Vineyard Renamed, Ron's Reconsidered, Upfront Re-Viewed, Nutty Goat Replaces and NMU Re-Invented

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THE FORMER VINEYARD is soon to be Spirits.

That'll be the new name of the party store just off of Grove Street and US-41. The new owner, Ed Jakubiszyn, a former health care worker who's made a sharp left turn in his career path, hopes to have Spirits open before the new year.

The shelves are mostly empty now but they should be filled within the next few weeks.

The new store will, of course, feature liquor, wines and beer, as well as convenience foods. Craft beers will be a specialty, and if you have a particular wine you like, Jakubiszyn says he'll find it for you and order it.

You'll notice the interior has been totally re-done. It's fair to say, the Vineyard, for all its charm and familiarity, was seriously due for an updating.
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NOT SO FAST on the re-locating of Ron's Taco Shop to downtown Washington Street.

It was scheduled to reopen earlier this month after a kitchen was installed, but the owner of the property reports a problem or two has arisen with the new tenant.

The deal's not dead, but it is uncertain at this point, according to the owner.

Ron's, meantime, has gone silent on its Facebook page. The last update, provided on November 9th, reported that "the reopening...will be coming soon!"

Stay tuned.
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AND WHAT ABOUT the Upfront?

Realtor Dan Keller reports two serious potential buyers, one from the U.P., the other from downstate, both with a background in food service.

Their engineers and architects have toured the premises trying to determine what might be done to the property and at what price.

No offers yet. The price of the property remains at $3.9 million.

In the meantime, more than 40,000 square feet of space downtown remain vacant, including the city's best banquet facility. Marquette's tourism industry will suffer as long as that space remains unused.
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THIS NATION'S BEST university-based invention program may well be the one just established at Northern Michigan University.

Invent @ NMU opened up a month ago at the corner of Presque Isle and Fair Streets. Founding Director Dave Ollila is the guy in the charge.

You may know Ollila as founder of Viosport. He popularized helmet-cams and invented back country skis. He started a video-sharing service five years before YouTube started up. He's got 12 patents. He knows a little something about making things.

And that's what Invent @ NMU is all about: making things. Widgets.
Hardware. You got an idea? Say, maybe a device to improve a golfer's putting stroke or a pan that never burns fried eggs? Then bring it in to Invent @ NMU.

The staff, consisting of Ollila and NMU students, will do the research and analysis and tell you whether your invention already exists, whether there's a market for it, and whether you'd be able to produce it at a cost-efficient price.

They'll charge you, but it'll be a helluva lot less than you'd pay otherwise, and they'll save you money--and anguish--on an invention that had no future.

Sixteen inventors have walked through the doors of Invent @ NMU so far. Ollila says if two of them actually brought their invention to market, that would be a good percentage.

All inventors, even Thomas Edison, have experienced many more failures than successes. But all you need is one.
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FOR A TOWN that already has more restaurants per capita than most other Michigan municipalities, Marquette's cup continues to runneth over.

You ready for the Nutty Goat?

Yep, that's the name of the coffee house-diner replacing the old Huron Earth Deli on Third Street. Sometime next month is the anticipated opening date.

A young couple with limited restaurant experience is diving in headfirst with a restaurant that will offer breakfast (crepes, anyone?), lunches (sandwiches and such), and dinners (tapas, maybe), as well as coffees, teas and juices.

Good, healthful, wholesome foods. Farm-to-table. Who, besides McDonalds and Burger King, isn't promising farm-to-table these days?

The new owners will be working hard and long (they're the only employees so far) to make the place welcoming and comfortable. Stop by in a month or so to say hello and to sample their crepes, tapas and lattes.
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QUICK! WHERE'S THE only barbeque restaurant in town?

Not the Union Grill. It closed down a few weeks ago.

No, it's Rollin' Smoke, a tiny drive-through on Wright Street that used to house Cruise n' Coffee. It's in a near-invisible location, now that most of the Wright Street traffic takes the little bypass to and from US-41.

The business plan, devised by owners Tom and Vanessa Curry, is a little different, as well. They close down between  July and September while they hit the road for festivals, fairs, parties and other events that have proven much more lucrative than their drive-through business on Wright Street.

