The Traverse Bay Area Credit Union has purchased two of Traverse City’s most prominent pieces of Front Street property: the former Shooters All-Star Pub at 626 E. Front St. and the Fruit Dock Farm Market at 678 E. Front St.

Karen Browne, CEO of TBA Credit Union, declined to confirm TBACU’s plans or purchase price for the properties, which total just over an acre. Neither property was listed for sale at the time of purchase. The sale was handled by Tom Krause of Krause Realty Solutions. 

"With the influx of national companies into the Traverse region over the past decade, I am excited to sell to a group such as TBA Credit Union with their long history of commitment to the local community,” says Jeff Mugerian, seller of the Shooters property. “I could not be happier with the transaction."

Browne says she’s confident residents will be pleased with the clean-up efforts. “Those pieces of land are important given their location near downtown and the Bay,” she says. “We will take every necessary step to ensure its development is something our neighbors can be proud of.”

The highly visible site is across Front Street from Holiday Inn West Bay and next to the Plante & Moran building.

Since the sports pub Shooters closed, the property has been the focus of speculation. Several potential buyers, including national restaurant chains and pharmacies, inquired about purchasing the property or leasing the building, but for a variety of reasons no transactions were completed.

Earlier this year Mugerian says he seriously considered building a 28-unit apartment building on the site. For several years, during the National Cherry Festival, he has allowed parking at the location with donations going to Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Northwestern Michigan. Blarney Castle Oil Company owned the Fruit Dock location, which it has been leasing to Edmundson Orchards.

Krause says he and TBACU had considered several properties in the area, “but the [TBACU] board determined that was the premium site, so this is what we went for,” he says, noting that the location offers the credit union the ultimate in community visibility and community impact.

He adds that as much of the former Shooters’ interior as possible – bar, air conditioning unit, stove hood, window glass and more – is being donated to local non-profits, including two VFW halls and a church.

First chartered in 1955 as the Traverse City School Employees Credit Union, TBA Credit Union is a $150 million (assets) credit union that provides financial services to members in Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska and Leelanau counties. It provides financial services to more than 10,000 members.