A long-running market in Maple City is up for sale, a new wine and provisions shop is coming to Lake Leelanau, and Leelanau County’s only bridal shop is preparing to close its doors. The Leelanau Ticker has details about these stories and other retail/restaurant news.

Laker Shakes Burdickville Market
Ellen and Mary O’Neill, owners of Laker Shakes Burdickville Market, officially listed the business for sale last week. The Glen Lake area shop has a general store concept, selling beer, wine, Michigan-made gifts, and assorted groceries, as well as serving shakes, coffee, ice cream, sandwiches and baked goods. The real estate listing for Laker Shakes simply states that the business “is ready for a new owner.”

Both the O’Neills and the Laker Shakes building have long histories in Leelanau County. In 1979, John and Mary Ann O’Neill – Ellen and Mary’s parents – bought a Maple City building called The Woodcock Dining Room with the vision of launching a French restaurant. The following year, they opened La Bécasse, which continues to operate to this day – albeit, under different ownership.

The Laker Shakes space, meanwhile – which is located at 8995 S Dunns Farm Road, just 250 feet up the road from La Bécasse – was built in the 1950s and operated for years as The Glen Lake Workshop. Original owner Dorothy Lanham was an artist who studied at the Chicago Art Institute and even worked as a cartologist for Rand McNally. Lanham operated her artist’s workshop in the building until 1985, which she sold to Laker Shakes founder Rich Hargreaves. Ellen and Mary O’Neill bought the shop in 2008.

Now, the O’Neill sisters are seeking a buyer to extend the 38-year legacy of Laker Shakes for a new generation. With an asking price of $595,000, the listing includes the real estate and the business, including all equipment. In addition to the Laker Shakes retail space, the property includes an attached 900-square-foot, two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment which the listing touts as “a terrific opportunity for an owner-occupant to live and work on site.” 

According to Ellen O’Neill, a prospective buyer has already made an offer on the business.

Peninsula Provisions
While the next chapter of Laker Shakes is up in the air, Leelanau County locals will have a new spot to shop for wine, grab-and-go snacks, and more. A new business called Peninsula Provisions is coming to the former Samaritans’ Closet building at 25 S Lake Leelanau Drive. The shop is the brainchild of Kate Vilter Stassen, formerly the owner and steward of The Riverside Inn in Leland. After selling The Riverside to new ownership in 2021, Vilter Stassen turned her attention to opening and operating her own wine and provisions shop.

Peninsula Provisions is the realization of that dream. According to a press release announcing the new business, Vilter Stassen had been eyeing the Samaritans’ Closet building since before she sold The Riverside Inn. That space became available after Samaritans’ Closet merged with Leelanau Christian Neighbors in 2019. In early 2020, a new Samaritans’ Closet location opened behind the Leelanau Christian Neighbors offices in Lake Leelanau, leaving the old building vacant. Vilter Stassen acquired the building and worked with a team that included Barbara Balongue of Balongue Design – who helped revamp and renovate The Riverside Inn in 2016 – to design a new vision for the space (pictured). Renovations are underway.

Per Vilter Stassen, the goal for Peninsula Provisions is not to create “a grocery store that also sells wine,” but to offer a true wine-centric retail experience with a dynamic selection of wines from around the world; prices will run anywhere from $9 to $499 a bottle.

“We plan to feature small, independent labels that produce wines sustainably whenever possible as well as a deliberate rotation of local wines that exemplify the unique terroir of our region,” Vilter Stassen said in the press release. “The same focus and attention will be placed on our boutique selection of beers and ciders.”

Peninsula Provisions also promises to carry “a diverse selection of cheeses, cured meats, terrines, grab-and-go appetizers and dips and complimentary accouterments,” as well as appetizer trays.

Beyond the retail component, which will operate all year round, Peninsula Provisions plans to offer a variety of other services and events, including “boat dock and special event beer, wine, and food delivery” and a wine club membership with a calendar of wine tastings and more. Assisting on devising the wine club will be Vilter Stassen’s business partner and husband Coenraad Stassen, who is best known in northern Michigan as the director of winemaking and the estate manager for Old Mission Peninsula’s Brys Estate.

Peninsula Provisions is targeting a June 2023 opening and a seven-days-a-week business schedule. “We hope that by staying open year-round, we will attract and retain talented and passionate employees to serve a region of equally passionate food and wine loving clientele,” Vilter Stassen said.

Other restaurant and retail news…

>Suttons Bay-based Grace Elizabeth Bridal has announced that it will be closing its doors on March 31. Proprietor Grace Soave announced the news on February 10, thanking “all of our friends, family, friendors, and brides who have made the past five years an absolute joy.”

“I am excited to meet the remaining brides-to-be and be able to offer amazing discounts on everything,” Soave continued, noting that all remaining inventory will be sold “off the rack” at 20-80 percent off retail prices. Beyond a pair of sale events, all engagements are by appointment only. The first of those sales – a “prom + mom dress sample sale” – took place this past weekend, but Soave still has a “wedding dress sample sale” event planned March 11-12 from 10am-4pm, where “all wedding gowns will be at their lowest price” in sizes ranging from 8-24. While Grace Elizabeth Bridal is in downtown Suttons Bay, Soave announced last week that all remaining appointments and sales – including the wedding dress event – will be held at the old Mary Kent Boutique space at 114 E Nagonaba Street in downtown Northport.

>Fresh off a completed renovation, 9 Bean Rows is looking to bring new offerings to its café and bakery. “We are going to add full coffee services – lattes, espresso, etc. – to our repertoire soon,” co-owner Jen Welty shares with the Leelanau Ticker. “ETA for that is the beginning of April.” As for previously announced plans to secure a winery license and incorporate a small tasting room on the premises, Welty says “We’ve got the paperwork in [for the license] and now we wait.”