They're now open five days a week. Before too long, they anticipate only three days a week. After that, who knows?

We need barbeque in town. Anybody got a spot with foot traffic or car traffic? How about just any spot that's easier to find than Waldo?

B and B News, Upfront Interest, Hospital Guessing, and Eccletico Encores

IT'S NOT A sure thing yet, but it's getting there.

The long awaited Nestledown Bed and Breakfast on Lakeshore Boulevard, across from Picnic Rocks, may be just a few weeks away from groundbreaking.

Ken and Sue Schauland bought the property two and a half years ago and tore down the existing building with the expectation that they'd soon be building a unique B and B on prime property right across the street from the beach.

Not so fast. Zoning, financing, and environmental concerns cropped up. In fact, in the eyes of some, the project seemed dead.

The Schaulands (who Sue describes as "regular people with a dream") persisted. Now, they have one final financing obstacle to overcome, and with any luck, they'll put shovels to the ground by the end of summer. Their hope is to be open for business next summer.

The Schaulands both have Scandinavian blood and Nestledown will feature a distinctly Scandinavian theme, complete with a sauna. It'll consist of six guest rooms in the main building, and one room, for longer term guests, over the garage.

Question: Why doesn't the city of Marquette currently have any B and B's? There are  a few in the area--in Sands, on M-28 toward Munising and in Big Bay--but none in the city proper. Strange. It seems like an ideal location--scenic and outdoorsy but with plenty of shops, restaurants and bars. Nestledown may be carving out a niche all to itself.

In any case, Lakeshore Boulevard is coming alive. Looks like Lakeshore Cottages, a group of seven condos, will be going in up the block from Nestledown...then a mile away, they'll soon be breaking ground on the Clark Lambros Beach Park...single family homes continue to be built at the corner of Fair and Lakeshore...and Cocos recently underwent a renovation.

Traverse City, here we come.

Just kidding.

Maybe.
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THE UPFRONT BUILDING downtown remains for sale, but it is drawing interest.

Six potential buyers, two of them corporate, have taken a look at the property so far. No offers yet.

The asking price remains $3.9 million. Realtor Dan Keller says the current owner Rhyss Mussman has at least twice that much invested in the property.

Upfront has plenty going for it--great space, attractive venue, solid infrastructure.

Now all it needs is an investor with money, vision, and a willingness to bet on Marquette.
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THE GUESSING GAME continues on the hospital relocation front.

Rumors are running rampant--"The Roundhouse property is definitely out!" "No, it's the odds-on favorite!" "The golf course is rapidly losing favor!" "The township site is all but a sure thing!"

Bottom line, no one but a select few at Duke LifePoint know how the process is going.

What we do know is this: the Township has submitted all its documentation regarding the 42 acre site behind the Westwood Mall, and Duke Lifepoint, in response, has said virtually nothing to Township officials for the last three and a half weeks. Good news? Bad news? Who knows?

The city, which apparently still has the golf course and Roundhouse sites under consideration, has had "dialogue" with Duke LifePoint recently, but nothing that could be characterized as "negotiations." Just questions.

Questions. That pretty well characterizes this entire story. The final answer, if we're to believe Duke LifePoint, should come by the end of the month.
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QUITE A SCENE at the Ore Dock last weekend.

The increasingly popular string group known as Eccletico tried to finish their set and make room for the headline band, but the boisterous crowd wouldn't let them go. Eccletico, worried about overstaying their welcome, did play one encore but the crowd would have been much happier with five or six.

They're a group of up to 15 members (it varies) who all play string instruments, along with a drummer.

They play hit songs--rock, pop, country, jazz, folk, alternative--but they class it up with their strings. The music is infectious and exciting. Just imagine a line of violinists stomping their feet to the music and you get the idea.

Don't be surprised if these violinists and cellists start attracting groupies.

Eccletico's next gig is at Harbor Fest, Saturday, August 23rd, from 3:30 pm to 5 pm.
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AN INTERESTING AND eclectic little shop has opened up next to Frosty Treats on Third Street.

It's Superior Vitality, which features in its cute but compact space, a raw juice and smoothie bar, organic soaps and lotions, herbs, hemp products, massage and Reiki therapy, clothes, cards...and breast prostheses and bras.

