Boyne City Main Street offers local facade grant program

The Boyne City Main Street Program is accepting applications from property owners for its newly established Façade Improvement Grant Program. The purpose of the program is to encourage private investment through the rehabilitation and improvement of facades within the Boyne City Main Street District, to encourage good design and to preserve the architectural character that is distinctive to Boyne City, said Main Street board chair Rob Swartz. By improving the appearance of building facades, the program hopes to boost the economic vitality of the Main Street district, which includes all of downtown Boyne City and the properties on North Lake Street from Water Street just past the Glen's shopping plaza, Swartz said. "We have been very fortunate in recent years, receiving façade grants through the State of Michigan, which have had an enormously positive impact on our community," said Main Street program manager Hugh Conklin. "We will continue to work with property owners to secure these grants but our goal through this local program is to provide assistance for many important projects that may not qualify for state incentives. 
HOW IT WORKS - The façade improvement program provides a matching grant for façade improvements within the Main Street District. For every dollar awarded, the applicant must spend an equal amount. Individual grant amounts will be up to 50 percent of project cost. Recommendations for funding grant applications will be made by the Main Street Design Committee to the Main Street Board, which will make all final grant-funding decisions. There is no set minimum or maximum number of projects per year. Funding for the façade grant program comes from money raised through Main Street's involvement in Boyne Thunder. For the current budget year, $10,000 has been allocated for the program. The application deadline for this round of funding is April 30.
> Information and applications for the Façade Improvement Grant Program. Questions? Contact the Main Street Office, 231-582-9009, mainstreet@boynecity.com.

The "secret sauce" that makes Boyne City special

Randy Flinn

The following are remarks made by Randy Flinn, the owner of KorthaseFlinn Insurance and Financial Services, to a crowd of nearly 300 people at the Boyne Chamber Annual Meeting on Jan. 16, 2014:

It is an honor to stand before you and welcome you to the Boyne Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting. Tonight represents the 11th year in which I have had the privilege to act as the lead sponsor of what is truly my favorite event of this kind each year.

As the evening unfolds we will recognize countless examples of individuals and organizations that are making a positive difference in Boyne City. We will hear about entrepreneurs, volunteers, businesses, visionaries, non-profits, investors, worker bees, and others. There will be much to applaud and much for which to give thanks. We will all feel good tonight, there is no doubt.

However, as we listen to these stories, I would submit that the acts of individuals and businesses are but one ingredient of the recipe that makes Boyne City what it is. There are great businesses in every city. There are volunteers and entrepreneurs hard at work in every city. There are investors, non-profits, and worker bees in every city.

I believe that the primary ingredient to the “secret sauce” that makes Boyne City special is the shared mission and commitment of our stakeholders, including local governments, schools, businesses, non-profits, and individuals. The City of Boyne City Mission Statement reads as follows: “The people of Boyne City are the reason we are here. We are therefore committed to working with the community so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of living and working in Boyne City.”

While this is the stated mission of our City Government, it is clearly the underlying philosophy of all those in this room and many others in our community. And through this belief in a greater purpose than simply our own self-interests, we all benefit and our community thrives.

In a way, we are all bit players in a community that includes thousands of individuals and hundreds of organizations. Some of our roles may be larger than others, but we are all bit players. But as bit players sharing an underlying philosophy and commitment, we become a TEAM. We become a group of people:

1. Operating with a high degree of interdependence.
2. Sharing authority and responsibility.
3. Feeling accountable for the collective performance, and
4. Working toward a common goal and shared rewards.

“A team becomes more than just a collection of people when a strong sense of mutual commitment creates synergy, thus generating performance greater than the sum of the performances of its individual members.” The stakeholders of Boyne City are truly a team…

So as we appreciate and applaud the success stories that will be told tonight, we should all remember that isolated stories like these happen everywhere. It is our shared mission and commitment to our community that makes Boyne City special, and makes the kinds of successes that we recognize tonight not just possible, but truly commonplace.

Thank you for coming tonight and for your commitment to Boyne City. Have fun and be safe!

Food truck phenomenon comes to Boyne City with Happy's Tacos

There's a new Mexican-inspired eating establishment in Boyne City, but you won't fit it in a downtown storefront. Northwestern Michigan natives Drake Nagel and Drue Wright of the newly-launched Happy's Taco Shop are embracing the nascent food truck trend and bringing their culinary creations to wherever their fans may be. Although it's only been serving fresh, handmade tacos for a couple weeks, it's apparent Happy's has the hallmark of any successful business - a clear vision. After meeting at Northern Michigan University, its young owners sought a way to give back to their home region without compromising their principles. Full story from Northwest Michigan's Second Wave.

inspired living opens balanced living yoga & fusion studio

inspired living is excited to announce the opening of their new balanced living yoga and fusion studio. The studio opened Sept. 9, 2013 and offers daily yoga and meditation classes. Owner Leslie Neilson, who also owns the inspired living store in Boyne City, hopes to add other classes such as pilates, Tai Chi and whatever community feedback indicates. balanced living is located at 101 River St., the front section of the Huntington Bank building. The studio is a long time dream of co-owner Leslie Neilson, who has been working on it for 5+ years, sharing her vision with anyone who would listen to her. Neilson explains: "The mission of balanced living is to provide a place where not only yoga, but other modalities based on mind, body and spirit can be practiced. The goal of the studio is to support the health and well-being of our local community with affordable classes taught by qualified teachers, and to further support our local community with regular fundraising events for charitable causes. We also aim to provide a place for all religions, races and ages, a sacred space in which practitioners may practice and share their unique talents and healing arts."> For information on classes and pricing, like them on Facebook at balanced living. Passes and class schedules are available and can be purchased at inspired living. Petoskey News-Review story.

