Cedar Shake-Ups: Cedar Tavern, Local Dog Kennel Finally Change Hands

Two long-for-sale businesses in Cedar have officially changed hands.

Last week, longtime Cedar Tavern owners Ellen and Roger Stachnik announced on the restaurant's official Facebook page that they would be passing the torch to someone else – though that post did not identify the new owners.

The news is a major changing-of-the-guard for the Cedar business scene, given that the Cedar Tavern has been in the same family since 1977. That year, Ellen’s father Ron Alpers, who previously worked in the oil industry, bought the tavern and changed careers. Ellen began waiting tables and tending bar as soon as she was old enough, and eventually took over the business, along with her husband Roger.

“Well this is a post that is extremely sad and happy at the same time,” Ellen wrote on Facebook last Thursday. “47 years of the Cedar Tavern being in our family, it’s time for me to pass it on.” The post went on to highlight memories from over the years.

“We appreciate all the support and kindness over all these years,” Ellen wrote.

While the Cedar Tavern will no longer be in the Alpers/Stachnik family, the business will remain a family affair. The Leelanau Ticker has learned that two married couples, Thom Greene and Nadeen Kieren and Jim and Suzie Greene, are the new owners. The quartet – a two-generation family ownership group, with Thom being Jim’s uncle – officially closed on the business and property last Friday.

According to a press release from the Greene family, all four owners “have a long history with Cedar.” Thom and Nadeen are the owners of GreenSky Company, LLC, which in 2005 purchased the Cedar Station building across the street from the Cedar Tavern. A 1960s gas station that had fallen into disrepair, the Cedar Station got a makeover thanks to the Greenes, who converted it into a multi-unit “incubator for local businesses to develop and grow,” called Gallery in Cedar. Jim and Suzie, meanwhile, own the construction management company Green Construction Group, and are identified in the press release as “familiar faces at the Cedar Tavern for years.”

Thom, who is an architect, tells The Ticker that he and the other three buyers had been mulling buying the Cedar Tavern since it first hit the market in 2023.

“It’s just a real legacy building and business; everyone loves it,” Thom says. “When it was listed, we thought about [making an offer]. And then eventually we just decided to go for it. Jimmy went and talked to Ellen informally – he’s known her for years – and then we went back and forth until we finally came to an agreement.”

The Greenes ended up buying the Cedar Tavern in a private sale, and Thom says his family has spent the past five months working through all the “moving parts” of buying a restaurant. Those include the legal formalities, like transferring the ownership of the tavern’s liquor license; as well as more intangible aspects, like getting to know the staff and learning the ins and outs of the restaurant’s operations.

“I think Jim and Suzie have been there every other night for the past five months, just to understand the business and the staff a little better,” Thom laughs.

Since closing on the business last Friday, the Greenes have also been working through what Thom calls “little delighters” – small improvements to get ready for the summer 2025 season.

“We’ve been there with all the staff, and some of our other family from downstate came up, and we all were power washing, cleaning, touching up, painting things, fixing this, fixing that, replacing light fixtures, putting plants out front, things like that,” he says.

While the Greenes have a few small changes in mind for the tavern – “We’ve always thought the patio should be utilized more,” Greene offers as an example – locals can mostly expect the restaurant to continue on as it always has.

“We know that, for a lot of people, this is where they go night after night, year after year,” Thom says. “This is their library, their city hall, their meeting space. It’s a place for everything from birthdays to business meetings, and it’s important for us to really honor and continue that legacy. So, we’re not changing the menu; we’re not changing the prices. We’re just doing these little things to make sure the Cedar Tavern is a spotless, clean, like-new place ready for summer.”

Also under new ownership in Cedar is Wiggle Butts & Waggin Tails, the local dog kennel. Former owners Dave and Kathy Crockett started that business in the summer of 2018, but put it on the market in 2023 when they decided to retire.

Now, another husband-and-wife team, Blake and Tori Batson, have purchased the business, telling The Ticker in an email that they are “here and eager to serve the doggie community,” including for doggie daycare and long-term boarding needs. The Batsons also say they are looking to add dog grooming services to the business “in the near future.”