Summer is right around the corner – and with it the opening of downtown restaurant patios and porches, sidewalk cafes, food trucks, farmers markets and splash pads. The Ticker has your guide to key kick-off dates for summer fun – plus new offerings in store for this season.

Changes At Hotel Indigo
Downtown Traverse City’s Hotel Indigo is rolling out several “significant changes and improvements” for summer 2017, according to General Manager Bridget Hawks.

The hotel’s H&L Social rooftop bar (pictured) will open for the season on Saturday, May 20 at 11am. The bar is set to get an overhaul including a “new look and an all-new fast/casual format and menu designed to deliver better food and get patrons their food and drinks more quickly.” Patrons will be given a number when ordering, then called when their food is ready. New Executive Chef Alvaro Diaz – who has worked at restaurants and spas in southern California – is retooling the menu to include Latin-themed items and tacos, in addition to returning items like charcuterie and cheese boards. H&L Social will be open 11am-11pm Sunday-Thursday and Friday/Saturday 11am-midnight.

Diaz will also add his touch to downstairs’ Warehouse kiTChen & cork, which will offer all-new breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus this summer. The bar will host daily happy hour food and drink specials from 4pm-7pm daily and live entertainment Friday-Saturday from 7pm-10pm.

Also new for this season, Hotel Indigo will also begin offering public sunrise yoga classes on the rooftop four days a week starting May 23. Tuesday and Thursday morning classes will be drop-in, while Saturday and Sunday morning classes can be reserved through Yen Yoga & Fitness. Traverse City’s Larned Chiropractic is also relocating from the corner of Front Street and Garfield Avenue into Hotel Indigo’s fitness facility on the ground floor, with public chiropractic and massage appointments available.

According to Hawks, the changes were made to provide a better experience for both hotel guests and locals following Hotel Indigo’s “first-year growing pains” in 2016. “We are extremely thankful for the patronage of our hotel guests and the locals who visited us (last year),” Hawks says. “We also appreciate the patience people showed…we’ve made several improvements to make 2017 even better.”

Porches, Patios & Trucks
Nearly a dozen downtown restaurants and taprooms have already obtained permits to offer sidewalk seating this season, according to City Clerk Benjamin Marentette – with several others indicating plans to obtain permits.

Brew, 7 Monks Taproom, Cousin Jenny’s, The Dish Café, Espresso Bay, Georgina’s, Grand Traverse Pie Company, Green House Café, Milk & Honey, Peppercorn and Taproot Cider House all plan to offer sidewalk seating this season. New on the dining al fresco scene will be Mama Lu’s, which plans to offer 8-10 outdoor seats for the summer beginning Memorial Day weekend, and Harvest, which is moving into the former Union Tap & Grill space later this month and will also offer sidewalk seating. While platform cafes – structured outdoor dining spaces that can occupy city parking spaces – are allowed under city policy this year, Marentette says “no one has applied for a platform café permit yet, though we’ve had a few inquiries.”

Several other popular outdoor decks and patios are also planning seasonal launches this month leading up to and including Memorial Day weekend. North Peak Brewing Company will open its deck to mug club members for a special “first day on the deck” party next Saturday, May 13, then open the deck to the public the week of May 22 for lunch only. The deck will operate full-time Memorial Weekend through Labor Day weekend. The Blue Tractor – owned by the same management group as North Peak – will open its outdoor beer garden, The Shed, on May 26 and remain open through Labor Day weekend.

Meanwhile, restaurateur Mike Connors says customers can enjoy the outdoor tiki bar at one of his restaurants, Apache Trout Grill, starting May 15, and are already taking advantage of early warm weather on the deck at his second eatery, West End Tavern. “At even the hint of sunny weather, people want to be outside,” he says.

Others looking for immediate al fresco dining can take advantage of State Street Grille’s patio – which is open now on weekends, with a targeted full-time opening Memorial Weekend – and The Little Fleet’s porch, which is open daily. Seven food trucks are now up and operational in The Little Fleet’s lot, including Roaming Harvest, Cordwood BBQ, White on Rice, Happy’s Tacos, Daily Blend, Pleasanton Pizza, and The Big Squeeze, with Anchor Station set to open on Wednesday. Find the complete schedule of trucks and hours here.

Plants & Pads
The Sara Hardy Downtown Farmers Market officially kicks off for the season today (Saturday, May 6) from 7:30am to noon in parking lot B at the corner of Cass Street and Grandview Parkway. According to DDA Executive Director Rob Bacigalupi, 67 vendors will be on-hand today for the season launch, with Norte! hosting a free bike valet at the market. The market continues weekly on Saturdays through October, with vendors also selling wares on Wednesdays from 8am to noon beginning June 7.

Finally, while it will likely be several weeks before swimmers brave Grand Traverse Bay, two other water-based options will soon be available for cooling down as temperatures start to heat up. The city’s William G. Milliken Waterscape – commonly known as the splash pad at Clinch Park – is set to open for the season Saturday, May 27 (weather permitting). The splash pad operates daily from 11am to 6pm through Labor Day once open.

According to Captain Shein Nowland, the Nauti-Cat is also likely to hit the waves offering public cruises beginning Memorial Weekend from the dock at West Bay Beach, a Holiday Inn Resort. “We always try to be open for that weekend,” Nowland says. “We’re getting a new topside for the dock this year, so it’ll be as soon as that gets done. Anything before June 15 is a bonus for us."