It's the brainchild of Penny Aldrich, herself a breast cancer survivor. The idea is to provide convenient and comfortable service to other breast cancer survivors, and to invite all of us to enjoy a healthier lifestyle.

If you're interested in the First Chakra juice at Superior Vitality, your beverage would include red beets, carrots, ginger, fennel and lemon. The Fourth Chakra juice would consist of honeydew melon, pear, apple, cucumber, kale, celery, parsley, and lime.

Gotta be healthy, right?

Certainly a teensie bit healthier than the sweet, succulent and oh-so-popular soft serve ice cream and yogurt next door at Frosty Treats.


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

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

Forsberg Future, Boathouse Battle, Lovelace Criticism and Upfront For Sale

Rumors have been circulating that Forsberg Flowers, a longtime Marquette institution on Third Street, is going out of business.

Not true, says co-owner Lou Ann Balding (a Forsberg), but the property is for sale. In fact, it has been for a year now.

Why the sale? Balding simply says it's to "keep our options open." She's not comfortable getting more specific than that.

Meantime, though, Balding says business continues normally. A rumor (false) that Forsberg's was no longer selling corsages and boutonnieres certainly didn't help during the prom season.

Forsberg has been making things pretty for us since 1971.
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The boathouse controversy is heating up.

Background: the Upper Peninsula Community Rowing Club wants to build a boathouse near Founders Landing that would house its boats, along with those from the NMU rowing teams...and any other human-powered boats that other citizens might want to store.

They'd do it with all private money and they'd maintain it. No taxpayer money, no public obligations.

The rowers insist the beach would still be open to everybody, as would a viewing area on top of the structure.

Sounds fine, except that back in the 90s, the City Commission declared that the still undeveloped shores along Lake Superior should remain undeveloped.

That declaration, according to an increasing number of petitioners and a heavily promoted campaign on Facebook, should remain sacrosanct.

The intent, of course, was to prevent selling the city's coastline (and soul) to private developers. God knows, a lot of towns have been ruined by unrestrained greed.

But would a boathouse for citizen and student rowers truly violate the spirit of the declaration? Marquette's justifiably proud of its marinas. Sure seems like a facility for rowers and kayakers would be less expansive, intrusive and exclusive than the marinas...and less noisy.

A tough call.

The City Commission, which has initially endorsed the idea of a boathouse, will likely decide the issue within the next couple of months.
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Marquette County Sheriff Mike Lovelace is back in town and he's hearing a little criticism.

Some are calling him an absentee sheriff. He's calling it politics.

Lovelace, who's held the job for 18 years, concedes he's spent most of 2014 at his home in Arizona but he's had to do it, he says, only because his wife has been dealing with serious heart problems. She's been in and out of hospitals.

But even when he's been out of town, he's handled the department's conference calls, emails and faxes. There have been no problems with the operations of the department, Lovelace insists. No hiccups.

His undersheriff, Jack Schneider, has been filling in admirably, he says.

And that's where the "politics" comes in.

Late last year, Lovelace announced he was retiring but he was doing so with the expectation that Schneider would inherit the job until the next election. However, the county had other ideas and opened the job up to other applicants.

That's when Lovelace suddenly stepped in and said, "Never mind, I'll unretire and keep the job until 2016."

So he's still got the job, he's now back in town and he's tending to the health of his wife of 40 years. He owes it to her, he says. Can't blame him.

But don't expect the politics and the criticism to just fade away.
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You got a spare 3.9 million dollars?

If so, you can go out and buy the Rosewood Building which houses Upfront, along with some retail and office space.

The Upfront, more than a year and a half after closing, is now officially up for sale.

Owner Rhys Mussman had been coy about his plans for the building until now.

Any buyers for a gorgeous building in an unsurpassed location? Maybe we should pass a hat.
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As for the Carmike Theater next to Econo, you've got to wonder about its future now that the fancy new theater complex in the Township is set to open later this month.

The Carmike corporate folks in Columbus, Georgia aren't saying much about their plans for the theater.

Well, actually their legal department said, "We got nothing to tell you, and we'll tell you when we're good and ready."

Hard to imagine that Marquette could support two theater complexes, but who knows? We've done it before.

