Breakfast/Lunch Spot Headed For Former Tribune Space In Northport; Hive Coffee Plots Two New Business Ventures; Other Restaurant/Retail News

A new breakfast and lunch spot is coming to Northport, a Suttons Bay coffee shop is diversifying with two new businesses, and Nittolo’s Lake Leelanau – normally a year-round mainstay – is closing for the offseason. The Leelanau Ticker has these stories and other news in its November restaurant/retail roundup.

>Breakfast and lunch are coming back to 110 East Nagonaba Street, the building in Northport best known as the former home of The Tribune Ice Cream & Eatery. Husband-and-wife team Ron and Jeannine Marcotrigiano plan to open a new restaurant called Jeannine’s Little Kitchen this fall or winter.

“We don’t have a set opening date yet, but we are shooting to be open by Thanksgiving,” Ron tells The Ticker. “The concept will start with breakfast and lunch this winter. We’ll run that year-round, and then also plan on doing ice cream in the summer. And then we will probably add on some casual-type takeout food in the evenings come summertime, but not full-service.”

The Marcotrigianos are relatively new to Leelanau County, but they aren’t new to the culinary world. Ron grew up in another “summertime town” – Montauk, New York – and cut his teeth working at the local restaurants there.

“One of my first jobs back in high school and college, I worked at a place called John's Pancake House, which was the local breakfast and lunch spot,” he says. “It was a very busy spot, and it was really where I, as a young person, fell in love with the restaurant business. So, I’ve spent my life working as a chef, and I’m pretty excited to be doing this with my wife, on our own. It's a fun thing for us to do together.”

The Tribune served breakfast and lunch at 110 East Nagonaba for nearly a decade but closed and vacated when the space was sold. Tribune owner Eric Allchin later opened Faro inside the Northport Inn. For the past two summers, the former Tribune building has operated as an ice cream parlor – first as The Big Dipper in 2024, then as Buster’s Ice Cream this past season.

>Landon McDaid, co-owner of the Suttons Bay coffee shop Hive Coffee Co., has announced plans to expand “with not one, but two new ventures.” The first, Birdie’s Sandwiches, will operate out of “the back end of our coffee shop” in Suttons Bay, serving “some fun and inspired soups, salads, and sandwiches,” McDaid said in a video posted to Hive’s social media accounts over the weekend. The second, Little Boat Coffee, is opening in the Leland Courtyard, next door to The Warren Collective. “The main idea behind Little Boat is we plan to support our Great Lakes through some donations and other philanthropy ideas, proving that you can change the tide with a Little Boat,” McDaid said. The new shops are slated to open “in mid-to-late November,” and will share updates going forward on their dedicated Instagram pages.

>Two Leelanau institutions are officially back up and running. Northern Latitudes Distillery in Lake Leelanau welcomed customers into its new facility on October 24 for a grand opening, and is now open daily – from noon to 7pm Monday through Saturday and from 12-5pm on Sundays.

Leland’s newly-rebuilt Blue Bird is also back in action. The restaurant will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 4pm to midnight. Food service runs from 4-8pm, with drinks from 8pm until closing. The Blue Bird website advises customers to “please call ahead as hours are subject to change.”

>As some doors open, another closes: Nittolo’s Seafood & Pizza announced last weekend that it had “officially closed for the season” at its flagship Lake Leelanau location. The popular Italian restaurant has historically stayed open through the offseason. Owner Eric Nittolo declined to comment on the seasonal closure.

>Also breaking with precedent is Leland Gal, which is leaving its home on Main Street in Leland. “For those of you who don’t know, my husband Greg and I acquired the Leland Harbor House business in 2023, and ever since then, we’ve been wondering if we should combine forces and keep everything under one roof so to speak,” Leland Gal owner Maggie Mielczarek wrote in a newsletter sent to subscribers late last month. “The timing feels right and we are going to do just that.”

Saturday, October 25 marked Leland Gal’s official last day at its current location. The boutique will now be rolling out “a temporary setup at the Harbor House in a few weeks that will last through the end of the year.” Starting next spring, Leland Gal will have a new “store-in-store experience” at the Harbor House. Also starting in 2026, Leland Gal will be a vendor at Traverse City Horse Shows.

>Suttons Bay retailer Poppy Things will host a party this Saturday, November 8, to celebrate its six-year anniversary. Owner Chelsey Skowronski shared in a recent newsletter that she plans to make the anniversary parties “an annual thing,” and will “mix it up” each year “to keep folks coming.” This year’s event will include two craft stations – a dried flower bar and a jewelry charm bar – as well as complimentary locally-made popsicles from the Empire-based Popcycle, mocktails, and a chance to win prizes.

>Little Traverse Inn in Maple City is back on the market. Owner and innkeeper Graeme Leask listed the business for sale back in 2021 and again in 2022, but it didn’t ultimately sell. The inn is going for $1.6 million, down from a $1.9 million asking price last time around. All told, the listing includes 3.17 acres of land, 7.500 square feet of building space, and the business and its assets – including “all fixtures, fittings, furniture, inventory, POS system and licenses included.”

>As reported over the weekend by the Traverse City Ticker, multiple local businesses are doing their part to combat food insecurity in the midst of the ongoing federal government shutdown and the pause of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits.

The Folded Leaf, the bookshop in Cedar, is raising funds via GoFundMe and collecting direct donations of goods to stock an in-store “community essentials shelf.” According to Folded Leaf owner Rachel Zemanek, all items on that shelf are free to anyone who needs them, no questions asked. The Folded Leaf also plans to use some of the funds for a Thanksgiving meal box program.

Leelanau’s Farm Club has also rolled out an initiative to help those “having a hard time putting food on the table” this autumn. “We have a few Fall CSA subscriptions available for free,” the business announced on its Facebook page this weekend. “7 weeks of fresh vegetables, a loaf of bread, and a package of freshly made pasta. No SNAP needed. No questions asked. Please DM (direct message) for details.”

9 Bean Rows is doing a program during November called “Bread for All (and Lettuce Too)” that will give away free food to people in need. “Just ask each week this month for a ‘bread for all’ loaf or bag of ‘and lettuce, too’ at the bakery or our farmers’ market booth,” the farm shared on its Facebook on Friday. “No forms, no questions, no judgments, just neighbors helping neighbors.”