THIS LAST YEAR has presented some challenges for the Mather Inn in Ishpeming.
Most notably, there’s been the ongoing legal dispute with Cognition, the brewery and pub located in the Inn itself. The two sides have been squabbling about who owes how much to whom, and though Cognition won the most recent court battle, the Mather Inn owners say that battle is continuing.
Then there’s also this: When last April’s fierce storm ripped through Ishpeming, co-owner Robin Baird says the Inn suffered $386,000 of damage. That’s what their appraiser estimated.
However, the insurance company–Grand River Insurance–disagreed. Big time. The company estimated only $6000 of damage.
Now after a year of slogging through the court system, having an “umpire” appointed, and enduring numerous delays, the Inn has apparently gotten its final judgment: $103,000.
Baird’s not happy. “It’ll never come close to covering our losses,” she says. “I don’t know why we even have insurance. If this can happen to us, it can happen to anyone else.”
Grand River has no comment. So it goes.
Maybe the Cognition dispute will have a happier ending.
THE RECENT NEWS that Babycakes was expanding and rebranding itself as a “patisserie,” instead of a “muffin company,” hasn’t changed the plans of Matt Beardsley.
He’s the guy who announced several months ago that he’d be opening a “patisserie” and coffee shop in the abandoned building just a couple of doors down from Babycakes. It’ll be called 231 West.
Full speed ahead, says Beardsley. Plans are being finalized, and construction, he hopes, should begin within a month or so. He knows, of course, that with the recent frenzy of building activity in Marquette, construction is frequently delayed.
Regardless, he hopes to open 231 West by early fall. Meantime, he’s providing pastries to Velodrome, and he’ll also offer them up at the Farmers Market.
But come fall, we may have two pastry shops within a hop, skip and a jump of each other.
Beardsley thinks there’s room for both of them. We’ll see.
IF YOU’VE DRIVEN by the Residences at Harbor Vista (just off the highway between Marquette and Harvey) lately, you’ve probably noticed the apartment complex is going up fast.
But it still looks like a construction site.
Don’t be fooled. Occupancy on the first floor is scheduled for June 1st. “Oh, we’ll make the deadline,” Michelle Thomas assures us. She’s the director of development and commercial real estate for Veridea, the developer.
The other units will be open later in the summer.
They’re high end apartments. Studios start at $1125 a month, two bedrooms start at $1725.
Thomas says they’ve secured leases on ten of the apartments so far, with a few others in the works.
WILL THERE BE rooms for substance abuse inpatients at the new UPHS hospital opening next spring?
Doesn’t look like it.
Employees have been telling us there will be no such rooms, and they also say they’ve been told by management not to talk about it.
Management’s reaction? Well, a couple of months ago, they said no decision on substance abuse inpatients had been made yet, and they were …”exploring what the right model of care is for our community with respect to these issues…”
They promised an update. And the current update is…they’re still exploring.
Strikes some observers as strange, given the ongoing opioid crisis in the U.P. But maybe there is a workable plan. We may have to wait until next spring to find out.
HOW’S THIS SOUND for a sabbatical?
NMU professor Scott Drum will be taking off this August through November to embark on 25 mountain runs across North America.
Twenty five of them, each 10 to 50 miles long, with an average climb in elevation of 4600 feet. That’s almost a mile of uphill. All told, 660 miles of rugged running.
Holy crap.
So, seriously…why?
Actually, a good reason. He’s gonna write a book about it, tales of the trails, but the idea is to introduce runners to exciting and adventurous new runs.
“They’re attainable for anybody,” he says, “but they’re logistically challenging and interesting.”
Drum, a professor of exercise and sports science, will have two partners (fellow masochists) on his mountain jaunts–Tyler and Carly Guggemos.
By the way, one of their adventure runs will be in the UP, on the Four Peaks Loop (the No Fluff Route), come August or September. And yes, you’re welcome to join them.
You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com