Restaurant and retail changes are underway in downtown Traverse City – as well as across the region, including multiple new businesses opening at the Cherryland Center – in The Ticker’s latest look at local openings, closings, and moves.

Downtown TC
Two downtown Traverse City businesses have closed – at least temporarily. After opening in May at 123 West Front Street, coastal-themed restaurant and bar Pacificoast has suspended operations. Owner Garrett Jenkins says the business is “closed temporarily to find a possible buyer,” adding that Pacificoast will reopen if one isn’t found. Further down the road at 332 East Front Street, French bakery and pastry shop Le Macaron has also shut down. Co-owner Bobbi Blanton says the closure is due to an issue with the current space, and that the company hopes to find a new location in Traverse City. Le Macaron continues to operate its Grand Rapids store.

Higher Self Bookstore held a grand opening recently for an expansion of its space at 313 East Front Street, including a new communal space serving Door County Coffee. Zach and Andria Weisbarth – who worked at the bookstore for a combined 14-plus years – became its new owners in May. Together they are “focused on preserving the atmosphere the Higher Self Bookstore has developed over the past 30-plus (years) and at the same time find new ways to create community, raise awareness, and foster growth in the areas of mind, body and spirit,” the duo said in a statement.

The first Xformer Pilates studio is coming to northern Michigan. Sarah Kebler is targeting a mid-January opening of Form TC at 1201 East Front Street (Unit B) in Campus Plaza, with the studio space undergoing renovations now. “An Xformer Pilates class is 50 minutes of high-intensity, low-impact work targeting your entire body,” explains Kebler. She adds that “the biggest thing about the space is the community we hope to form. I believe strongly in giving space for people to be their most authentic selves, and in turn empower kindness in others.” Pre-sales for classes will begin in mid-November.

Owner Julie Terwilliger is planning a November 16 grand opening of new store Everjewl in the Warehouse MRKT building on Hall Street featuring a range of “fine and demi-fine jewelry.” Terwilliger says the company will offer locally made pieces and “our signature luxury welded permanent jewelry in a state-of-the-art studio equipped with top-of-the-line tools and materials for a unique experience.” The company also has a Cadillac location.

The Little Fleet has announced a series of kitchen takeovers planned this fall and winter on Mondays and/or Tuesdays starting at 5pm until sellout. The lineup starts November 5 with Dogwood, a new roaming food truck from the owners of Oakwood Proper Burgers focused on Southwestern-themed hot dogs and sides. The takeover schedule continues as follows: Fried Chicken and Caviar (November 11-12), Happy’s Taco Shop (November 18-19), Electric Plate Vegan (November 25-26), Gabe Lava (December 9-10), Street Beet Vegan (January 20-21), Toots (January 27-28), and Tim Kemp (February 4). Crocodile Palace will continue to operate inside The Little Fleet Wednesday-Sunday.

Two downtown area eateries have announced operational changes. The Outpost café at 108 East Front Street has launched a new expanded menu – with breakfast, toasts, salads, soup, and hot and cold sandwiches – and extended hours from 8am to 7pm daily. Common Good Bakery, meanwhile, is scaling back hours at its Eight Street location “to improve work life balance, give our culinary team time to expand our weekend brunch offerings, and reinvent our dinner menus,” according to a recent email. Both Common Good Bakery’s Eighth Street and Fourteenth Street locations will be open daily from 6am to 3pm, with Eighth Street open for dinner Friday and Saturday nights until 8pm. “We will return to five nights a week when the East Side Social reopens in May,” the company wrote.

Cherryland Center
The Cherryland Center continues to experience growth as part of the property’s ongoing revitalization. Starbucks recently opened its newest Traverse City location in an outlot building at the mall property next to Wendy’s. The coffee shop is open daily 5:30am-9pm. Nearby in the former Quiznos space, new hair salon and barber shop TC Man Cave recently opened its doors offering “sharp cuts, energizing washes, and flawless beard trims” for both walk-in and call-ahead appointments. Popular food truck Taquiera Las Lagunas – which typically operates each summer in Suttons Bay at the Barrels and Barrels lot – also recently held a grand opening for its new brick-and-mortar restaurant in the former Habibi and Opa! space. The family-owned restaurant specializes in authentic Mexican tacos and entrée plates and is open daily 11:30am-8pm.

Community theater is also planned to come soon to the Cherryland Center, adding to entertainment and cultural options now ranging from the Traverse City Curling Club to Traverse City Philharmonic to K1 Speed indoor go-kart racing. Mashup Rock & Roll Musical has a lease for space next to the old Kmart building with plans to open a theater venue. Co-founder and Artistic Director Lesley Alicia Tye says the recent loss of Parallel 45 Theatre made her realize “we’re going to continue to lose smaller theater produced here without a space to do it.” Mashup, a volunteer-run nonprofit, is updating the mall space, obtaining building permits, and working to raise the last $20,000 of a $30,000 fundraising goal with the goal of opening in early 2025. “It’d be great for us to have a home, but we also want to make it a community asset,” Tye says, adding the space would be available for other group use.

Elsewhere in the region...
At the area’s other former Kmart store – located off US-31 in Acme – the nonprofit Grand Traverse Men’s Shed held a ribbon cutting October 26 for its new location in the Oak Shore Commons development near Truly Free and Pickle U. The Men’s Shed is a “warm and welcoming” place for men to gather, particularly retired seniors. The space is outfitted with a “extensively equipped shop” where attendees can work together on community-oriented projects, according to the nonprofit. Regular hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays 9am-noon.

Further up US-31 in Elk Rapids, pet supplies shop River Street Dog has moved into a new location at 129 River Street across the street from its former store. The new location has expanded space for the treats, accessories, and toys the company sells.

Finally, several changes are underway on the west side of Traverse City. The Great Lakes Children’s Museum has opened its Power of Play store and soft launched its new Curiosity Place in the Grand Traverse Mall, which will have expanded gallery and programming space compared to its former location in Elmwood Township. The Curiosity Place will be fully up and running pending final touches anticipated to happen this week. The mall is the museum’s new interim home as it looks for a permanent location. In Long Lake Township, Fresh Coast Market is under new ownership after Scott and Jennifer McDaniel announced last week they have purchased the business. Finally, new store Great Lakes Uniform – which will sell scrubs, shoes, accessories, and more – is planning a November 12 opening at 3860 North Long Lake Road. The store will fill the gap – literally – left by the recent closure of Scrubs R Us.