It's A Traverse City Night

We received great feedback last month when The Ticker explored the events of a typical Traverse City morning. That’s one side of a day. But then daylight fades and people exchange the day’s rituals for those of evening. So we decided to showcase some of those who only come out at night.

2:30pm Josh Kuehne arrives for his job as bartender and manager at The Parlor. He sets up the bar, gets liquor stocked and makes sure the room is clean and menus are organized.

4:00 The Parlor opens.

5:30 The evening shift comes on at the Traverse City Police department.

6:00 The police department gets a briefing from the day shift. The duty sergeant checks the logs to see if there are any items that need to be followed up on or closed out. If it’s simply too busy – Lieutenant Erich Bohrer says the busiest time is typically from 4 to 8pm – then the night shift might not hold a briefing till later, if at all.

6:30 Live music starts at The Parlor outside, weather permitting. Dinner service begins to pick up.

6:30-7:00 Contracted sound reinforcement arrives at Kilkenny’s for the night’s music.

6:45 The Trauma Team at Munson Medical Center reports off to the oncoming surgeon, Dr. Kerry Kole, and nurse practitioner, Shamarie Regenold. They both respond to the Emergency Department for the next 12 hours when trauma and surgical patients are brought to the hospital. The operating rooms at Munson Medical Center are on standby at all times, if not already in use. As a level 2 trauma center, Munson has a multitude of clinical collaborative services available 24 hours a day. Munson hosts an average of 20-60 trauma and surgical patients every day. The trauma team remains in-house and immediately available throughout the night.

7:00 Night shift nurses begin their 12-hour shifts on all patient care floors across Munson Medical Center.

7:00 The night shift team arrives at Grand Traverse County 911/Central Dispatch, ready for its 12-hour shift. The team, typically between three and four people, gets a briefing from the day shift. Team members then assume one of several roles: Fire/EMS, dispatch for city police, dispatch for county or state police, or taking emergency calls. Those roles are flexible throughout the shift depending on need. Director Jason Torrey says things typically start out fairly busy when people head home from work around 5pm . He notes, however, that fire, emergency medical situation, domestic violence and other emergency calls can come in at any time.

7:30-8:00 Bassist Mike Hunter and the rest of One Hot Robot arrive at Kilkenny’s. He and his fellow band members unpack their instruments and plug in. They then run through a brief sound check before taking a break for dinner.

9:00 The Main Lobby at Munson Medical Center is locked to visitors. All visitors in the hospital are asked to leave the facility for the night.

9:00 One Hot Robot starts its performance at Kilkenny’s.

9:22 A Munson Medical Center security officer is dispatched to provide an escort for a patient’s family member from the hospital to the Munson Manor Hospitality House.

10:00-11:00 As business slows down at The Parlor, staff begins to wash, polish and roll silverware.

10:02 A Munson Medical Center security officer is dispatched to block roadway adjacent to helicopter pad for a North Flight/AeroMed helicopter landing to pick up a patient for transfer.

10:22 Munson Medical Center security officer returns to block roadway for helicopter to take off with patient.

11:00 Night desk clerk Jordan arrives for her front desk shift at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa. She begins the night completing backup reports and preparing paperwork for the night auditor.

11:00 As second shifts end and third shifts begin, Central Dispatch sees an uptick in calls.

11:00 Kent Lake begins his shift at 7-11 on Barlow. Jean Ludka has owned the franchise for 30 years, and says Lake has probably been working the overnight shift there for 45 years. Between customer visits, Lake keeps the coffee fresh and the shelves stocked. He’s assisted by another worker who tends to Door Dash requests.

12 midnight The third shift security officer and supervisor arrive at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa and go over second shift reports. Throughout the night, the team assists with overnight radio calls, guest needs, and building inspections.

12 midnight Doors close at The Parlor. The lights go up so cleaning can begin. The bar and tables are cleaned, the bottles returned to stock till the next day.

1:00 Jordan makes sure all guest wake-up calls are scheduled and then begins putting together key packets, guest amenities and restocking front desk drawers at the Resort. 

1:00 Night auditor Rhonda arrives for her shift at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa.

1:00-1:30 One Hot Robot concludes its performance. Hunter and the rest of the band unplug their instruments. If the group is performing the next night, they take their instruments with them. If it’s a complete teardown, it will take 20-25 minutes, after which they’ll help the sound crew.

1:30 Josh Kuehne closes, locks the doors at The Parlor, and heads home.

2:00 As the bars close down, once again Central Dispatch sees an increase in the number of calls. Torrey reports that times and volumes vary depending on weather and events in town.

2:30 As the after-bar traffic dies down, so too does the number of customers at 7-11, allowing Lake and the others to make sure the store is clean and the shelves are well-stocked.

3:00 Rhonda checks her email, gets paperwork from accounting and the front desk, and begins balancing the outlet paperwork for areas like retail, golf, and spa at the Resort.

4:00 Jordan finalizes reports and looks ahead to VIP guests and arrivals. Through her shift, Jordan is the go-to person for all the Resort’s guest needs.

6:45 The oncoming surgeons, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners meet to receive handoff events from the night from Dr. Kole and Shamarie Regenold.

7:00 Munson Medical Center day shift nurses assume care of patients on all patient floors.

7:00 Jordan heads home from her shift at Grand Traverse Resort & Spa.

7:00 Kent Lake clocks out and heads home from 7-11.

8:00 First shift security officer arrives at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, spelling the overnight crew, who head home.

9:00 After running programs, printing paperwork and balancing reports through various software, night auditor Rhonda signs off and heads home.