Tequila, Toys, Tricky Tabulations, TV, Tap Rooms, and Twisting Arms

SALT OR NO salt?

Sol Azteca, the Mexican restaurant overlooking the Lower Harbor, got the good news last week that, at long last, it will soon be able to serve margaritas...and Corona and anything else containing alcohol.

Its liquor license was finally approved.

The restaurant has been open for a nearly a year but it took several months to buy a liquor license, and then when it came up for approval before the Liquor Control Commission, it was turned down. Reason unknown.

In any case, it appealed the rejection and won.

Sol Azteca, at last report, was waiting for the actual license to arrive. When it does, it can go out and start stocking its bar and serving its customers. Best guess is that will happen next week.

Word was, some of the restaurant's customers over the last several months got up and walked out upon learning alcohol wasn't available. Many others loaded up on spirits downstairs at L'Attitude before or after their Mexican meals.

But it's a new day at Sol Azteca and not a moment too soon. It's tough to pay the bills at a high profile location when you're selling tacos, burritos and enchiladas.
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SPEAKING OF TIMING, how about a new toy store setting up in Marquette just one month before Christmas?

It's Great Turtle Toys, which was hurriedly stocking the shelves at the location of the old Food Co-op on Monday. It'll open this week.

It's actually a pop-up store, meaning it's only a temporary store for now, unless the owner decides to extend his stay. An employee says they'll see how sales go.

No sign outside yet. Inside, you'll find games, toys, remote control devices, etc. You gotta admit, it's something Marquette needs, especially this time of year. It's kinda like Toys "R" Us, only one billionth the size.

Incidentally, there's another Great Turtle Toys on Mackinac Island and in Clarkston.
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PREPARE FOR MORE changes at TV 6.

The station's new co-anchor at 6 pm, Sophie Erber, will also be co-anchoring the 7 pm and 11 pm newscasts with Greg Trick, starting December 10th.

That's a good indication that management likes the reaction they've been hearing about Erber who arrived here several weeks ago from Florida.

By the way, you wanna get into TV? TV 6 has reporter openings at two of its bureaus.  Abby Miller left her Iron Mountain job last month, and Sara Blakely is leaving her Houghton post on December 5th.

News Director Steve Asplund says the two reporters just decided to move on. So it goes in a business where smart, young people can look forward to job that pays in the low 20s (at best) and offers every other holiday off (maybe).

Oh, and there's also the snow and the cold. And the equipment to lug around. And all of us critics out there who don't like the way you look and sound.
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TALK ABOUT ELECTION intrigue.

Things are still being sorted out in Ishpeming, almost a month after the election. First unofficial returns of the voting had Mayor Mike Tall beating challenger Justin Koski for a council seat 964-961. Then the official county tabulation came in and results were reversed: Koski 960, Tall 955.

Now it gets more complicated. The state still has to certify those results, likely in December, and when that happens, Tall, the apparent loser, will ask for and be granted a recount.

But wait! Before that happens, the new councilman, apparently Koski, will likely be sworn in which means that if by some chance he loses in the recount, then he will be booted out of his seat before he even gets it warm.

And there's more! In the election, no one ran for the two-year-term seat, so it's now vacant. That means the new council (with Koski as a new councilman) will have to appoint someone to the two year seat. And who's among the likely candidates for that seat? Mike Tall, that's who.

Ah, politics. Ya gotta love it.
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ANY DAY NOW, we should be hearing from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.  They'll tell us how much of a rate increase we'll have to pay to keep the outdated, costly and under-utilized Presque Isle Power Plant open.

The deadline for the notification is December 1st, although that could be pushed back to January 1st.

We don't want the damn plant but we've got to keep it open for the sake of the grid and for the reliability of the power supply and....blah blah blah.

What's especially outrageous is that FERC initially ruled that the UP would have to pay virtually all the costs for the plant. That could be especially tough on businesses and people on a fixed income.

UP and Michigan politicians are twisting arms to make sure that doesn't happen.

We'll see. It's inevitable we'll have to pay more for our electricity. It's just a matter of how much more.
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THE COGNITION BREWING Company in Ishpeming is just about ready to open, but not quite.

They're still working on the venue which is the long-vacated tap room of the old Mather Inn. Should be a great space when they're ready.

They're also dealing with getting their liquor license approved. They expect no problems with that. We wish them well.

They had been hoping to open in November, then it was Christmas, now it's January. In the meantime, they're waiting for their outdoor sign to arrive, their redoing their website, they've hired an operations manager, they're setting up their online store (selling growlers and such), they're....well, they're doing everything but opening their taps and selling beer.

