth Herbals. Former Rose and Fern front-of-house employee Allie Stephens, whom Tranchell says has extensive wine and cocktail knowledge, will be putting those skills to work making “really interesting syrups for fancy house sodas with herbs and garnishes,” offering a creative non-alcoholic alternative to bar drinks.

Rough Pony is planned to be open six days a week from 8am-5pm to start, though Tranchell hopes to eventually extend those hours later into the evening. Rough Pony – a childhood nickname of Tranchell’s mother – will be cash only, with plans to install an ATM machine in the building. That will allow the business to avoid the $17,000 in merchant fees Rose and Fern incurred in 2021, Tranchell says. With hospitality businesses operating on thin margins and struggling to retain staff, “I want those merchant fees to go to employee wages,” Tranchell says.

While some commonalities link Rose and Fern and Rough Pony – including Tranchell’s desire to create a “community space where people can hang out and chill” – she’s clear that the businesses are two different concepts. For one, Rough Pony doesn’t have a hood or kitchen and so won’t serve food. Pastries or other simple premade options are possible in the future if Tranchell can secure an off-site production space, but she says Rose and Fern as a concept was specific to its former neighborhood site and “is being put to rest.” Tranchell may someday return to cooking food, but says it likely won’t be at Rough Pony. “I really enjoy being a small business owner, the startup part of it, and I do have a dream of potentially handing off Rough Pony to an employee someday and creating something else later down the road,” she says. “I still dream of what that food place will be, but right now I’m transitioning into a different phase with something that has more structure between work and life.”

Other openings, closings, and moves…
> East Bay Township planning commissioners will vote Tuesday on approving a special use permit (SUP) for Dairy Queen to demolish the former Ruby Tuesday building on US-31 and construct a new drive-thru Dairy Queen location on the site. Plans call for a 1,748-square-foot building with 24 parking spaces, indoor and outdoor seating, a picnic area, bike racks, and TART Trail access. An auxiliary lane next to the drive-thru lane will provide an additional exit lane and offer room for customers to leave the line as others wait for their orders to be completed. According to applicant Mike Cohen, the new Dairy Queen will replace the company’s existing location next to Pirate’s Cove. “The move will allow us to operate a year-round location and also have indoor seating as well,” he says. “We typically close the store in October at the current location. We plan to close for about a week in September to move our equipment and be able to stay open year-round.”

> The planned new Dairy Queen is welcome news to Mark Wanner, owner of neighboring business Green Mitt car wash. He sees a potential symbiosis between the two connected properties, with Green Mitt planning to host food trucks in its lot every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from May to October this year. “These are all new players in the market,” he says of the food trucks, which will typically operate from mid-morning to late afternoon/early evening (weather-dependent). Wanner says the same trucks will be stationed on the same days all season to provide consistency, with picnic tables on-site and menus provided to car wash customers. The truck lineup includes:
Wednesdays: Wicked Boss, featuring Jamaican food, lobster rolls, breakfast wraps, and coffee
Thursdays: Mac’s Shack, featuring tacos and all-American cuisine
Fridays: Sabores y Colores, featuring authentic Mexican food

> Food trucks will also be back in full force at The Little Fleet this summer, according to General Manager Jess Heller. Trucks will be operating in the lot starting April 25, with planned hours of 3pm-9pm April 25-28, 11:30am-10pm the weekend of April 29, and May hours of 11:30am-9pm Sunday-Thursday and 11:30am-10pm Friday-Saturday. Operating times will extend one hour later starting in June. A Cinco de Mayo party is planned for May 5 and a Summer Launch block party planned for May 29. The vendor lineup includes Cordwood BBQ, Glendale Ave., Good on Wheels (featuring a new truck and menu this year), TC Pizza Co., and Happy’s Taco Shop (inside The Little Fleet). The bar will be open daily, offering service one hour later than the trucks, Heller says.

> Two long-time local businesses are changing hands. Auto-Wares is purchasing Thirlby Automotive, with the companies officially merging operations this week. The Thirlby Automotive name will remain on the stores, according to a joint letter sent to customers, with senior Thirlby staff including Brandon Thirlby and Matt Thiebaut still on board. Auto-Wares has been a “long-time supplier to Thirlby Automotive with relationships that date back over 50 years,” according to the letter, which states that the “companies combined will add even more inventory, product brands, (and) sales resources.” Meanwhile, Troy Hall has purchased all three Traverse City locations of That’sa Pizza, which has been in business for over 40 years. As part of the purchase, That’sa Pizza is expanding its bar program at its Long Lake location, with a widened selection of cocktails, liquor, beer, and wine.

> Finally, two local businesses are operating under new names. Blue Heart Tattoo has rebranded to Cherry Capital Ink, with a grand opening held this past weekend at the company’s new location at 1990 US-31. A portion of event proceeds were donated to the Women’s Resource Center. Also, Evola Music has a new name following the semi-retirement of Jim Evola. The company will now be called Kawai Piano Gallery, with new owner Dave Monaghan at the helm.