It’s not often that rage and relief occupy the same headspace, but Rachel Zemanek pulled it off.

Here she was this past winter, peering inside a vacant space in Cedar that would be just perfect for the bookstore she thought she wouldn’t own and operate until retirement.

But things hadn’t gone as planned, thus far, for the Cedar native and St. Mary School graduate. After time in California, Colorado and North Carolina, first as a massage therapist and then for many years as an EMT and later paramedic, she was enjoying being out in the world and on her own.

Eventually, though, successive back injuries derailed that career. Here she was, feeling defeated after she “crawled back to home” where life started. As she looked in that empty storefront on a snowy night in February, however, she knew what had to happen. She had to open that bookstore. And she felt…better. She had found her purpose, right there in her hometown. 

“To have that feeling of belonging – and having it feel so right – was honestly infuriating. To think: ‘Are you kidding me? After I spent so much time trying to get away from this place?” she tells The Ticker. “But then, to find this place at that time, it was like: ‘All right, I am home.’ And there was just this overwhelming sense of relief mixed in with the rage.”

Those emotions were the earliest seeds of what is now The Folded Leaf, a bright, energetic space across from the Cedar Tavern and next to Bunting’s in the very heart of town. The shop serves as a bookstore, art gallery, music hall, wine/cider tasting room and simply a place to gather.

The community’s reaction, Zemanek says, confirmed her gut feeling about the need for such a space.

“This bookstore has been a way for me to continue giving back to more than people's physical ailments. It’s become a safe haven,” she says. “And from what I’ve experienced so far, it’s helped heal the mind, body and soul of so many people who walk through the door here.”

It does indeed have books. Thousands of ‘em. The majority are used and donated by locals, though she also carries new selections.  

“Every single one of the used books in here and in the storage unit and in the bed of my truck and in the piles in the corner have been donated by the community - all of them,” she says. “It’s been amazing. It’s been overwhelming.”

She’s also had music twice a week since May, and it’s been a big hit. Part of this is because she's bringing entertainment out from the region’s cultural capital and closer to where plenty of county residents live.

“I have people come in all the time who are like, ‘I'm so glad I don't have to drive all the way to Traverse City,’” Zemanek says. “I feel like people overlook Cedar. but we really are the center of the county. You drive through Cedar all the time, and now, there’s another reason to stop.”

She’s also been honored to host some notable names, which has helped generate some buzz.

“I’m just amazed that this is the space where (renowned jazz keyboardist) Bob James just gets up on stage, you know? And where May Erlewine plays this sold-out show with people coming to the door, asking me if anyone didn't show up for their ticket,” she says. “Who would have thought this would ever have happened in Cedar? Definitely not me. But here we are.”

Ultimately, Zemanek is proud of the fact that people don’t even need a reason to come. They can just show up with no particular purpose or goal. She wants it to feel like a community living room.

“(This space) is for community enjoyment, not necessarily to spend money, but to just gather and be and have no expectations of spending money, of performing, of giving anything. Like, you just get to be,” she says. “And I feel like in the United States and here in Leelanau County, we're so severely lacking that.”

Downstairs is Bee Well, a kids’ creative space that serves to attract more people. A fundraiser for this new operation will be held Oct. 18  in both spaces.

Though things have gone well so far, Zemanek is a bit concerned about the coming winter season. She is, after all, in Cedar.

“People look for it, and that's been really awesome, but it's tough, especially going into winter, I don't know what to expect,” she says. “I'm trying to come up with a bunch of creative ways to get people in the door….Because this has become such a community hub, I feel a sense of duty to the community to stay open for as long and as much as I can through the winter.”

For now, she’ll just go with the flow.

“Everything that has happened here has happened so naturally. One of my close, amazing friends said if it flows, it goes,” she says. “And this is flowing like a freakin' river.”