What's Up North: Visitor News from Traverse City, MI

Now through Dec. 20, the Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau is offering its “Fab Fall” getaway special, available at almost 20 participating resorts and hotels.  The packages include extras like discount offers on shopping, dining, wine purchases, movies, spa services, golf, entertainment and family fun and more. Specials must be directly booked through participating hotels. (Just make sure to ask for the Fab Fall special.) For a list of details, including participating hotels, check out the web site at www.traversecity.com
 
Three New Microbreweries Open
Traverse City’s craft brewing scene continues to expand at a dizzying rate. Since midsummer, three new craft brew operations have opened their doors, bringing the total number of microbreweries and brewpubs to 11.
 
Brewery Terra Firma, Traverse City’s first farm-to-mug brewery,  opened in July on the historic ten-acre Dracka Farm just south of the Grand Traverse Mall, offering a variety of well balanced styles including a blonde ale, amber ale, American pale ale, India pale ale, black IPA, extra special bitter and a porter. Brewmaster John Niedermaier, formerly of Right Brain Brewery, hopes to grow most of the hops, herbs, fruits, vegetables and honey that will flavor his beers and ales.
 
Pete Kirkwood had already started a successful craft brewery in Pennsylvania before moving to Traverse City and opening  his new Workshop Brewing Company in the Warehouse District storefront where Right Brain Brewery got its start. Workshop’s lineup includes seven “journeyman beers” regularly on tap along with seasonal and specialty brews, and a menu of deli-style sandwiches and snacks.

Beggars Brewery is a family-owned production microbrewery and tap room located near Wuerfel Park, south of Traverse City, specializing in hand-crafted ales made from local ingredients. Head brewer Michael B. Rizik studied brewing at Chicago's Siebel Institute of Technology and the World brewing Academy in Munich, Germany before returning to Traverse City. Though most of the brewery's clients will be restaurants and taverns, Beggar's does have a small tasting room for walk-in customers.

Two more microbreweries, Bravo Zulu in Acme and Rare Bird in the River’s Edge District, are scheduled to open before winter.

 
Other Openings
Meadowsweet, a new store offering a mix of new and upcycled furniture, home accessories, gifts and items made by local artists and craftsmen,has opened on Union Street in Traverse City's Old Town district.  High Five Threads, a popular store at the Village at Grand Traverse Commons that carries Michigan-inspired apparel, has opened a second location on Front Street in downtown Traverse City.
 
The Blue Heron 2 Cafe & Bakery has opened at the former location of the Soul Hole on Union Street in Traverse City's Old Town district, serving breakfast and lunch featuring made-from-scratch entrees utilizing fresh, local ingredients and its own sourdough breads.  Taqueria TC Latino, Adolfo Mendez’s popular Mexican restaurant on Silver Lake Road, has opened a second location on the southeast side of town at 2102 Three Mile Rd., just north of Three Mile and Hammond.
 
Northern Natural Organics, a Benzie County cidery since 2010, has opened a cider house and tasting room  at 324 E. Front in downtown Traverse City, with five permanent and two rotating taps featuring hard cider in such flavors as blueberry, lavender, elderberry, cherry, and peach.
 
Improvements, expansions, etc.
Traverse City’s  Great Wolf Lodge added several new amenities in 2013, including a whitewater rafting adventure called the River Canyon Run, a kid-sized Ten Paw Alley bowling center, and a Dunkin’ Donuts location in its lobby.
 
TC’s Cherry Capital Airport Sees Increased Traffic in 2013
Passenger traffic at Traverse City’s Cherry Capital Airport showed another significant increase during the summer of 2013.  Major airlines began bringing larger aircraft and more flights to Traverse City; United added service to Newark while Delta bolstered its New York City service and increased its flights from Atlanta, and United added direct hub service to and from Cleveland.
 
TC Visitor Center Welcomes Millionth Visitors
Edmund and Kacee Cheung had never visited Traverse City before, but they wanted to celebrate their second wedding anniversary in a special place. Little did they know when they walked into the Traverse City Vi
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