Leelanau Goods Finds Fishtown Location, New Ice Cream Shop In Suttons Bay; More Retail, Restaurant News

Springtime is almost upon us in northern Michigan, and with it, the typical flutter of post-winter activity throughout the Leelanau County business community. From new enterprises setting up shop to seasonal businesses preparing to come out of hibernation, the Leelanau Ticker has a roundup of the latest retail/restaurant news from throughout the county and beyond.

>Clothing designer Laura Siladke, a local native who operates a boutique called Leelanau Goods out in Santa Monica, California, shares with the Leelanau Ticker that she has “finally secured a spot” to open a second Leelanau Goods location in Leelanau County.

The Leelanau Ticker sat down with Siladke back in September 2020, shortly after her Santa Monica store opened, to find out how a business called Leelanau Goods happened to set up shop in California. Siladke, who grew up in Leelanau, moved out to Los Angeles after a college education that included stints at Kendall College of Art & Design in Grand Rapids and Parsons School of Design in New York City. In addition to Siladke’s own designs, Leelanau Goods carries clothing, accessories, and home goods from “a tight edit of independent designers and makers.”

In that 2020 interview, Siladke said that her “big dream” was to eventually open a Leelanau Goods shop in Leelanau County itself. “I hope we can get back here and have a store here,” she said. “I love designing and making clothes so much, and that was my always dream. I’m kind of in a ‘pinch me’ state right now with my life, but I’d love to bring the business back home.”

Now, that big dream is finally coming true.

“It took years of building the relationship but I signed a lease on a Fishtown shanty,” Siladke shares. “After 40 years, the shoe shop, Leland Beach Co., has decided to retire, and Fishtown Preservation Society reached out to me. I'll be opening May 15.”

>If you’ve been through downtown Suttons Bay in the past week or two, you might have noticed crews working on 403 North St. Joseph Street. That building, which was previously occupied by the Scoops 22 ice cream stand from 2018 to 2023, will host a new business this summer, called Dalzell Dairy. A new sign is on the building, and the business has posted job listings online seeking ice cream scoopers for the upcoming season. As of yet, Dalzell Dairy has no website, Google business listing, social media accounts, or any other form of online presence, and the Leelanau Ticker was unable to reach the business owners for this story.

>Meanwhile, Scoops 22 owner Lori Buchan says she is currently on the hunt for a new location for the business, with hopes of reopening in fresh digs this spring. “We are still working on it,” she tells the Leelanau Ticker. “We do have a couple options.” On Friday, March 8, the Scoops 22 Facebook account teased that the business has “something in the works” that it will be “sharing soon.” Buchan also owns Buchan’s West Bay, which is back up and running after a 10-day closure in late February to allow for “maintenance to the freezers/machines and a good cleaning.”

>Speaking of ice cream, just south of Leelanau County, Moomer’s is officially open for the year. The business kicked off its 27th season on March 1.

>In Northport, Yard & Lake hit the market last week for an asking price of $1.35 million. Owners Shawn Santo and husband Kevin Borsay opened Yard & Lake in 2021 as a retail store and then added a bar, restaurant, and beer garden element last summer. Now, the hybrid retail/restaurant business is for sale.

The real estate listing, which describes Yard & Lake as a “captivating and cash flowing property at the tip of Michigan's Leelanau Peninsula,” includes the property at 215 North Mill Street and the business/brand. The listing touts 3,324 square feet of space, including a “two-story north end guest house” for residential purposes. Business assets include Yard & Lake branded merchandise, a Class C liquor license, and a refurbished Airstream trailer, which acts as the service bar for the beer garden space.

>Several other notable Leelanau businesses are on the market, too. Northern Pines Farm, an equestrian farm in Maple City, is for sale for $2,499,000. The listing includes both the business and the farm’s expansive 48-acre property, 40 acres of which are zoned agricultural with the remaining eight zoned commercial.

>Glen Lake Beauty Salon is listed for $25,000, which includes the business and its assets – such as hairstyling, manicure, and pedicure stations, furniture, and the owner’s “full book of clients” – but not the real estate at 5915 South Ray Street, which the salon leases.

>Finally, the building in Empire that was previously occupied by Field Trip Goods is on the market for $480,000. Field Trip Goods announced last month that it would be ceasing brick-and-mortar operations.

>In Suttons Bay, Hive Coffee Co. is launching a new event series, called the Hive Social Club. Hive describes the event as “a zero-proof night out involving good music, good company, and good deeds.” A portion of proceeds will go toward “a honey bee conservation effort.” The first Hive Social Club event is scheduled for the evening of Saturday, March 16.

>Leelanau Cheese has announced Saturday, June 8 as the date for its third annual Cheese Fest.

>As the Leelanau Ticker reported late last month, Mitten Brewing Company in Northport has secured a long-term lease at its current location in downtown Northport. The new agreement is a five-year lease with a five-year renewal term.

>Leelanau County and the City of Northport will receive $59,086.35 apiece in excise taxes from the State of Michigan, thanks to Olean’s Northport, Leelanau’s one and only recreational cannabis dispensary. The money is part of a banner year in marijuana tax monies for northern Michigan as a whole.

>Olean’s owner Daniel Caudill is also the man behind Northport Orchards, a small business which recently unveiled its first-ever products. In partnership with Food for Thought, a commercial kitchen in Traverse City, Northport Orchards has crafted condiments made with quince. So far, the business has a ketchup and a hot sauce, both of which are available for purchase on the Northport Orchards website.

>After sitting vacant for nearly half a century, the historic Sleeping Bear Inn is reopening to the public this summer. The inn, which is situated inside the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, has been restored as an eight-room bed-and-breakfast and is now accepting guest reservations starting on July 28.

>The Leelanau Ticker broke the news last week that the Maple City wedding venue known as Nature had closed its doors amidst bankruptcy proceedings. While the buyer of the property reportedly intends to cease business operations at the site and use the land for private purposes, Nature proprietor Bryan Cloninger says he is trying to arrange a deal between the new owner and two other interested buyers who would at least honor the contracts of four couples who were set to get married at Nature this summer.