So it goes with a new business.
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SPEAKING OF WHICH.

The Marq, Marquette's much anticipated farm-to-table restaurant, remains a work in progress.

The original hoped-for opening date was August which means today must be August 121st.

There's still work to be done inside and outside and oh yeah, there's also that pesky and familiar little item known as a "liquor license" to be dealt with. But it's going smoothly, we're told. Sure. Okay.

Best guess for an opening date? February.

Foodies are counting the days. One more thing: the interior of The Marq, featuring blacks and golds, is unlike anything else you'll see in town.

Just a tease.

You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

If you want to be notified when Word on the Street is posted, go to Word on the Street by Brian Cabell on Facebook and "like" it.

Marquette Displayed, Heavy Hitters Pitched, Rowers Relieved, and Liquor License Denied

TOO BAD ABOUT the wet and blustery weather this week because Marquette is on display before 1000 of  Michigan's movers and shakers.

You may have noticed them on the streets and in the restaurants, bars and hotel lobbies--members of the Michigan Municipal League. They're politicians, city officials and lobbyists from all over the state. Only rarely do they venture this far north for their convention.

In a very real sense, Marquette is a poster child for city revitalization and can provide lessons for other languishing cities and towns.

You don't have to go back very far--30 or 40 years--to remember when Marquette's waterfront was an industrial slum and its downtown was all but dead. Today? A brilliant and striking contrast.

The often unappreciated partnership between government and private enterprise has led the way.
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THE MUNICIPAL LEAGUE has just published  a book, The Economics of Place: The Art of Building Great Communities, and no surprise, several pages are devoted to the turnaround in Marquette.

A quote: "Today, the city of Marquette essentially owns and controls its entire waterfront, a fact that has had a profound impact on its sense of place as a scenic waterfront community."

The book goes on to praise the city's brownfield cleanup, its embrace of its historical heritage while welcoming new development, and its promotion of the city as an outdoors community flush with bike trails everywhere.

Also mentioned: brew pubs ("Brew pubs have just gone nuts here"), the Landmark Inn ("History and architecture buffs have made it a favorite spot on the circuit of national historic hotels"), the remarkably popular and sold-out Beerfest ("The only problem might be too much success"), and the Vierling ("They actually still walk down to the harbor each day and get the fish fresh off the dock").

We've got a lot to boast about. Now, if we could just do something about the rain and the wind. And the icebergs in the harbor on May 30th.
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A NEW CHAPTER on the city's future was being written this week at M Bank on Washington Street.

About twenty heavy hitters (annual income of $200,000 or net worth of $1,000,000) gathered to hear a pitch to become angel investors in Marquette's new Smartzone.

Angel investors invest in small, start-up companies in need of cash.

The Smartzone, with substantial financial incentives for high tech entrepreneurs, will be taking shape over the next six months throughout the city.

You like high tech? You like taking a bit of a gamble on smart people with new ideas? You like investing locally? You got an extra 50 grand burning a hole in your pocket? This is an opportunity to make a difference to your net worth, and to your hometown.
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WE DON'T WANT to jump the gun on this but it sure looks like the once controversial and much delayed boathouse on Lake Superior, near the Hampton Inn, will become a reality within a few years.

The Marquette Planning Commission and the City Commission have now approved the plan to lease the boathouse to the Upper Peninsula Community Rowing Club.

Issues may still crop up but it appears that final approval of the rezoning of the site by the City Commission is all that remains. That should come at its October 27th meeting, just before the next election which, with new members, could have thrown the entire issue into doubt.

What you're hearing now is a collective sigh of relief from the rowers who've been planning this for four years and struggling to get it through the City Commission for eighteen months.

Most of the criticism died when the UPCRC agreed to build the boathouse but let the city maintain ownership of the property.

One teeny, tiny obstacle remains. The club has to raise a paltry $600,000 over the next few years to build the boathouse. Here's a guess: these women (and the club, for some reason, is mostly women) will do it ahead of schedule. They're a smart, tenacious, and well-connected bunch.
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SO YOU STILL can't order a Corona with your burrito at Sol Azteca?

Nope. Management at the Mexican restaurant which opened since last winter (sans alcohol) bought a liquor license a few months back from a Gwinn business, but has still not gotten state approval to actually sell liquor.

The food's been good and inexpensive but management is frustrated because they're losing money. They say several tourists have sat down to order, then gotten up and left upon learning that alcohol wasn't on the menu.

Here's the back story. Sol Azteca management has gone to State Representative John Kivela looking for help. Kivela inquired and learned the Liquor Control Commission has denied the restaurant's application for a liquor license. No reason was given to Kivela.

