A New Chapter for The Folded Leaf

By Beth Milligan | July 6, 2026

This week’s Northern Express — sister publication of The Ticker — is the Summer 100, with more than 100 events, restaurants, shops, and more to explore this season.

One of those shops is The Folded Leaf, an independent bookstore that opened in Cedar in 2025 and moved the Commongrounds Cooperative building on Eighth Street in Traverse City this spring. Owner Rachel Zemanek recently announced the bookstore would become a nonprofit. She’s particularly focused on addressing child literacy, noting that Michigan is 44th in the nation for fourth-grade reading.

“That’s abysmal,” she says. “I don’t think we’re going to go from 44 to 1 just because of my little foundation, but who knows what the future holds?”

 

Read the full story here.

Pick up a free copy of this week’s Northern Express, available to read online or at one of nearly 650 spots in 13 counties across northern Michigan.

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