Summer's Almost Here: Your Guide To Leelanau County's Seasonal Reopenings

Memorial Day weekend is just two weeks away, which means many of Leelanau County’s seasonal establishments are either planning their spring reopenings or have already made their grand returns for the summer season. The Leelanau Ticker has your guide to who’s open, who’s opening soon, and what’s new at Leelanau’s seasonal spots.

Traverse City/Base of Leelanau/Benzie

>Closed since Halloween, Jacob’s Farm will reopen for the season on Friday, May 22 “with half-price pizza all that weekend,” according to general manager Richard Pillar. The big new addition this year, Pillar says, is a newly-built 40-foot by 54-foot beer garden pavilion, which will allow significantly more space to shelter from the elements than has been available at Jacob’s in the past. Other new-season highlights include expanded hours (“We’re now open five days a week, Wednesdays through Sundays from 4pm onward,” Pillar tells The Ticker), a partnership with Moomers Ice Cream, and new events for Oktoberfest and the forthcoming FIFA World Cup.

>Also opening May 22 is Paradise Cove Bar & Grill, which is adding a “daily Happy Hour on the off-season” this year (“So, in other words, everything except July and August,” owners say) with specific hours to be determined. Also new this year: six slushies on tap, “two of which will be nonalcoholic,” as well as an expanded mocktail menu.

>Despite chilly weather lately, drive-in season is already underway at Cherry Bowl Drive-In in Honor. The theater kicked off its season on Saturday, April 18 and is rolling forward with weekend double features; this weekend’s showings will feature the Disney/Pixar film Hoppers and The Devil Wears Prada 2). The Cherry Bowl is also having an opening day celebration for its 73 season on Friday, May 15.

>Also in Honor, Riverside Canoe Trips opened for the season last weekend. The business, which offers canoe and kayak rentals for trips down the Platte River, is now open 9am-6pm, seven days a week.

Suttons Bay/Lake Leelanau

>Those ready to hit the links can do so at Bahle Farms, which kicked off its golf season last Friday, May 1.

>Suttons Bay’s Dalzell Dairy also opened last weekend, and will now be slinging ice cream all summer long.

>The Taqueria Las Lagunas food truck also opened last weekend, and will be back at its usual summertime digs in the Barrels & Barrels parking lot most weekends going forward. This coming weekend is an exception, however, due to a private event.

>One Suttons Bay seasonal joint won’t be reopening this year, at least not in its traditional form. “We are transitioning to a food truck for Bay Burrito, as the last couple years have shown us the need to be mobile for catering,” says owner Desmond Berry. “Most recently, our family has focused on our pizza venue, Bay Pizzeria, in Suttons Bay, as the Bay Burrito food truck was being designed and built. The truck should be operational by late summer and will operate in Leelanau, Grand Traverse, and Benzie counties.”

>According to Capital Dog owner Sue Burns, the popular Lake Leelanau hot dog restaurant is on track for a Memorial Day weekend return.

>As reported in last Friday’s Leelanau Ticker, Locals Lake Leelanau has received its liquor license and is plotting a grand re-opening. The restaurant has been closed his week to install draft lines, set up wine displays, bring in inventory, and prepare an updated food menu, but will reopen today (Friday) at noon. Locals will host a one-year anniversary party next Saturday, May 9 to celebrate its new chapter.

Northport/Omena

>The Big Hot Woody, the wood-fired pizza oven/food truck based at Northport’s Mitten Brewing Company, is planning to open for the season on Thursday, May 21, in time for Memorial Day weekend.

>Two once-seasonal businesses, Faro Northport and Yard & Lake, both stayed open through the winter this year, and are both currently open five days a week.

>Northport’s New Bohemian Café also took a spring break from March 29-April 9, but reopened for business as usual on April 10.

Leland

>As the Leelanau Ticker reported last month, Fishtown’s beloved Village Cheese Shanty is now underway on its 29th season, having reopened on Friday, April 17. The Cheese Shanty is open 9am-5pm daily.

>The rest of Historic Fishtown is also emerging from hibernation. Carlson's Fishery opened April 10, Falling Waters Lodge kicked off its season April 30, and Leelanau Goods returned last Friday. Looking ahead, retailer Wild Lettie will be back on May 15, newcomers Carp River Bottle & Tap are eyeing a mid-May grand opening, and May 26 will see the reopening of both the Art Shanty and (tentatively) the Fishtown Preservation Society Welcome Center.

>The Blue Bird is back again. After a successful reopening in the fall, the restaurant wound things down again in January to “finish up numerous details inside and outside to prepare us for a robust spring/summer/fall that we see on the horizon,” owner Skip Telgard told The Ticker at the time. The establishment reopened on May 1.

Glen Arbor

>May 1 also saw River Club Glen Arbor kick off its third season. Owner Mike Sheldon says the business is planning to build on strong momentum from its first two years, including a 2025 season that brought more than 100,000 guests to the property. Highlights include new food and drink offerings like the “Walking Frito Bandito Taco,” (made with Fritos and seasoned beef), the “River Club Choco Taco” (an ice cream dessert taco), and a new 16-ounce “Mega-Rita.” Also new this year is the “River Club Run (and Hole in One)” event, a 5K and 10K race planned for September 12. “Once you finish and are enjoying a free meal courtesy of River Club, all participants will play a specially built hole and those who sink a one putt win really cool prizes,” Sheldon says of the event.

>Crystal River Outfitters will reopen for the 2026 kayaking season on May 16, says owner Katy Wiesen. “Our recreation operations manager paddled the Crystal recently and reports it running beautifully,” she notes. Other highlights at the Crystal River Outfitters Recreation District include bike rentals (now “up and running again at The Cyclery,” Wiesen shares) and activity at the M22 Wine Patio (which “will be back in full summer mode, staffed daily with live music, beginning Memorial Day weekend”).

>As the Leelanau Ticker reported last week, the now-shuttered Millie’s Pizza is reopening this month as Upriver from The Mill Glen Arbor. The new restaurant will focus on a counter-service model, with sandwiches served on fresh Mill-made bread, hearty salads, and ice cream by the scoop. Opening day is May 15, and the restaurant will be open 11am to 7pm daily from that point forward.

>Good Harbor Grill had its opening day for the season on Friday, April 24, and is now open daily from 8am to 3pm.

>Cottonseed Apparel is up and running as of Saturday, April 18, with daily hours of 11am-4pm.

>L'Chayim Delicatessen’s Glen Arbor store opened for the 2026 season on April 27, with 9am-3pm hours every day but Sunday.

>Both Blu and Funistrada took their typical mid-winter breaks in March and April, but are now back to business as usual.

Cedar/Maple City

>Le Bécasse closed for a month from March 15 to April 15, but is back open now, Wednesdays through Saturdays.

Empire

>The Secret Garden, a seasonal art gallery, kicked off its season on May 1.