Now the license denial is going through the appeal process. No word yet on when that will be completed.

So Sol Azteca has a liquor license but they can't use it, at least not yet.

In the meantime, they'll ply you with soft drinks and water. Yum.
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CONTRARY TO EXPECTATIONS a few months ago, the tiny but much loved Huron Earth Deli on South Third Street is still open.

The owner thought she would close down and complete the sale of the building to an out-of-state couple within a few weeks.

It's taken longer than anticipated but the sale is still going to happen. Meantime, Huron Earth Deli's doors are still open with a limited inventory, including its near legendary crawfish chowder.

The new owners, by the way, will be also operating a food-related business on the site. That's good news for the neighborhood, certainly a better choice than a dental office or an auto supply shop. Or a bar.


You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

If you want to receive Word on the Street when it's posted, go to Word on the Street by Brian Cabell on Facebook and  "like" it.

Forest Service Investigation, Sol Azteca Liquor, and a Gem in Ishpeming

A story that's gone mostly unreported in the central UP for the last several months is now the subject of a federal investigation by the Inspector General of the Department of Agriculture.

Here's the narrative: The US Forest Service brought in a new law enforcement officer to the Hiawatha National Forest last summer. His name is Louis Cote. He's reportedly got a military background which can be helpful but apparently he's also brought in a somewhat militaristic--some would say, belligerent--attitude with him to the job.

Complaints against him mounted through the summer and fall. Complaints about unwarranted traffic stops--for "driving over the center line of a gravel road" and for having snow on the license plate.

Complaints about unwarranted, frightening nighttime visits by the officer to check on the welfare of children.

Complaints about harassing hunters, canoers, longtime elderly residents, drivers minding their own business.

Complaints about excessive fines for minor, even nonexistent violations.

Munising mayor Rod DesJardins estimates they've compiled between 50 and 100 complaints against the officer, and says he's heard at least 100 other stories of harassment.

And the harassment, the critics say, has been frequently accompanied by outright intimidation--"Hands in the air!", handcuffs and threats.

At one point, a sign was posted in Chatham advising citizens who were pulled over by officer Cote to call the State Police or 911.

At the very least, the critics say, the officer has been overzealous in carrying out his duties. More to the point, they say, he's scared them.

They took the matter to the City Commission and County Commission and got them on board. They took the matter to the Forest Service itself but got no action from the agency. They then went to Congressman Benishek's office and informed him of the problem.

Now the case is before Inspector General of the US Department of Agriculture. Official word from the Forest Service and Benishek's office is, the case is now pending. No other comments.

A word of caution here. Nothing has been proven, nothing's gone to court. The officer may simply have been doing the job he thought he was supposed to do. But when there's this much concern, this much fear, this much distrust between a community and a governmental officer, something needs to change.
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Everybody's favorite new Mexican restaurant, Sol Azteca, has some good news. It's finally found and bought a liquor license.

Now it needs a final okay from a government inspector before it can start serving alcohol.

Could be in days or weeks, maybe longer, but it's coming.

Not a day too soon according to many diners who'd like a Corona or margarita to wash down their enchiladas and tacos.

You gotta think it's a relief to restaurant management, as well. It's tough to make big money on a pricey piece of real estate when you're charging only eight or ten dollars for lunches and dinners.
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WLUC has some good-sized shoes to fill.

Tyler Czarnopis, who's managed the station's website for the last three years, has just accepted a new job with the Department of Natural Resources in Lansing. He'll be the agency's social media coordinator.

Czarnopis has overseen huge growth on the WLUC website during his tenure. Three years ago, website page views totaled 1.4 million a month. Last month the figure was four million, and just a couple of months ago, aided by all the school closures and weather alerts, the station's website pulled in nearly eight million page views.

Huge numbers for a small market TV station.

Czarnopis leaves on May 23rd. His successor hasn't been selected yet.
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The new Thomas Theatre complex in the Township opens Friday at 2:30.

Hardly a secret but it is big news.

Fancy complex, attractive building, one huge screen--not Imax, contrary to rumors, but it is huge. Also VIP seating. Also, it seems, slightly higher prices: nine bucks for adults.

What's playing? Godzilla, Spiderman 2, Million Dollar Arm, among others. A similar lineup to what Carmike is offering a couple of miles away.

Wonder who's gonna get the bigger crowds this weekend?
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You may not have heard about it, especially if you don't make it to Ishpeming all that much, but there's a gem of a store downtown.

It's Rare Earth Goods, run by Pamela Perkins, the wife of businessman and roofer Dan Perkins.

