Empire boasts a thriving public beach and two unique local festivals — Asparagus Festival in May and Anchor Day (this year on Saturday, July 16). But too often the cozy village fails to sustain crowds, and commerce. Business is booming at the colorful Miser’s Hoard and at hip Sleeping Bear Surf & Kayak, but what should be done about the vacancies at the hardware store, or the old Taghon’s garage and schoolhouse on the corner of M-22 and M-72.
When Frank and Beryl Skrocki packed up their three tiny kids to start an unknown life up north, they never imagined their family would own and operate one of the only surf shops in Michigan just a few years later.
Empire businesses including The Secret Garden, The Miser’s Hoard, Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate, Sleeping Bear Surf & Kayak and Deerings Market will promote a series of Musical Evenings through the summer on alternate Thursday evenings. The first one, on Thursday, July 14, will begin at 7 p.m. and feature music by Bo Bossa, a local four-piece ensemble that plays swing, jazz, blues, Latin, fusion and whatever else they feel like playing. The stores involved will provide refreshments and stay open late.
Northern Michigan’s full service freshwater surf shop. Sleeping Bear Surf & Kayak provides lessons, rentals and sales. Surfboards, stand-up paddle boards, skimboards, longboard completes, touring kayaks, wetsuits, lifestyle clothing and accessories. Beryl and Frank are all about encouraging free-ride play on the big water. They and their staff have been happily helping groms, families and people of all ages since 2004.