One of the oldest wineries in Leelanau County is for sale, NJ’s Grocery has struck up partnerships with several other local grocery stores to keep its Indian takeout food available during an extended closure, and Northport has a brand-new ice cream parlor. Read on for the Leelanau Ticker’s rundown of these stories and other business news from around the county.

>Willow Winery & Vineyard in Suttons Bay is back on the market. One of Leelanau County’s oldest wineries, Willow last changed hands as recently as 2021, when Texas-based couple Harry and Tracy Faulkner bought the business and property from founding proprietors John and Jo Crampton. The Cramptons started the winery in 1992, and ran it for nearly two decades before passing the baton.

Now, the Faulkners are looking to pass the baton once more. Willow Winery and its 11 and a half acres hit the market last month for an asking price of $2.3 million. That’s significantly more than the $1.6 million the Cramptons listed the winery for last time around.

“Discover Willow Winery & Vineyard – the 5th oldest working vineyard & winery on the Leelanau Peninsula boasting incredible views over West Grand Traverse Bay,” the real estate listing touts. “This well-established, turn-key business/property includes the tasting room, home & equipment barn on 11.45 acres.” The property’s two-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom home, which is described as a “Fresh Provencal residence,” is currently being used as a vacation rental.

After the Faulkners purchased Willow in 2021, the family went through a lengthy and “painstaking” process with the Michigan Liquor Control Commission to transfer the liquor license, which meant the new owners didn’t actually open the winery for full service until the 2023 season.

In a Facebook post announcing the listing, Tracy Faulkner noted that while owning a vineyard had been “a life long dream,” she and her husband feel a yearning to be free of “the restrictions this glamorous operation places on our personal opportunities for exploration” and travel, hence the decision to sell.

>Also recently listed for sale: Glen Lake Manor, a century-old staple that has been closed since 2020 when long-time owner Nancy Wright passed away. Subsequent owners Susan and Robert Rife had been working over the past several years to resurrect the property as a hotel, restaurant, and more, even securing a special use permit from Empire Township last year to renovate and redevelop the property. Now, though, the five-acre asset – which includes 3,189 square feet of buildings and 172 feet of frontage on Glen Lake – is on the market for $2.595 million.

According to the listing, the manor’s kitchen, dining area, restrooms, and office space were all restored in 2005, “allowing the restaurant to be operational again immediately.” A two-bedroom cottage on the property was also remodeled recently, and “could be a weekly rental or owner housing during the redevelopment.”

Regarding that redevelopment, the listing states that “a complete package of architectural and site plans is available to a new owner.” That plan, along with the special use permit Empire Township approved for the property last November, “allows the Manor to be redeveloped with 9 en-suite guest rooms and 1 manager/owner suite, continuation of the 50 seat restaurant, a 20 seat lounge and use of the 3 free-standing rental cottages.”

>Good news for fans of NJ’s Grocery and its house-made Indian food. While the Lake Leelanau market is closed until further notice due to a June 10 fire, the store has launched a new prepped meal subsidiary called “Currysome” to tide customers over in the meantime. Late last month, NJ’s Grocery shared the news that Indian Spice in Cadillac – a restaurant that spun out of the NJ’s Grocery kitchen – would start offering takeout delivery to NJ’s. Then, this month, NJ’s announced partnerships with two other Leelanau County grocery stores – Hansen Foods in Suttons Bay and Anderson’s Market in Glen Arbor – and that both stores would be carrying Currysome and its “fully cooked, refrigerated Indian meals designed for a grab-and-go lifestyle.”

>The Aspen House, a new hybrid child care and coworking space, has officially opened its doors in Suttons Bay. Located at 73 West 4th Street, in the former ATI Physical Therapy space in Hansen’s Plaza, the business marked its opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony on June 30. Now open Monday through Friday from 10am to 4pm, Aspen House offers a variety of workspaces – including communal rooms, quiet focus rooms, and dedicated private call space – as well as membership-based child care services geared toward infants and toddlers aged 3 months to 4 years.

>Martha’s Leelanau Table in Suttons Bay has been sold. The restaurant had been under the same ownership, of its namesake Martha Ryan, since opening in July 2008. Even prior to that, Ryan had been a long-time fixture in the Leelanau food scene, starting her career in 1982 at Leland Public Schools and building a 20-year legacy there, eventually as food service director. Her resume also includes stints with Stone House Bread, The Cove, Sugar Loaf, Hattie’s, and Windows. Now, a new era is underway at Martha’s: Ryan and her business partners sold the business to Justin and Bethany Messer, Michigan natives who live in Fairfax, Virginia. Mert Karadag is staying on as general manager, while Jimmy Clark – who was announced as the restaurant’s new head chef in May – will continue in that role.

>Buster’s Ice Cream, a brand-new ice cream parlor, is now open for business in downtown Northport. Buster’s is the latest business to occupy the space at 110 E Nagonaba Street, the former home of The Tribune Ice Cream & Eatery, and most recently, of a different ice cream shop called The Big Dipper. Buster’s offers both hard scoop and soft serve ice cream, as well as “ice cream nachos” and its “signature treat,” called “The Digger.” Served in a cup, each Digger alternates layers of ice cream and toppings like Reese’s peanut butter cups, brownie bites, Oreos, M&Ms, and cookie dough, plus a top layer of fudge or caramel sauce and an option for sprinkles or whip.

>The Lake Leelanau-based Island Thyme Catering & Event Planning has announced plans to sunset operations at the end of 2025. Co-owners Kristy VerSnyder and Vince Tomczak started the business in 2013 – her a Leland Public School graduate who’d cut her teeth working at local places like The Bluebird, North Country Bar and Grill, and 9 Bean Rows; him a Flint native who had traded his chef’s hat for an excavating and landscaping business when he first moved to Leelanau in the early 2000s. Kristy announced the decision on the business’s website, simply writing: “it’s time for me to embark on a new chapter.”

>Tandem Ciders in Suttons Bay announced last month that longtime employee Danielle Miller had earned a “Certified Pommelier” certification through the American Cider Association, the highest professional certification in the hard cider industry. Miller passed a series of in-person tests in Grand Rapids in May to earn the designation, joining a growing class of Michigan cider experts in the process. Previously, the state had just two Certified Pommeliers, one of whom was Sean Niemisto from Townline Ciderworks in Williamsburg. Miller passed her exams alongside five other Michiganders, including Bird Peterson of Traverse City’s Left Foot Charley Wine & Ciders, bringing the state’s total tally of Certified Pommeliers to eight. That’s “among the highest numbers in any single state,” according to Cidercraft Magazine, accounting for 5 percent of the only 157 Certified Pommeliers worldwide.

Pictured: Willow Winery (top left), Glen Lake Manor (top right), Currysome takeout at Hansen Foods (bottom left), and "The Digger" at Buster's Ice Cream (bottom right).