Stay tuned.
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Get prepared for a cool summer.

That's what WLUC weather guru Karl Bohnak says. A frosty winter like the one we've just experienced (It's over, right?) generally leads to a late- starting summer with temperatures that usually stay below average.

Doesn't mean we won't have hot spells, just not as many or as hot.

Just what we want to hear as we're staring out at the dreary skies, the ugly, little patches of snow, and the miles upon miles of stubborn ice still clogging Lake Superior.

How cold was the winter? How about 5 degrees below average in April? Nine degrees below average in March. Ten degrees below in February, 8 degrees below average in January and December.

Historically frigid, Bohnak says.

Bring on the cool summer and those balmy 60 degree days.


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

Hospital Machinations, Frozen Marina, and Frosty Treats

Interesting developments on the hospital relocation front.

Last week, Dana Young, an official out of Nashville identified as Duke LifePoint's site selector, told the Lake Superior Community Partnership that the site survey team had narrowed the search for a new MGH location down to two sites--one in the city of Marquette, one in Marquette Township.

Three smart, well-connected civic leaders who were at the meeting said the message was unambiguous, unmistakable. And they were surprised that the official was so candid about the process especially since MGH has been so hush-hush about it.

But clearly MGH is not calling the shots here; its the folks in Nashville, the home of Duke LifePoint, who are making the important decisions.

Talk to Marquette City Manager Bill Vajda, though, and he'll tell you he hasn't been informed that it's down to two locations. He doesn't believe it.

And check with Jason McCarthy, the planner and zoning administrator for the Township, and you'll hear the same thing. He doesn't buy it.

So was Young mistaken in his presentation to the Partnership? Seems unlikely. He's doing the work on the ground here.

Was he lying? That's not a good way to endear yourself to some of the shakers and movers in the community.

Maybe it's gamesmanship. Was he deliberately trying to set up a desperate, give-em-whatever-they-want competition between the city and township? Cynics might think so.

Was he speaking without authority? It's possible.

Or was he simply telling the truth as he saw it last week? Also, possible. In fact, likely.

 

Regardless, it's a big deal. A $290 million big deal with huge ramifications regardless of where the hospital ultimately locates.

Speaking of which, the Marquette Golf Club board meets Wednesday. On the agenda: the visit to the golf course last week by the hospital site survey team. Does Duke LifePoint want to buy part of the golf course? Is the golf club, which is saddled with debt, interested? Would the members vote to sell?

Stay tuned. Things get interestinger and interestinger.
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Who wants to be a City Commissioner in Marquette?

Mayor Bob Niemi, Fred Stonehouse and Don Ryan are all leaving at the end of the year which means three spots will open up.

But so far only one candidate, Mike Conley, has taken out a packet to file for candidacy.

At least a couple of marijuana-decriminalization candidates have previously expressed interest in running; so far nothing from them.

A group hoping to elect a young, progressive slate of candidates hasn't made a move yet, either.

There's plenty of time to file, though. The deadline is April 22, and all you need to get on the ballot is 25 signatures.
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Activity at Upfront had locals excited last week. The lights were on at the shuttered former restaurant, nightspot and banquet hall, leading some to believe that maybe it was re-opening. Or it had been sold. Or....

Or nothing.

Turns out there was concern about frozen pipes and the fire suppression system at the club. Workers were there to take care of it.

Damn.

A spokesperson for Upfront still insists, however, that something may be in the works. We'll believe it when we see it.
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Speaking of frozen, go out and take a look at the administrative building at the Cinder Pond Marina in the Lower Harbor.

See that large, horizontal crack on the right side of the photograph? That's new. It apparently happened last week during a cold spell. And there are other smaller cracks, as well.

The Parks and Recreation Department has moved equipment and files out of the building, condemned it temporarily and is now waiting for a structural engineer to show up and take a look.

How serious is the problem? They don't know yet. But from the outside it doesn't look good.
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Okay, so it's 25 degrees and the snow's coming down an inch an hour. That means it must be time for Frosty Treats on Third Street to make its seasonal opening.

Right you are.

After all, spring's right around the corner. Monday's opening was actually a week later than usual, but you can hardly blame the owners for the delay. This has been a cold winter; they had to wait for things to warm up a bit.                                             
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That empty space at Peter White Public Library where Tu Kaluthia used to serve delicious food and drinks is still up for grabs.

