IT HAPPENS EVERY year in Marquette–businesses open, close, relocate, and expand. But the last several months have been particularly active. Dizzying.
Let’s review what is a lengthy but almost certainly incomplete list. Try to keep up.
Reblossom (the above photo) has now closed on Washington Street after moving from its previous location a few blocks west on Washington. What will happen at the now abandoned site is unknown.
Thrivent Financial has relocated from its office in west Marquette to its new spot on Third Street, just off of Washington, which was previously occupied by…
Elegant Seagulls which has moved to its new location farther down Third Street, the former home of…
Stang Family Eyecare, which has moved into its expanded and renovated quarters across Third Street, previously occupied by Fassbender Funeral Home which was recently consolidated into…
Fassbender Swanson Hansen Funeral and Cremation Services in a handsome, renovated building, also on Third Street.
Fassbender Swanson Hansen has undergone extensive renovation and expansion.
Meantime…
Ameriprise Financial Services is in the process of relocating from its Division Street office to a new building on Front Street, the former home of…
Interiors by Design, which has moved out to Harvey in a building previously occupied by Togos and other businesses.
And…
Rotations took over what was formerly a barber shop.
Rotations, the little sandwich shop, has tucked itself into the little space previously occupied by a barber shop while…
Revisions Design Studio on Washington Street has expanded its operations to a new studio out near Presque Isle and…
The Courtyards has opened the doors to an attractive and totally revamped space just south of the downtown where a laundromat used to be located while…
Kildare Irish American Pub, also on Washington, has moved into the building formerly home to the Wild Rover.
However…
The building next door that once housed Book World, and the Nordic Theater back in the day, remains vacant smack dab in the heart of downtown. Hopes to put a live theater there have faded, apparently because of a daunting price tag.
So that’s a brief, whirlwind tour of the ever-changing landscape of downtown Marquette and Third Street.
NO, NO! WAIT! What about coffee shops? What about the 14,256 coffee shops that now call Marquette home?
We love them all. Delicious coffee, delightful and different atmospheres, and wonderful, friendly servers. Marquette is enriched by them.
But there’s one coffee shop–perhaps the least known of all of them–that is actually the highest rated in town.
Cafe Allenatore on Third Street, just south of Vango’s. Owned by Sasa and Milena Kostic.
Google lists 111 reviews of Allenatore and all of them give the cafe a rating of 5.0. You can’t get any better than that.
So what’s the deal? The shop itself is a little darker and quieter than most. The furnishings aren’t fancy. It just looks like an ordinary but comfortable living room.
However, the variety of coffee is remarkable, much more than your standard lattes and mochas. Like Viennese, Noisette, Marroccino, Euro-Latte, Greek, Turkish, and plenty more. And each cup, frequently accompanied by a chocolate and a small bottle of water, seems especially carefully prepared.
And did we mention the crepes? Some have said they’re the best they’ve ever tasted.
But enough of this silly praise. Let’s keep the place quiet, unknown, unspoiled, and uncrowded.