Yoop Coop and Towners Opening Soon, Condo Craze, Our Radically Changing Lakeshore, and Reason #178 Why We Love Marquette

The latest from Marquette, MI by Brian Cabell

A NEW ADDITION to our dining scene, maybe as soon as December 1st. It’s the Yoop Coop, at the former NY Deli location on West Washington… Boneless, hand-breaded, never-frozen, fried and grilled chicken tenders, with all the sides—mashed potatoes, fries, mac ‘n cheese, salads, and more… The big feature? 22 different sauces from around the world… All of it brought to us by the Border Grill folks (including renowned chef Nathan Mileski).

TOWNERS, THE POPULAR chocolate and pastry shop, is returning to Marquette. To the Township, actually, in the Westwood Mall… “We’re pushing for December 1st,” says co-owner Jake Bonzer. “It’ll be up to the Health Department, but we should be all set”... They’ll have chocolates and croissants, along with chilled desserts, coffees, and baguette sandwiches.

The hope is, they’ll become the go-to lunch spot for all the workers at the professional offices along Commerce Drive… as well as a must-stop location for members of the mega-church  opening next year at the mall… And who knows? Maybe a tasty little food shop is what’s needed to finally breathe some life into the dying mall.

PROGRESS IS PROCEEDING….slowly….at The Honorable Distillery downtown. The pandemic has slowed things down but demolition inside was completed earlier this year. “We ripped stuff out so we could see what we were facing,” says co-owner Scott Anderson… They like what they see. Now Anderson and his partner, Anne White, are waiting for a building permit to continue renovation. Hoped-for opening date? May 1st. “We want to come out of the gate strong,” says Anne… They’ll offer a two-floor tasting room, a bar, and the distillery itself, with tours.

They’re expecting to make arrangements with neighboring restaurants for food deliveries… Liquor? Their own vodka and gin, of course, but with whiskey, bourbon and rye, it’ll be “other people’s whiskey” to start. Production of the darker liquors requires 4-5 years… The vibe in the tasting room? Anne describes it as Post-Prohibition ‘30s. We’ll find out next summer what that means.

ANGER AND FRUSTRATION coming out of last week’s Planning Commission meeting where a proposed 96 unit condo complex on Lakeshore Boulevard was approved… Two primary reasons for the discord: 1) The complex will replace vacant quasi-wetlands, and 2) It will likely attract only affluent homeowners, some of whom will be seasonal… Both true, but: It’s private property, it meets the zoning code requirements, it’ll add considerably to Marquette’s tax base…and no one is going to build “affordable” or “working class” homes along the lakeshore. Too expensive. It’s unrealistic to even talk about that.

Where should affordable homes be built? How about the old, abandoned hospital property? A perfect spot far away from the lakeshore, but conveniently located near Third Street and NMU… The city commission professes to be concerned about helping provide more “affordable” housing for regular folks who want to live in town. But has the commission done anything tangible yet to help? That would be a big NO….Maybe a little more urgency behind the pretty words.

OUR LAKESHORE IN radical transition. Consider what’s gone up along the lake in the last two decades… South to north, we have the new Fairfield Inn, the Gaines Rock Townhomes (under construction), Founders Landing condos, the Hampton Inn, Two Marquette Place (under construction), One Marquette Place, the two sets of condos at the Lower Harbor, and now, the proposed 96-unit complex a little farther north… That’s a lot of construction, a lot of people—and more are likely to come with the ambitious, proposed Vault development—a hotel and residences… No wonder people are crying “Enough!”

HATE TO SAY it, but COVID is hanging around here… On average, according to the New York Times, we have about 27 new cases in Marquette County every day, and holding steady. That number, per capita, is still higher than the national average… And now, unfortunately, national numbers are starting to edge up again.

JANUARY 4TH WILL be an interesting date to watch. That’s when all companies with more than 100 employees will be mandating either vaccinations or regular COVID testing… Legal challenges and political dissent abound, of course, but nobody quite knows what to expect on that date… Outrage, resistance, terminations, resignations… or grudging acceptance?... Remember back in February when we were saying that the pandemic would be finished by fall because we’d all be vaccinated by then? What a silly, quaint notion that was.

TIRED OF ALL the road construction? Well, get ready for more in the next year… The highly-touted infrastructure bill will provide $7 billion for Michigan’s roads and more than $500 million for its bridges… That’ll pay for a lot of orange cones.

NMU FINALLY WELCOMING some good news. The faculty approves a new contract agreement with the university after months of contentious bargaining… And a study’s published (by SafeWise), proclaiming Marquette as the 31st safest college town in the country… Rochester Hills (Oakland University) came in at #10… Mequon, Wisconsin (Concordia University) was #12… and Waukesha, Wisconsin (Carroll University) was #28… Detroit (Wayne State University) was rated the 5th most dangerous college town.

REASON #178 WHY we love Marquette… You stop by the Ore Dock Brewing Company last weekend to listen to a few bands at a fundraiser playing British Invasion music—the Beatles, the Stones, the Yardbirds, etc… Mostly, these are not full time musicians—but they make great music… And who are they exactly? Well, one of the bands consisted of a retired teacher, a retired doctor, a city planner, a paint store owner, and a perfusionist (a medical specialist who helps keep patients alive during surgery)… In other words, regular people doing what they love… And we love them for it.

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