SAY GOODBYE TO L’Attitude.
Not the place. The name.
Next month the new sign will go up over the restaurant/bar across from the Lower Harbor, and it will be re-named Iron Bay Restaurant and Drinkery.
The new name is a nod to the history of the place. It’s actually located on what used to be known as Iron Bay, and the building itself, over the last one and a half centuries, has been a foundry, an engine works company, an engineering firm, a railroad station, and as recently as 60 years ago, a dance hall.
Did not know that.
Other changes? Historic photos and artifacts will go on display, the menu will be expanded, a gas fire pit will be set up in the winter, and the back room, known as “46”, may be revamped for other uses still undetermined.
Owners Joe Constance and Jill Hayes had been hoping customers would provide the new name–management got over 300 entries in their contest–but a vote by the staff couldn’t arrive at a consensus winner. They had six finalists–among them, Waterfront, Bayview, and Breakwall Cafe–but nothing grabbed them.
That’s when Constance began doing some historical research and discovered the name Iron Bay. It clicked.
Six finalists and four other entrants in the contest will each be given $25 gift certificates, instead of one winner receiving $250.
By the way, the trend is promising at L’Attitude/Iron Bay.When it reopened back in May, year to year sales were down initially, but then they recovered and now they’re up nearly 20%, August to August.
Let’s see how they do when the snow falls and their new fire pit is lit up.
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YOU’D THINK IN a vibrant, dynamic city like Marquette, there’s got to be a long line of candidates eagerly trying to elbow their way into one of those highly prized City Commission seats.
After all, we’re dealing with huge, complex issues crying out for enlightened stewardship–the Smartzone! Hospital relocation! Coastline development! Dark stores! Declining state revenues!
Well, in the upcoming November 3rd election for two seats on the Commission, we’ve got three candidates. Three. You gotta like those odds.
Actually, there will be four names on the ballot, but one of the candidates, Meredith Lyons, a massage therapist, has decided she doesn’t want the job, after all. She’s asking everybody not to vote for her. Here’s guessing she’ll still collect 100 votes or so.
That leaves three including an incumbent, Sara Cambensy, who’s the director of adult and community education at Kaufman Auditorium
She’s made a name for herself on the Commission in the last few years as a maverick, someone who frequently questions the wisdom of the majority. She’s raised concerns about the proposed boathouse, the hospital, and the Clark Lambros Beach Park, among others.
Her issues? Greater transparency of the Commission’s actions and their effect on the community, and more prudent use of limited city dollars.
Mike Plourde wants the job, as well. He’s run before, at least three times, maybe more. “I’ve lost count,” he jokes.
He’s persistent, you gotta give him that.
You may know him as one of the personalities on Sunny 101.9 and as sports director for Great Lakes Radio. He’s also retired from the prison. He describes himself as favoring intelligent development in the city–a contrast, he says, to Cambensy who too often, he says, is reflexively anti-development.
The dark store issue? He says those businesses that are seeking drastic cuts in their tax obligations are shirking their civic duty.
The third candidate, Jason Zdunek, is a political rookie. He’s 35, an employee at the prison, a lifelong Marquette resident, an NMU alumnus.
Why’d he jump in? He’s concerned about this hometown, he wants a secure future for his wife (who works at the YMCA) and his two kids.
He favors conservative growth, he’s cautious about development on the lake shore, and he’s particularly concerned about the future of the site soon to be vacated by the hospital.
So, there you have it. Three candidates, all of them worthy. Still, it’s disappointing that in Marquette–the jewel of the U.P., home to a university and a major hospital, a city bursting with ambition and excitement–only three residents decided they wanted to play a major role in the city’s future.
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THE NEW BIKE lane is up on Third Street, and the city says so far it is being used by 18-25 bikers an hour, according to a study they commissioned.
For the uninitiated, it’s a little confusing. The west side of the street actually has a dedicated, lined bike lane for bikers heading south and mostly uphill, while on the east side, large bicycle designations have been painted in the car lanes indicating that bikers will be sharing the northbound car lanes.
The whole idea, along with the boldly painted crosswalks, is to tell motorists to slow down and make Third Street a friendlier place for bicyclists and pedestrians.
Can’t argue with that.
So does this mean we’ll see more bike lanes in the rest of Marquette? Maybe sometime in the future, but that’s not the plan for now. The Downtown Development Authority and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation are looking at various changes for a number of streets in the city. Third Street appears to be the first.
The city wants public input before more changes are made.
By the way, officials say young people generally like the new, bike-friendly Third Street. Older folks, not so much.
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THE LONG WAIT is over. TV6 finally has its new morning meteorologist.
She’s Cassie Laine, out of St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, so she knows a thing or two about cold weather.
She made her debut with Vicky Crystal and Sam Bauman on Friday but she’s had extensive experience on air. She delivered weather forecasts nightly at St. Cloud State which has a high regarded broadcast meteorology program.
Big shoes to fill. Her predecessor, Shawn Householder, was a comfortable and highly professional presence on the TV6 Morning News here for two years.
Something else. As best we can remember, TV6 hasn’t had a female morning meteorologist in more than a decade.
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YOGA AND BEER. The two go together like…uh…strawberries and jumping jacks? Uhh…pancakes and motorcycles?
Actually, Natalie Naze, who’s a clinical social worker by day, has made Yoga & Hops work together very nicely in the big space on the second floor of the Ore Dock Brewing Company for the last several months.
She’s been conducting yoga classes there on the last Tuesday of every month since last October. Ten bucks a class.
The next one is this Tuesday, 7 pm.
Natalie saw a Brew Yoga class in Boulder, Colorado and thought, “Marquette would love this!” She was right. All of the classes have sold out.
The idea here is to practice a little yoga, relax, and have some fun. And of course, wrap it up with a brew and some friendly conversation.
Kinda like a 21st century church social.
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