Angela Macke never wanted to be a farmer. “I grew up on a farm and I knew it was hard work,” she says. So here she is tending to her tea farm, Light of Day. She packages a number of different teas at the Demeter-certified biodynamic organic farm on M-72 west of Traverse City. What happened to change her mind? Why organic? And what the heck is biodynamic and Demeter anyway? Check out the third story in our series on agritourism and solutions to the farming crisis.
Art’s Tavern in the heart of Glen Arbor celebrates 90 years this year. Tim Barr (who tourists often confuse with “Art”) bought Art’s from Mike Wiesen on July 17, 2000—smack dab in the busy summer season. He couldn’t afford to wait an extra day, or week, for the liquor license to transfer names, so Tim—together with Tom Reay, a long-time Art’s bartender who had just opened Funistrada restaurant in Burdickville—chartered a plane from Traverse City to Lansing to sign the paperwork late in the afternoon at the Michigan Liquor Control Commission. They flew home and returned to Glen Arbor, where Art’s was packed. “Being my own boss was the number 1 priority,” recalled Tim.
As we peer out the original windows of the restored Sleeping Bear Inn and into Lake Michigan’s rolling blue waves, we imagine a Michigan Transit Co. steamship arriving at the 650-foot dock in Glen Haven, just as it would have in the 1920s, carrying lumbermen, tourists, and fortune seekers who had departed Chicago the previous evening. The visitors disembark, plant their feet on land and gaze with wonder at the shoreline and the Manitou Islands floating in the distance. The Sleeping Bear Inn, the crowned jewel of Glen Haven, reopens to guests later this summer, more than 50 years after it closed when this National Lakeshore was created in 1972. The Inn, which was built in 1866 and served guests through the Michigan lumber boom, the roaring ’20s, and the era of dune buggies, is the oldest hotel in the National Park Service
Food, folks, farm and fun—plus a festival or two. Those are all part of the plan at the Lively Farm, a.k.a. Backyard Burdickville, f.k.a. the Eagles property on M-72 just east of Empire. Lively NeighborFood Market is set to debut Memorial Day weekend, pending any surprises with the buildout or weather. The brainchild of Jim and Kelly Lively is the latest addition to the property, which has also served as home to the LivelyLands music festival and the Lively Farm, a CSA farm.
Beware this time of year when driving around the Leelanau Peninsula. Cars will suspiciously slow down and then veer off the road seemingly for no reason, almost causing accidents. Why? Spotting an animal? A favorite winery? A picture opportunity? Maybe, but most roadtrippers are stopping for the gorgeously arrayed farm stands throughout the peninsula. This side-business allowed farmers to move product at their discretion, set fair pricing, and cut out a middle-man. The farmers make direct connections to the consumer; the farmers can move smaller batches of crops that would not be large enough for a commercial buyer; the farmers can sell crops that may be too ripe for a grocery store; ultimately, the farmers control the freshness of the final product sold at the farm stand. Every time a consumer purchases something from a farm stand it is a reminder of our symbiotic connection to the earth and the farmers growing the food the public at large consumes. One of the hardest working farm stand owners, Al Steimel, appreciates the important relationship between producer and consumer in the Leelanau Peninsula.
Lakeview Hill Farm is getting ready to celebrate a birthday. On July 6, its farm market will celebrate one year since opening. Chances are owners Bailey Samp and John Dindia will be too busy farming to worry about blowing out candles. After all, farming is hard work. Not just running the new store, but growing and harvesting crops on around their certified organic produce and cut flower farm while they work to extend the growing season through the use of greenhouses and caterpillar tunnels. “We now have six greenhouses and seven caterpillar tunnels on two acres. A quarter acre is flowers,” says Samp. The flower field now backs up to the market. This is the second story in our series on solutions to the farming crisis.
The beauty salon stands as a pillar in any town, serving as a place for physical edification, but also as a cornerstone of the community. The beauty salon is more than a destination for a great blow-out or a fab mani-pedi. It is a sanctuary of sorts—a place where friendships are forged, stories are shared, and confidence is nurtured. Glen Lake Beauty Salon embodies this concept, offering a panoply of premiere beauty services while also providing warmth to, and solace for, its many patrons. It is a most significant—and very fortuitous—development for Glen Arbor that Sherri Ricard, the beloved owner of the Beauty Salon, sold her business to longtime, devoted partner, Sara Sanborn, in early June. This proverbial passing of the torch has been met with a collective sigh of relief from the community.
Connor Ciolek considers it an honor to wear Cherry Republic’s “Boomer” bear costume in the Glen Arbor Fourth of July parade, which gathers in Glen Haven in the morning and departs for downtown around noon. The company’s mascot has been a mainstay in his life; he has a vivid memory of Boomer showing up at his older brother Jackson’s fifth birthday. This is the second year in a row Connor has volunteered to dress as Boomer for the parade. The job has its trials, though. “It’s very hot. The black costume soaks up all the sun,” said Connor, who has worked at Cherry Republic for eight years. “I wear an ice pack vest on my chest, especially when the parade (temperature) is in the mid-80s like it was last year.”
Sleeping Bear Surf & Kayak, the beloved shop in Empire, will celebrate its 20th birthday this weekend, June 28-30, with “Beryl Days”—an homage to co-founder Beryl Skrocki, who passed away in October 2022 at age 61. The business is run by her husband Frank and their children, Ella, Reiss and Annabel. Click here for the full Beryl Days lineup. And read family friend Jim Lively’s reflections on Beryl, which the Sun published in 2022.
Numerous retail changes are taking shape in Leland and Lake Leelanau, but a handful of new businesses are creating quite a buzz this summer. Leland welcomes two new lifestyle boutiques, a locally designed clothing line, and a yoga/Pilates studio, while Lake Leelanau is home to a new consignment store. Click here to read about River Studio, Leelanau Goods, Goodness on Main, and Evergreen Consignment.