McCahill’s Crossing Dairy Bar teams with On the Narrows Marina
By Jacob Wheeler
Sun editor
The lunch counter/ice cream shop south of the Glen Lake Narrows has a new owner once again. But this summer her caretakers may have the mojo, and the business strategy, to make the business succeed.
The McCahill family, which owns On the Narrows Marina — just on the other side of the Carl Oleson Memorial Bridge — bought the dairy bar last year and, following extensive renovations, now boast a bright and inviting destination to which hungry visitors will flock for ice cream (from the Hill Top Soda Shoppe in nearby Beulah), smoothies, sandwiches, salads, hot dogs and quesadillas. McCahill’s Crossing Dairy Bar also sells beer and wine to-go, coffee and pastries.
“We completely remodeled the inside — it’s all new,” said manager Samantha Rader. “We built an outdoor patio with umbrellas, have a chalkboard for little kids to write on while they’re eating their ice cream and have an old jukebox that’s free to play with.”
But the Dairy Bar’s key to success may be the marina across the bridge. Anyone taking their boat onto Big or Little Glen Lake can call the Dairy Bar (231-334-4891) and order cold sandwiches, beer or wine and have it delivered to the dock before they set sail.
On the Narrows Marina, which secured permission this spring from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to expand its moorings and footprint on Big Glen Lake — despite concerns from the Township Board and other local residents — will delay the project until next year, Conor McCahill told the Sun. Instead, the marina will attempt to work with the Township to reach an amicable solution.
These shoes are made for walking
Did you kick on your flip-flops for the trip north and completely forget to bring shoes with you? That’s fine for the beach and your obligatory coffee and ice cream stops. But for your fine dining at La Becasse or your hike to Pyramid Point, you might want a little more foot support.
To the rescue comes the Glen Arbor Beach Co., on M-109 near Ruth Conklin Gallery. On Memorial Day weekend Larry Engel and Jack Faude teamed up to open their second store (they’ve also owned the Leland Beach Co. in Fishtown for five years). Their extensive selection includes Chaco hiking sandals, Crocs and Sperry Top-siders as well as socks.
Engel has called Leelanau County home for 10 years; Faude and his wife Susan (a retired massage therapist) suddenly found themselves empty nesters and moved across the lake from Waukesha, Wisc., to purchase a home near Sugar Loaf. Both originally hail from Grand Rapids.
Leland invasion
The Beach Co. isn’t the only business to migrate down M-22 and set up shop in Glen Arbor. Haystacks, which has been a popular women’s fashion store with locations in Leland, Suttons Bay and Traverse City for years, now has a foothold at Thyme Out, between Art’s Tavern and the Leelanau Coffee Roasters. Owner Lizzi Lambert searched Glen Arbor for years for an appropriate retail spot, before she and Thyme Out owner Carol Worsley collaborated to fill the cozy and inviting cabin. Lambert says that customers and passersby are free to enjoy their coffee in Thyme Out’s gardens behind the store, just as they did when it was a popular bakery and fine foods store.
“Northern Michigan’s most successful women’s fashion line is comfortable, cheery, wide-eyed and fun,” wrote Traverse Magazine last December in a feature story about Lambert and Haystacks. “Just like the woman behind it.”
