Burdickville

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Foothills Café and Motel seeks the ‘right buyer’ to carry on its legacy

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You know the overused adage, “All good things must come to an end”?  Though admittedly cliché, it’s with that very sentiment Shari Bernstein, the owner of The Foothills Café and Motel in Maple City, concludes her 16-year journey at the property she calls “magic.”  “There’s an old oak tree, an old maple tree,” Bernstein smiled. “It feels… It’s got a vibe.” But, alas, “We are all ready for our next chapters, filled with new opportunities, growth and experiences, where we can slow the pace and be present,” Bernstein wrote last fall in a Facebook post. “That’s why we are selling.” She and her family listed the “double whammy” that is the motel and cafe in December. And because winter is famously quiet in these parts, Bernstein “didn’t expect interest until people started coming up for the season.” So far this summer, there’s been “a lot of interest.”

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Burdickville Studio Tour returns Memorial Day weekend

Join local artists in beautiful Burdickville, east of the Glen Lakes, for an open studio art tour on Memorial Day Weekend, Saturday and Sunday, May 23-24, from 10 am until 4 pm. Multiple artists at six locations will welcome you into their studios. Talk with the artists, see wonderful art and crafts, hear music and enjoy the neighborhood. Pick up a map at any of the studios and follow the signs around the neighborhood.

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A Laker Shake-up

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The name conjures up a certain image for generations, both summertime vacationers and long-term residents. Ice cream and shakes of course, but also coffee, sandwiches, souvenirs and all the other items Laker Shakes is known for. The ice cream-and-more shop on the south end of Glen Lake, a five-minute walk from Old Settlers Park, has been a fixture for decades. Kate Alger is making sure that continues. “I always had a dream of being part of the community, serving the community,” Alger says. A longtime summer visitor and resident, Alger purchased Laker Shakes from owner Ellen O’Neill earlier this year. She and her husband Brad have been visiting the area since 2011. “We’re excited.”

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Touring Burdickville’s art studios

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Art is often encountered in curated stillness—hushed in museums, framed behind velvet ropes, and stripped from the context of its making. But what happens when we encounter art at its source, in the textured, paint-splattered, light-filled rooms where imagination finds form? That spirit of transparency, invitation, and intimacy echoes here in Leelanau County in the quiet corner of Burdickville. Along Bow, Lanham, and Fritz Roads, a small but vibrant community of artists has embarked on something extraordinary: opening the doors of their studios to the public. They have come together under the banner of the Burdickville Studio Tour—11 artists inviting visitors into the heart of their creative process over Memorial Day weekend.

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Foothills Cafe embraces family at the foot of the hill

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When I was a young girl, my father and I would get breakfast some mornings at The Foothills Cafe, writes Abigail Webster. It was a special thing we would do. My father and I have polar opposite interests so he made it important we find things to do just the two of us. I always remember those trips fondly. And that includes the good food. We hadn’t been in some years, so I wanted to go and see how the place was doing. I looked around the cafe. The place I knew when I was a child. It was mostly the same: the light green walls with white trim, and the red door frame. One new thing was some photos on the wall. There was one of a man sitting in a chair. And another looking the same. The two men used to be regulars at Foothills Cafe. They have now passed away. Shari, the owner who took over full control of the Foothills early this year, knew them. She even told me what their orders were.

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Lively NeighborFood Market hosts grand opening weekend

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Leelanau’s newest market will host its grand opening celebration this weekend on Friday, Aug. 9, and Saturday, Aug. 10. The Lively NeighborFood Market is co-located with  Backyard Burdickville Campground, formerly the Empire Eagle’s Campground, and features local produce, meat, dairy, prepared food, flowers and gifts. The market opened in July, and this weekend they invite the public to stop in for shopping, special events, and opportunities to connect.

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Funistrada

Trattoria Funistrada was started in 2000 by owners Tom & Holly Reay, after they located the perfect property for an Italian Restaurant in Burdickville. The building Funistrada resides in has an almost 100 year history of food service.

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La Becasse

La Becasse serves authentic French country fare in Burdickville in Leelanau County. The restaurant is a mere 30-minute scenic drive west of Traverse City, situated between Glen Arbor, Empire and Maple City.

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Leelanau “old settler” Kasson Freeman combined hard work with humor in difficult times

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When Kasson township was organized in 1865, it was named in honor of Pam Peplinski’s great-great grandfather, and its eldest resident, Kasson Freeman, Jr., who was then 46. Many years later, the annual “Old Settlers Picnic,” held at the beginning of each August in Burdickville at Old Settlers Park, originally commemorated Kasson Freeman’s Aug. 3 birthday, which was coincidentally also the date our first white settlers, Mr. and Mrs. John E. Fisher, landed on Leelanau’s coast in 1854. They decided to celebrate with a picnic, then made it an annual affair.

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Old Settlers Picnic marks 125th anniversary

The 126th Old Settlers Picnic, marking its 125th anniversary (never count the day you were born) will be held Aug. 5 at 10 a.m. Lunch will be served by the Masonic Lodge includes baked beans, corn on the cob, dessert, bun with beef and coffee or lemonade for $10 per person. Service in the chapel will be at 10:30.

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