Here's what the store offers: arts and crafts from more than 100 local artists, wood furniture crafted by a blind carpenter, more than 60 beers, a wide array of Michigan wines, bulk foods, Dead River coffee, Guinden farm meats, specialty foods...and open mic sessions every Tuesday night.

It's a one-of-a-kind store.

And it's in downtown Ishpeming, which could be a problem. There's not a ton of pedestrian traffic there, and you've got to wonder, is there even the demographic mix there to allow an ultra-local, offbeat business to succeed?

Let's hope so. All towns could use a Rare Earth Goods.


You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

TV6 Shakeup, Cold Weather Breakdown, and a Dinner Theater on the Horizon

WLUC staffers are still trying to digest the implications of the resignation of their news director on Friday.

Regena Robinson, who'd held the position for two and a half years, unexpectedly announced that she'd be leaving the job within two weeks. Later that morning, she told some employees that, in fact, she was leaving that very day. She cleared out her office on Saturday and she's now gone.

What happened? She'd only say that she resigned and she was moving on. To where, she wouldn't say, nor would she say whether she was staying in the TV news business.

The truth was, her tenure at WLUC had been marked by some dissension and a major rift in the newsroom. That's not all that uncommon in  the TV news business, but Robinson's journalistic skills and management style never won her full respect among the veterans in the newsroom.

Who's going to be the next news director? Good question. Anchor Steve Asplund, who once held the ND job, would be a likely and welcome in-house candidate, but station CEO Rob Jamros and the new owners, Sinclair Broadcasting, may have other ideas.
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We're enjoying a respite from the frightful cold of the polar vortex of just a week ago but TV6 weather guru Karl Bohnak says don't put away your thermal underwear and knit caps just yet.

Things are setting up, he says, for a stretch of similarly frigid weather later this month or in early February.

How cold was last month here in the UP? The coldest December in a quarter century, a full seven degrees below average.

Long range forecasters are strongly suggesting that we could have a series of delayed springs in the years ahead--ie winters will last longer.

Bohnak says, yeah, there's a lot of winter left.

How about global warming? Does it figure into this at all? Bohnak doesn't buy it. He claims there's been no significant warming of the earth for the last two decades
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So what's happening with the old Delft Theater in downtown, the one that's been vacant for a couple of years?

Tom Vear, who owns the building along with Donckers next door as well as other properties in town, has a plan.

For a dinner theater. With 250 seats, some in the balcony. Also a bar.

The idea would be to show movies--old classics, maybe new classics--on a huge screen while patrons are enjoying a first class meal and drinks.

Sounds a little off-the-wall, but off-the-wall can be good sometimes.

Vear, who's applied to the state for grant money, expects to present his plans to the City Commission later this month.
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A little bit of a hiccup at Sol Azteca, the new Mexican restaurant overlooking the Lower Harbor.

The restaurant doesn't have its liquor license yet and apparently some patrons were trying to take matters into their own hands. Literally.

They were arriving at the restaurant with their own alcohol and telling staff that it was fine--the patrons would provide their own liquor and the restaurant would provide the tacos, enchiladas and burritos. Hey, everybody does it here! A great deal all around.

Except, of course, for the fact that it's illegal.

The restaurant manager, who's from out of state, made a call to the city and got the true story.

Next thing you know, Sol Azteca posts a sign instructing customers to leave their booze at home.

Crowds are still big there, by the way. Is it just the honeymoon phase or is this the real deal?
 
                          You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com                         

Fat Man, Paper Books and Soft Opens

You won't see him on NBC's The Biggest Loser but Chip Arledge (alias The Fat Man), the DJ at 100.3 The Point, has a weight loss story to put any of those losers to shame.

Arledge has lost more than 170 pounds in the last year and, no, it wasn't done through surgery.

 

He simply decided to stop eating and drinking so much, and to exercise more.

Here are the facts:

1) He weighed nearly 400 pounds when he started his lifestyle change. He was in his early fifties and he was worried about his health.

2) He cut his calorie consumption down to 500-700 a day. That amounts to oh...about three carrots, two crackers, a thin slice of turkey and two glasses of water a day, give or take.

3) He started moving, first from his chair to his sofa, then from his kitchen to his car, then 25 steps of walking, then a little bit of jogging, then finally some actual running. Now he's up to 20 miles a week. He runs a mile in just over seven minutes.

4) Most amazing, he's done it all without one of those famous diet plans or an exercise regimen from a celebrity coach. He just decided to do it by himself. Sheer willpower.

He still calls himself the Fat Man, by the way. Maybe it's ironic or maybe it's just a needed reminder of what he used to be.
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It might be time to cancel the funeral service for book stores.

