Posts Page - Word on the Street

Big Addition to Downtown, No Big Changes at Babycakes, Nobody at the Bayou, a One Man Gym Downtown, a Diabetic Study in Harvey, a Yellow Facelift for the Wooden Nickel, and a Dubious Award for Ishpeming

By Brian Cabell on August 3, 2017 at 5:45 am

LOOKS LIKE MARQUETTE will soon be getting a major new tenant in the heart of downtown. The Chamber of Commerce and the UP Masonic Association will be signing a memorandum of understanding in the next week or so to develop a "coworking" space at the Masonic Square on Washington Street. It's a big deal. Five thousand ... Continue Reading

Babycakes, a Downtown Institution, Is Sold

By Brian Cabell on July 31, 2017 at 1:53 pm

KIM DANIELSON WILL not be reporting to work at Babycakes on Tuesday. That's because she has just sold her coffee shop/bakery/restaurant, a downtown favorite for almost three decades, to the Huron Mountain Bakery. "I'm sure I'll miss it," she says, "but it just felt like it was time to move on. I've had a lot of offers ... Continue Reading

New York Times Features the Upper Peninsula

By Brian Cabell on July 27, 2017 at 9:45 am

OKAY, THIS IS a pretty big deal. Travel Marquette had to keep it quiet until today, but now that it's been posted, we can talk about it. The New York Times (yeah, that one--probably the world's most important newspaper) today posted an extensive online article, "36 Hours in the Upper Peninsula of ... Continue Reading

Engine Works Decision Upcoming, Riverside Move Delayed, Gophers Closes, Old Hospital Future Still Undetermined, 109th District Democrats Are Split, Streetcar Rocks, and Michigan Law Nabs a Driver

By Brian Cabell on July 26, 2017 at 5:45 am

DECISION TIME COMING soon for the old Engine Works building on Lakeshore Boulevard. For the last year or so, a Chicago development group had been planning to transform it into a small, upscale retail center but they never really moved on it. Now they've got an engineering team looking at the structure to determine what ... Continue Reading

Channing Tatum, Dia de los Tacos, License Plates, Coco’s, Albino Deer, and Lumi

By Brian Cabell on July 19, 2017 at 5:45 am

SO WHAT'S THE real story with Channing Tatum and the U.P? He was spotted here, right? On a plane, right? And it was really him, right? Right. And heres the story. He's been celebrating his wedding anniversary at the highly private, highly exclusive Huron Mountain Club, outside of Big Bay. He's been a guest of one of ... Continue Reading

Recovery Room Changes, Forestville Ticket Sales, Marquette County’s Uniqueness, Arrivals and Departures at WLUC, and Tennessee Williams Comes to Town

By Brian Cabell on July 14, 2017 at 5:45 am

A MANAGEMENT SHAKEUP at the Recovery Room. Patrick Bibb, the managing partner at the pub, and his girlfriend, Danielle DeWitt, the kitchen manager, walked out precipitously last Thursday. Not surprisingly, there were major problems over the weekend. The kitchen closing down, for one. All of it the result of a ... Continue Reading

Iron Bay Is Crazy Busy, Marquette Hotels Are Pricey, VR Is Staying, SmartZone and Invent@NMU Are Flush, Heroin Is on the Rise, the Township Finds a Way, and Blueberries Look Promising

By Brian Cabell on July 9, 2017 at 5:45 am

BUSY DOWNTOWN. PEOPLE everywhere. The epicenter seems to be the recently opened Iron Bay Restaurant and Drinkery. Co-owner Joe Constance is reluctant to talk about numbers but concedes that the restaurant is averaging more than 600 customers a day. Some days, it's hit 800 plus. Crazy volume. Double what he was ... Continue Reading

Are Service Clubs Dying?

By Brian Cabell on July 4, 2017 at 5:45 am

WE TAKE TODAY'S Fourth of July parade in Marquette for granted. Along with the three day International Food Fest. Same thing with Harborfest coming up later this summer. They just happen, right? They're city events. Well, no. The parade wouldn't happen without the yearlong efforts of volunteers from the Kiwanis Club, ... Continue Reading

Township Transforming, Range Bank Centralizing, KADU Opening, NMU Surprising, Partridge Creek Expanding, Phil’s Fund Growing, Tracey’s Impressing, and the Joyful Spectacle of Umbrellas

By Brian Cabell on June 28, 2017 at 5:45 am

COME BACK TO Marquette Township along US 41 in a year or two, and you might not recognize the place. It's changing before our very eyes. A 6000 square foot Fraco showroom is being constructed just east of Gordon Food Service. It'll be open in early 2018. More land being leveled nearby, and Planning and Zoning ... Continue Reading

Outlanders Delay, Kayak Craze, Munising Upgrade, Cognition Uncertainty, Hospital Ambiguity, 553 Construction, Serenity in Harvey, and TickPick’s Apology

By Brian Cabell on June 21, 2017 at 5:45 am

OUTLANDERS, THE LITTLE takeout restaurant that's moving from south Marquette to the building formerly occupied by the Panda Garden on West Washington Street, is now scheduled to open next month. A dozen employees have been hired. Original plans called for it to open in May. But, surprise surprise, construction got ... Continue Reading