Other businesses in town have made inquiries about it but the library hasn't been able to reach an agreement with them yet.

The library would like whoever operates the café to keep it open 40 hours a week. That's been a sticking point.

That, and the fact that the café operator isn't going to get rich in the location.

The library is still eagerly looking for an entrepreneur. So are library patrons.

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

Racist Letters at TV6 and the Closing of Farmer Q's

A bizarre, sad and ugly story is unfolding at WLUC-TV.

Seems that prior to her abrupt resignation just over a week ago, news director Regena Robinson, who is African-American, received three racially charged letters signed by bogus names targeting her and other members of the news department.

Ugly, vile stuff.

Robinson turned the letters over to the State Police who have been investigating ever since.

The letters, which were written in cursive, apparently all came from the same person.

A lot of unanswered questions here. A lot of speculation as to who wrote the letters, as well.

Robinson, who's still in town, isn't commenting publicly. State Police visited her home a few days ago looking to get "elimination" fingerprints; in other words, Robinson's prints would be on the letters since she handled them, but were there any other prints?

WLUC so far has made no official comment on the case.
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A sad day, as well, for downtown Marquette. Farmer Q's, the little grocery store specializing in produce, announced that it's closing down.

Two reasons for the shutdown. First, Tom Brian (he and his wife Susan are the owners) was offered another job in the fruit industry downstate. It's reportedly a great opportunity.

And second, the last several months for the store have been "painful," in the words of Ms. Brian.

Farmer Q's, which sells produce grown downstate, has been locked in a continuing, nasty battle with the Marquette Food Co-op and local farmers who don't want the downstate produce sold at the Marquette Farmers' Market.

The two sides exchanged charges and counter-charges, the Downtown Development Authority tried to mediate the dispute but without much success, and everybody emerged from the unseemly mess looking bruised and beaten.

Farmer Q's says it's had enough.  It's shutting its doors within two weeks.
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With the impending closure of Penney's at the Westwood Mall later this year, the inevitable questions arise: Will another store move into the Penney's space? How will the new vacancy affect traffic at the mall? Is the overall viability of the mall threatened?

Let's be honest. The mall first opened back in the 70s and has been expanded a couple of times since then, but it's decidedly dated. It can't possibly complete with the huge, modern malls in Appleton, Green Bay and Detroit...and unfortunately that's where thousands of Yoopers end up doing their shopping.

On the other hand, even with several current vacancies, the mall is more than 90% occupied...at least it will be until Penney's departs. That's not bad.
And at least one more tenant is getting ready to move in.
Another point: You want to criticize the Westwood Mall? Go take a look at the malls in Houghton and Escanaba. By comparison, Westwood seems to be thriving.

A final point that could profoundly impact the future of the Westwood Mall:
The proposed mixed use development--retail, office, hotel, convention center and residential--behind Lowes is scheduled to start up within a couple of years. That will feature big, modern, upscale stores, the kind that have lured shoppers to Appleton, Green Bay and Detroit.

The kind that could eventually spell the end of the Westwood Mall.

The key words for the new development, though, are "proposed" and "scheduled." It's easy to draw up plans with pretty buildings while tossing around impressive dollar figures and getting everybody excited. It's much tougher to bring those plans to reality.

Anybody remember the grandiose plans for the ore dock--the high priced condos, the retail stores, the scenic promenade? How's that working out so far?
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Speaking of closures (seems to be a theme here), it's now been fourteen months since the last function was held at Upfront, one of the premier properties in downtown Marquette.

The former dining, banquet and live music venue, a handsome building overlooking Lake Superior, just sits there silent and unused.

The official word from the office of owner Rhys Mussman is that the building is not for sale and that "something may be in the works" and someone may be interested in leasing the building.

A couple of words about that. Business people will tell you that virtually every business is always for sale...for the right price. And, something is always in the works.

Mussman, who has a vacation home in Big Bay and likes the U.P., won't provide any details about his or anybody else's plans for Upfront. He's simply holding on to the darkened, multi-million dollar building for now. No money coming in.

Wealthy people can afford to do things like that.


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