It’s spring, a time for many a restaurant opening. Which got The Ticker thinking…about those locations that seem destined to always be restaurants, even as the names and concepts change through the years.

To help us look back, we enlisted the help of some of Traverse City’s downtown business leaders -- in and outside the restaurant industry -- including Dave Denison, owner of Amical on Front Street. Denison came to Traverse City after a stint at Ralston Purina, which operated a number of chain restaurants across the country, including J. Ross Browne’s Whaling Station, Mountain Jack’s Steakhouse and Carlos Murphy’s.

Though Denison says his is the first restaurant on the site (more on that shortly) across Front Street was a parade of eateries. There was Georgina’s, preceded by Phil's on Front. Previous iterations included Ciao Bella, Brad's Burritoville, Road Runner Deli, and back in the day, the Sawmill and Elmer’s.

As to Amical’s location, Denison’s friend and fellow hospitality veteran Pete Solomonson notes that it once was home to The Elks. Solomonson came to the industry early, as he used to accompany his grandfather Harry delivering pies around town. Among other gigs, he worked for the same corporation as Denison, and was responsible for transforming the Embers near Acme into Mountain Jack’s.

Solomonson says most TC restaurants in the 1960s were bars with food. “Then Dill’s and the Sizzler took off. That was kind of the beginning of established, memorable restaurants,” he says.

One current memorable eatery is Mama Lu’s Taco Shop at 149 E. Front Street. A long time ago, that was home to Tom’s Mom’s Cookies, an import from the north (Harbor Springs). That begat Marifil’s Bakery, which later moved to 14th Street. Late night café and coffee shop Red Eye Café followed – Denison says it was open from 6 to 2 as a place to go after the bars closed – and in turn it became Zakey, featuring middle eastern cuisine. Now in its sixth year, Mama Lu’s may have the record for longevity at that location.

Another memorable spot is at 439 E. Front Street (pictured as three different iterations above), the tiny space now home to the plant-based café Zest. Once upon a time it was a sandwich shop called Soho Café. It later served as home to Left Bank Café.

Patisserie Amie opened there before its own moves, eventually landing as the renamed Brasserie Amie at the intersection of Front and Cass. Next was the Cook’s House, which also decamped for a larger space (we’re seeing a trend here), followed by 9 Bean Rows, which – you guessed it – outgrew it and moved to Suttons Bay. Owners Nic and Jen Welty eventually left that location to build out at their farm just outside Suttons Bay.

Tony Craig moved in with the original Georgina’s before moving down the street, and Sparks BBQ did the same, eventually moving to 201 E. Front, leaving today’s tenant, Zest.

Why do some places continue to attract restaurants even after previous ones failed? Traverse City DDA CEO Jean Derenzy says in the case of this diminutive storefront, it serves as an incubator for restaurateurs to establish themselves, grow, and move.

Denison thinks a big reason is the infrastructure already being in place, noting the necessary electrical, plumbing and kitchen equipment, as well as the myriad regulations and inspections. “The only thing more difficult to build is a hospital,” he says.

Derenzy also points to the area’s continuing and growing food, wine and beer reputation, attracting patrons and restaurateurs alike.

And then there’s 120 Park Street. No place in town can top the roster of restaurants that have called that location home. The gastronomic parade started back in the 1950s, when it was Thomas’s Coffee Shop and the Redwood Room. Owner Bill Thomas claimed that over the 20 or so years he owned it, the place made in excess of three million blueberry muffins. He sold it in 1977 to his manager Steve McClain, whose Chutney’s Olde English menu focused on English fare.

That kicked off a 45-year odyssey of bars and restaurants that’s likely not over. Next up was Nicky’s North in August 1979, owned by Mitchell Pierce, the son of the Chairman of National Bank & Trust. NBT was quickly tied up in a series of lawsuits, including allegations of conflicts of interest with the restaurant, and Nicky’s was in financial trouble within a year of its opening, closing after 22 months.

Following that was Billy’s. “Now that was a hot spot,” says Bill Golden. “That was the spot to go to. It was the place.” Free appetizers and hermit crab races were among the attractions.

The owner of Golden Shoes is a lifelong resident and remembers many of the restaurants around town. (Others he mentions include the lunch counter at Woolworth’s, where Cherry Republic stands today, and the aforementioned Elmer’s. Don’t get him started on the Black Lantern (now Mode’s), Sporry’s (today it’s the Omelette Shoppe) or the popular tavern Rathskeller, below James C. Smith Fine Jewelry. “I was way too young for the Rathskeller,” he says hastily.)

After the two-year run of Billy’s, a brief sojourn as Winger’s followed, before Dan Kelly bought the property and opened DJ Kelly’s in 1986. “In 1985 I bought it. It did really well,” he says.

That it did, operating for over a decade before Kelly decided it had run its course. He changed it to Durango, then Park Street Deli, before opting out of the restaurant scene to concentrate on his catering business. He soon leased the property to a succession of restaurateurs, and it was home to the aforementioned Left Bank Café, Pete’s Pub & Grille, and Catch Island Grill. Wanting to sell the property but worried the series of failed opportunities would limit the interest, he reopened a restaurant, this time The Bay Leaf.

The Bay Leaf succeeded in terms of both its own business and, more importantly, in drawing interest to the property: Glen Harrington and John McGee purchased it and opened Sorellina, “little sister” to Harrington’s By the Bay, their popular restaurant on M-22.

In 2018 they moved Sorellina to the just-constructed building at 250 E. Front alongside their new venture Slate, which in turn opened up the property again. Today it’s home to Fresh Coast Beer Works, which offers an abbreviated sandwich menu while encouraging patrons to patronize nearby eateries.

“Each one was unique and had special qualities,” notes Derenzy of the location’s history. “We attract talented chefs. There’s talent throughout the food industry. And we have great local sources.”