Mae Stier’s Blue Heron Mercantile fills void in Empire
Photo by Josh Hartman Photography
By Jacob Wheeler
Sun editor
The idea of opening a small market in Empire dawned on Mae Stier last spring after Deering’s Market closed. Shuttered was a lifeblood business in this close-knit town. For decades, community members had come to Deering’s to buy food and daily provisions, to cross paths and interact.
The idea grew on Stier through the summer and fall. In November, the 30-year-old photographer, writer, and relative newcomer to Empire was elected to the Village Council. “I wanted to learn about, and get more involved in local politics,” she said. “Here you feel civic responsibility more strongly than you might in other (larger) communities.”
In January she spent time in Detroit and saw vacant spaces being reclaimed and used for creative purposes. A roller rink built in an old storefront downtown; pop-up holiday markets during the winter; little huts where artists can sell their goods.
“I saw that and I thought, ‘what about empty buildings in Empire?’” she said. “We have buildings that are not being used in a commercial way, and we have a need (for places that sell food) and places for the community to bump into each other.”
Stier saw a village in transition—as talks continue about whether or not to invest in a municipal septic system to encourage economic growth. She wanted to offer a solution that would help meet the needs of both year-round residents, and tourists who will flock to Empire and the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore by the hundreds of thousands over the next few months.
In late January she approached Amelia Vanderberg, who owns the Blue Heron schoolhouse building, and broached the idea of opening a marketplace. “It’s important in Empire to have good food options,” said Stier. “With the exception of the gas station there’s not anywhere to buy milk, eggs, and local produce throughout the summer.
The Blue Heron Mercantile, which will celebrate a soft-opening on Asparagus Festival weekend and be open 7 days a week starting Memorial Day weekend, will stock more pantry items, jams and preserves, and fresh local produce as they become more readily available and as the tourism season surges. Groceries, coffee and to-go food will be available by the beginning of June. However, this won’t be a full-service grocery store; Empire residents will still need to make trips to Anderson’s in Glen Arbor, Honor Family Market, or Tom’s in Traverse City to load up essentials.
“When you’re throwing dinner together and realize you’re out of vegetable stock or need eggs, my goal is to reduce that need to jump in the car. I want to be able to fill that gap and contribute to the quality of life for residents in our village.”
Stier plans to sell summer produce from nearby Wiesen Farms and baked goods and sandwiches from Empire residents Mel & Fell. Blue Heron Mercantile will carry fresh salads, healthy sides, breakfast items such as quiche by the slice, and supplements for beach picnics and grill parties. The only thing made in-house will be “Sunday Coffee”, specially roasted by her friend Spencer McQueen.
“We’ll occasionally have pop-ups with him doing pour-over coffee,” said Stier.
The young entrepreneur will also use Blue Heron’s modern, simple, and inviting interior to promote and support local artists, as well as her own muse. “We’ll have products that highlight those who are living and working in the area—local farmers and also local artists and makers.”
Stier works with local artists including jewelers Lucy Lowe and Sarah Wright, ceramicist Laura Lou, macramé by Mad Ropes, candles by Traverse Candle Co. and notebooks by 2N.One wall in the space will feature works by an array of artists that rotates on a monthly basis. All artwork will be for sale. “There are so many artists in this area that I want to support,” said Stier. “I want to support the working economy of younger families.”
Blue Heron Mercantile will also exhibit Stier’s Lake Michigan-centered photography and poetry from her “Letters to Lake Michigan” series she launched a year ago with postcards mailed monthly to subscribers.
“I was naturally writing pieces that were directed to Lake Michigan, expressing the connection I feel to this region and to the water itself,” said Stier. “I started sharing them online, and people connected to this. I thought, ‘How can I take this off-line? I don’t like writing just for social media.’ I wanted something that pushed me a bit.”
She began to write poems nearly every single day, pairing them with photographs of Lake Michigan. Check out the project at LettersToLakeMichigan.com. Her essays and photography can also be found in Traverse Magazine and the Boardman Reviewliterary magazine.
Stier, who grew up near Flint and studied creative writing at Grand Valley near Grand Rapids, was a vagabond through her 20s, living in both California and New York City. She immediately felt at home in Empire once she moved here 2.5 years ago, following her parents who bought a home in 2015.
“I knew that in five years my goal was to be here,” she said. “Paying rent in Brooklyn wasn’t working out. I asked myself, ‘Let’s be honest, what’s keeping me from moving here? Why am I on a trajectory of moving to bigger and bigger cities, when the place that makes me feel most like myself is being in nature, by Lake Michigan?’”
A wedding photographer by trade, Stier’s work was taking her to destination weddings all over the place. “It (also) enabled me to move to this area. Most of my work was happening in my backyard. The more I was here the less I wanted to travel.”
At 30, she’s about half the median age in Empire, and loves the multigenerational friendships she has made here. “I love living in a community where I have friends in my age group but also friends in their 60s.” She has created community in different ways: through a hiking club she runs (January through April), and a Sunday morning swim club.
“I would go to (Empire) beach for writing time and to drink coffee. So I invited others to join me.” Though Lake Michigan’s temperature is still brisk, the casual Sunday morning swim club resumes Asparagus Festival weekend.
“The time I’ve lived here has just felt like a sigh of relief,” said Stier. “This is the place where I’m supposed to be.”
Mae Stier seems like a poster child for a growing group of brave millennials who have the wherewithal to live where they love and find a creative way to make a living once they arrive. Indeed, she has worked for MichiganHouse.org, a pop-up talent attraction project billed as “the Great Lakes State’s experiential embassy to SXSW in Austin and its global audience of innovators.” Michigan House partners include talent attraction agencies such as Ann Arbor Spark, Hello West Michigan, and Start Garden, and business heavyweights such as Amway, Detroit Venture Partners, and Zingerman’s Deli.
“A lot of people never think about Michigan and have no perspective on it, or they view it as a flyover state,” said Stier. “We have so many great resources here, incredible people are moving back to this area, or moving here because of the resources we have to offer.”
Blue Heron Mercantile will be open Asparagus Festival weekend (Friday and Saturday, May 17-18, noon-7 p.m., and Sunday, noon-5) and 7 days a week beginning Friday, May 24 for Memorial weekend.
A Spring Wind
From Mae Stier’s“Letters to Lake Michigan” series
Waves roll in the haze
of summer air
kissing winter water,
a spring wind
that settles onshore
to coax bare trees
into bursting forth.
“It’s time,” the waves call,
the trees at attention,
pulsing
with invisible life.
