TRAVERSE CITY — City-owned commercial space along State Street in downtown Traverse City will soon be back on the market after sitting vacant since early last year.
The property at 303 E. State Street, former home to the Scalawags Whitefish & Chips restaurant in the ground floor of the Larry C. Hardy Parking Deck, is being readied for new operators.
Michael Rogers of Schmidt-Rogers Property Management LLC, said the remaining items left from the restaurant are scheduled to be removed by next weekend, before the city’s Downtown Development Authority seeks new proposals for the site. Rogers manages city-owned properties downtown in the parking deck and historic City Opera House on behalf of the DDA, and is hopeful that a new business can be operating there by the end of the year.
Scalawags Whitefish & Chips was opened in 2005 by Petoskey native Jamie Washburne. The nautical-themed restaurant served Great Lakes whitefish, perch and walleye and more in the city-owned space and developed a loyal clientele before it closed in February 2022 following Washburne’s sudden death.
DDA Executive Director Jean Derenzy said probate proceedings for his estate had to be sorted out before the DDA could ready the space for new occupants. There were a couple of sales over the summer for some of the restaurant’s unique nautical-themed decor items that raised about $5,000 for city coffers, Rogers said.
The site is commercially zoned and could be utilized for a wide range of business types, but Rogers said the space comes with the tables and chairs left from Scalawags’ operation, along with a freezer and coolers. The site includes 2,172 square feet of floor space, plus a small storage area within the parking deck.
“Obviously, it’s restaurant-ready,” he said. “It’s not as if this is a white-box space… There’s a lot that’s already there for them.”
Once the site is cleared, Rogers said the city will put up signs in the space that it’s available for lease, and also advertise in local publications and online. He has already received some informal inquiries about the location and is confident it will generate some solid proposals.
Derenzy and Rogers would be responsible for negotiating a new lease proposal that would be subject to approval by the DDA board. The Scalawags’ lease paid the city $26,585 per year, or about $2,215 per month.
One potential complication is the timing of a new lease agreement. Rogers said heading into the slower late fall and winter season isn’t the optimum time to open a new business downtown, which could impact the lease negotiations. But it also would give operators time to ramp up their business over the winter and be ready for the onslaught of downtown visitors next summer.
Rogers said the city looks forward to the property generating revenue again, but also wants it to be a solid addition to the downtown business mix.
“I think there’s a dual interest,” he said. “Not that it’s just making a dollar, but also putting in something that’s a nice fit for downtown.”
Derenzy said downtown leaders are anxious to see the space filled and operating again, and also expects it will draw some strong proposals for the DDA to consider.
“It’s a good location and it will be good to see something in there again,” she said.
Read More: DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENTS: Scalawags site headed back on the market | Local News