February 2017 Issue

Bread Rises Again Under Restaurant Owners

By Ross Boissoneau

Long live Grand Traverse Bagel & Bakery.

The business run by Claudia DeMarco and her late husband Bob Stevenson closed in late autumn 2015 following a fire in its oven. But as it turns out, it was only closed for a few months. That’s because restaurateurs Glen Harrington and John McGee – owners of Harrington’s By the Bay, Sorellina, McGee's No. 72 and the new McGee’s No. 31 – decided they also could use a bakery.

“Glenn and I bought her product,” said McGee. “We’d been talking about baking some more of our own products as the company continued to …

Core Business: Cideries Spring up Across Region

By Ross Boissoneau

In case you haven’t been paying attention, the next big thing is here. What started as wine country and has also become a haven for craft brewing is now developing a taste for cider. From Peninsula Cellars on Old Mission to Short’s in Bellaire to a host of cideries on the Leelanau Peninsula, hard cider has rapidly become another reason to tout the region’s culinary prowess.

Looking back, it seems only natural. The plethora of …

Food Startups Can Be Risky Business: Incubator kitchen might improve the odds

By Clark Miller

Judged by the level of national recognition for Grand Traverse area’s vibrant food scene, it might seem that the restaurant, food truck and catering here is sated. That appears not to be the case, at least in the minds of many entrepreneurial-minded chefs who are eager to start new food businesses.

Some might say that spirit of adventure is fueled by an unwise optimism since the odds of success are not great. Approximately 60 percent …

COVER: Wire Fraud Strikes Local Real Estate Firms, Home Buyers

By Rick Haglund

About a year ago, Real Estate One’s title insurance company almost lost $1 million from a wire transfer to East European hackers who concocted fake electronic closing documents in an attempt to steal the money.

Fortunately, the scheme was exposed before the money disappeared. But hacking of wire transfers in real estate transactions is escalating, prompting local real estate companies and the Traverse Area Association of Realtors to step up their vigilance.

“It is a …

PYOB: New rule allows establishments to install beer, wine taps

Bars, restaurants and hotels can allow customers to pour their own beer and wine under a new state rule. But several popular Traverse City area venues say they don’t intend to do so.

The new state Liquor Control Commission rule allows establishments with on-premises liquor licenses to install beer and …

By Rick Haglund

Leading the Leaders: Facilitators keep company meetings on track

Betsy Williams, a facilitator and training specialist at Northwestern Michigan College’s Training Services, likens business meetings to gold.

“We have all these valuable resources in the same room,” she said. “We need to treat that meeting time very specially and carefully…with an effective agenda, the tools and the right process.”

…

By Mary Bevans Gillett

Getting Cars from Here to There: Transport company heads into busiest season

For as long as there have been automobiles, there has also been a need to get them from point A to point B. No one knows this more than Jesse DeGraeve, the owner of Double Time Transport, LLC, a long distance automobile transporting company based in Traverse City.

DeGraeve has …

By Joan O'Neill

Get On The Bus, And Get To Work: Local transit agencies receive nearly $500K to better align services with commuters

Nearly half a million dollars in state funding is fueling improvements in public transportation options for the region’s commuters. Coming soon: increased hours of operation for bus service, more dedicated/fixed routes, and more express services from point A to point B.

On Oct. 1, BATA and Benzie Bus, along with …

By Lynn Geiger

TC’s Bold Move Toward Renewable Energy

In December, city commissioners unanimously passed a resolution to power Traverse City’s municipal operations via 100 percent renewable energy by 2020 and initiate a long-term plan to transition the entire city to be carbon neutral by 2050.

That’s a big league move for our little city. It makes Traverse City …

By Hans Voss

The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changes Our Minds

By Michael Lewis

Hardcover $28.95, E-read edition $16Norton Press, 362 PagesReviewed by Chris Wendel

In a Nutshell: The story of an academic odd couple that shape and form the field of behavioral economics.

Who’s it for? General audiences, anyone who has enjoyed Michael Lewis’ other books (“Moneyball," “The Blind Side," …

By Chris Wendel

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