Last year, the word was, book stores and books (those things with paper) were dead or dying. Ebooks, experiencing enormous growth, were destined
to wipe out regular books and close down bricks-and-mortar stores.

Not so fast. The latest figures show ebook growth flattened out tremendously last year, up only five percent over 2012.

And Marquette's treasured Snowbound Books? It's doing just fine. Owner Dana Schultz, who took over in April, says revenue held steady in 2013.

So is it just the stubborn old farts who are still buying paper books? No, Schultz says, it's everybody who feels a closer connection to the actual printed page than the digital page. The real book fosters an intimacy between reader and book.

It sounds kinda touchy-feely, but there may be something to it.

As for the book stores themselves, yeah, Borders is dead and Barnes and Noble may be dying, but Snowbound is alive and well. Schultz's customers, local and tourists, tell her they love the "smell" of the store. You can't say that about your Kindle or iPad.
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Don't look for balloons and brass bands when Sol Azteca opens tomorrow (Saturday, December 28th) morning.

In fact, don't even look for a sign outside. That still hasn't arrived.

But Aurora Cardosa, the manager of the new Mexican restaurant located downtown just above L'Attitude, says they'll simply turn on the Open sign at 11 am and wait for people to arrive.

Talk about a soft open.

Cardosa says their menus finally arrived, most of their staff is working, and they're finally ready to serve.

Liquor license? No, that's still being worked on but Cardosa says her aim is to make Sol Azteca a great family restaurant where the focus is on the food, not the alcohol.

One more thing: they're still looking for a few hires. If you need a job and you like the aroma of Mexican cuisine, you need to get down there. Pronto. Wait, is "pronto" Italian? Whatever. You get the idea.


                       You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

Brew Pubs, Back Pay and Burritos

Beer-lovers, rejoice. Marquette (actually Harvey) is about to get another microbrewery. The Bayou just got its license to brew its own suds but it'll be at least a few months before the operation is up and running.

Optimistically, they're hoping for April. Realistically, more like June. They've got to revamp the facility and install five tanks.

They've got a brewmaster ready to go, they'll be producing five different beers, and they're now looking for a logo for the new brewery which will officially be called the Chocolay River Brewery. The Bayou will hold a contest to determine the winning design.

If you've followed the evolution of the Bayou over the last decade, you've seen it change from a "dive bar" (Sorry, no other way to put it) to a neighborhood eatery with a vastly improved menu and more attractive appearance to a...brew pub, with a little cachet.
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Now, what's with the supposed Mexican restaurant soon to open over L'Attitude?

Okay, it'll be called Sol Azteca or Aztec Sun.

The staff is ready, the facilities and food are ready but...the menus aren't printed up yet and the sign's not here, either. According to one of the senior staff people, that's all that's holding the opening up. If the menus get here in the next few days, Sol Azteca could open as early as Monday.

It'll be mid-priced Mexican food--tacos, enchiladas, steaks, etc--in one of the best venues in town.

One eensie-teensie problem. Sol Azteca still doesn't have a liquor license. The staff member told me they're hoping to get it within a month, two at most.

Let's hope it's soon. Mexican food tastes better with a Corona or Dos Equis.
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So far, three candidates have tossed their hat into the ring for Marquette County Sheriff after the current sheriff, Mike Lovelace, unexpectedly announced his retirement a couple of weeks ago.

The three are Undersheriff Jack Schneider, Chocolay Police Chief Greg Zyburt, and a third candidate who wishes to remain anonymous. Understandable, since the candidate may not want his (or her) employer to know that he wants to move on.

Applications close down on December 15. Then the troika of Probate Judge Cheryl Hill, Prosecutor Matt Wiese and County Clerk Jack Dishnow will interview the candidates and choose the new sheriff who will take over February 1.

Interesting fact. The sheriff doesn't have to have a law enforcement background. It's considered an administrative position.
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Update on the back pay issue for beginning reporters at TV6 and Fox UP:
President and GM Rob Jamros says it's been resolved, after an investigation by the US Department of Labor.

Jamros says back pay will be given to all the underpaid news employees over the last 24 months. That will include some personnel who've since left the station.

Salaries for current employees have already been boosted about $5000 a year.

Jamros says a misunderstanding of the labor laws by WLUC's owners had resulted in the underpayments.

As for the station's new owners, Jamros says he's very optimistic because Sinclair is a genuine TV operation whose business is in running small and medium market TV stations. The previous owners, Barrington Broadcasting(who, frankly, were not popular with most of the staff here), was essentially an investment group intent on making as much money as possible in a short period of time.

Let's see if Sinclair takes a different approach.

You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com