WITH ANY SORT of luck, Phil's 550, the iconic little store on the northern edge of Marquette, could be back in operation by the end of summer. It's been closed since Phil Pearce, the owner, died in January. The new owners, if financing is finalized, will be Kevin Thomsen, the owner of the Queen City Running Company, ... Continue Reading
A Sadly Short Life, But One That Was Well-Lived
"SHE MADE A huge difference in her 21 years, more than most of us make in our lifetimes." The words of Carole Touchinski. She's speaking about her daughter Nikki who died last month in her dorm room at Michigan State University. The cause of death remains a mystery. It wasn't suicide, drugs, or a crime of any sort, ... Continue Reading
Velodrome Coffee, Bee Mystery, Trillium Triumph, Munising Mountain Biking, the Grove Transformed, and Delta Loves the U.P.
COFFEETOWN USA. THAT'S what Marquette is becoming. Yet another coffee shop is scheduled to open in town later this summer. This one, on West Washington Street across from the Marquette Food Co-op, is Velodrome Coffee Company, the creation of Brice Sturmer and his wife Teagan. He's from Green Bay, she's from Channing ... Continue Reading
Toy Store Closing, Blackrocks Ramping Up, Homeless Kids Losing Out, Fishing Start-Up Shows Its Wares, and Marquette Rates as a “Safe” City
GREAT TURTLE TOYS is shutting down within a couple of months. That'll leave a vacancy at the entrance to the Children's Museum. The toy shop opened as a pop-up store downtown for the Christmas season in 2014. Then, amid high hopes, it moved into more permanent quarters on the first floor of the museum. However, ... Continue Reading
Gloomy Cliffs, a New Shoe Store, a New Graphic Design Shop, a New Distillery, a New Signal for ABC 10, and Kids Making Robots
DOOM AND GLOOM. That's the mood of many Cliff's employees these days. Why? Well, let us count the ways. They've been told by management that the Empire mine will close down permanently by August of next year. That means 350-400 workers will lose their jobs. Yeah, we've heard this before but this time, most are ... Continue Reading