A new brewery is coming to the west side of Traverse City as Silver Spruce Brewing Company prepares to open a second location near Francisco’s Market & Deli, Fresh Coast Market on North Long Lake Road has been listed for sale, and other businesses are on the move in The Ticker’s latest look at restaurant and retail news.
Silver Spruce Brewing Company/Francisco’s Market & Deli
Silver Spruce Brewing Company and Francisco’s Market & Deli are teaming up to offer a new brewing and dining destination on the west side.
Silver Spruce is leasing space from Francisco’s at the far end of the market’s commercial building on Silver Lake Road to open a new taproom. The project will bring a second Silver Spruce location to Traverse City along with the brewery’s current home on Eighth Street. Silver Spruce co-owner Scott Stuhr says the new venue offers more than 2,000 square feet of bar and tasting room space, plus production capacity. Silver Spruce still plans to keep its primary brewing operations on Eighth Street – where it will produce most of its flagship beers, which will also be for sale on Silver Lake Road – but will have some brewing operations at the new facility, allowing for some special varietals and one-offs there.
“Our business model is in-house – we don’t distribute much, and we’re not trying to grow to be a distribution brewery,” explains Stuhr. “So if we were to expand, this (a new location) is the only way that we’re interested in expanding.”
For Francisco’s Market & Deli co-owner Adam Inman, the partnership offers a chance to expand the market’s menu and potentially reach a new audience. Francisco’s will create a special menu just for Silver Spruce, with customers able to order at either the brewery or Francisco’s for dining in the taproom. That menu will feature salads and pizzas, among other options, with Francisco’s investing in a wood-fired pizza oven to create from-scratch Neapolitan-style pies. A beer garden is also in the works for the future. “We fully plan on turning the back area into a fenced-in outside seating area that’s open for service,” says Inman.
Remodeling and infrastructure work – including a new sewer line running to the property – are planned for this spring, with the potential for an opening as early as June. Stuhr says the taproom will likely be open six days a week from 3pm to 9pm to start, though that could expand into lunch service on weekends if there’s demand.
Real Estate Moves
Owners Dave and Jen Sears have listed Fresh Coast Market for sale on North Long Lake Road for $2.4 million. The listing with Three West Commercial includes the business LLC and the real estate LLC, plus all licenses. The listing boasts a “turn-key investment opportunity” for a company selling more than 200 Michigan-made products, plus plans “for a new 10,000-square-foot flagship store for future expansion and/or future locations.” The owners announced the listing on Facebook with “mixed emotions,” saying they had “no intentions of selling the market anytime soon” but that doing so is “what is best for our family.”
“We brought a world-class specialty grocery store to this special area of Long Lake,” the couple wrote. “It is our absolute desire to find a new buyer that will take the foundation of the amazing business that we have built and will continue to grow the business in a healthy thriving way into the future.”
The Flower Station is under new ownership on West Front Street. After a 25-year run, Margaret and Tom Edgington have sold Traverse City’s oldest flower shop to Meagan Thomas Wells and Dan Rohe. The duo is “poised to lead The Flower Station into its next chapter of growth and innovation,” according to a company release, while continuing “crafting stunning floral arrangements for all occasions, including funerals, corporate events, and special celebrations.”
After filing for bankruptcy last fall, national retailer Rite Aid has closed its Traverse City store at the corner of Fourteenth Street and Division Street. A lease listing for the 12,250-square-foot store offers the space at $14 per square foot (plus $3.25 NNN). “Owner may consider a tenant improvement allowance or dividing the space, but price will increase accordingly,” the listing states, touting the location’s high traffic counts and abundant parking.
As previously reported in The Ticker, Traverse City institution Bardon’s Wonder Freeze has hit the market. The small ice cream shop – a summertime staple since the 1950s – is listed for $1.1 million, which includes both the business and real estate at the corner of Garfield Avenue and East Front Street. Agent Cindy Anderson says the listing has attracted “tons of…
Read More: Silver Spruce Brewing to Open Second Brewery; Fresh Coast Market For Sale; More