BC Lanes opens with new owners and a new look

For the first time in several years, Boyne City has its bowling alley back. BC Lanes "soft opened" for men's league play Wednesday and open bowling Thursday, exactly one year after Chris and Sandy Nelson purchased the business. The Nelsons' daughter, Shantel Erber, is the general manager of BC Lanes, which opens its 16 lanes at 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and at 10 a.m. on weekends. They are nearly finished with a top-to-bottom, inside-and-outside refurbishing of the 18,000-sq.-ft. bowling alley. Chris Nelson commented: "It feels good to have it open, but it's no time to relax. We still have some work to do, and our goal is to have a lot of satisfied customers." Satisfying customers is in the owners' DNA, though - they have owned BC Pizza for 25 years, starting in Boyne City and growing to more than 30 locations today. Having BC Pizza next door to BC Lanes is working out well already, since the kitchen at the bowling alley is still being finished. For now the restaurant provides pizza, pasta, sandwiches and salads from next door. Wings, burgers and fries will be added when the BC Lanes kitchen opens, hopefully by the end of October. The bar is open and functioning and will soon have a dozen televisions showing all kinds of sports events, including occasional pay-per-view events. BC Lanes is located at 1199 South M75, Boyne City. The new phone number is 231-582-6353.

Grain Train confirms new store coming to Boyne City in fall 2013

Update: The Boyne City Grain Train store is now open; hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.

Grain Train press release, July 19, 2013: The Grain Train Natural Foods Market, in downtown Petoskey for over 41 years and the only certified organic grocer in our region, has announced their plans to open a satellite market in Boyne City in the fall of 2013. The new market will open in the 1550 square foot storefront in the Waters Building at 104 S. Park Street. One-quarter the size of the Petoskey store, it will have a well-chosen selection of products and the added advantage of sharing products from the Petoskey location to meet the shopping needs of Boyne City customers.

“We are very excited to make this announcement,” said Robert Struthers, general manager of the Grain Train stores. “We are well positioned at this time to open a second store and there is a clear need in Boyne for more organic foods and products. Opening a second store is also in line with our mission to provide greater access to healthy food choices in northern Michigan and to bring our successful cooperative business into other parts of the region. Opening it in Boyne City, where we have an amazing amount of support from the community, is icing on the cake.”

Struthers added, “The Grain Train has a strong following of committed customers and co-op member/owners who share our values and care about supporting businesses that return value to customers and community—which is what the co-op model is all about. We are community-owned and operated.”

Although a lot of work needs to be done in the coming weeks to get the market ready to open its doors, everyone involved is excited by the opportunities that a second store will provide. A grand opening is being planned for October.

Editor's note from the Boyne Chamber: The store will be managed by Boyne City resident Jack Laurent, who has held a management position with the Grain Train for several years. The natural foods market posted the new store announcement on their website. Explaining why Boyne City was chosen, the website states: “It’s an exciting and growing community that we believe is very aligned with our values. We feel it is an easy and viable test market that poses minimal risk for our new small store concept.” The Chamber assisted the Grain Train in gauging local support in the spring by posting an online petition that was signed by 550 people. 

Historic Dilworth Hotel sold to Boyne City investor

The historic Dilworth Hotel in the heart of downtown Boyne City has a new owner. Tall Pines Investment, a Boyne City company, purchased the 101-year-old property on July 13. Terms of the sale were not made public.

The 27-room Dilworth Hotel has been closed for nearly five years and struggled for years prior to that. Signs of its physical deterioration were evident with parts of the cornice falling off, the front porch in need of repair and the grounds unkempt. Looking at the deterioration of the building led Bob Grove, a Boyne City resident and president of Tall Pines Investment, to inquire about the historic hotel.

“I would drive by and I would see it getting worse and worse,” Grove said. “Everyone could see that if something wasn’t done to preserve it, this beautiful historic building that has meant so much to Boyne City would be lost to the community forever. I didn’t want that to happen. I love historic buildings. I know how important they are to a community. The Dilworth was, and will be again, a historic asset for the community to enjoy.”

Tall Pines Investment’s immediate goal is to secure the property so no further deterioration occurs. That will include roof, window and porch repairs. There will also be improvements to the landscaping. While that work is in progress the company will be working over the next several months to explore how best to return life to the property in a long-term sustainable manner.

Tall Pines Investment worked closely with the Boyne City Main Street Program to learn more about the Dilworth opportunity and facilitate due diligence. Kirk Jabara of Fulcrum Partners, a Boyne City business advisory firm, provided significant technical guidance over many months to help make this transaction the reality it now is.

“The goal of this project is to return the Dilworth to its historic use as a hotel and restaurant,” said Hugh Conklin, manager of the Boyne City Main Street Program, “but much work has to be done before a final decision is made.

            “The immediate goal at this time is to secure the building so there is no further deterioration and begin to make visible, if small, initial improvements to this historic structure. While that is underway, Mr. Grove will work to build the best team with the right skills to help make this property successful. He is committed to completing the renovation in the best possible way.”

            Boyne City City Manager Michael Cain expressed his pleasure with this new beginning.  “This is a huge step forward for not only the Dilworth but for all of Boyne City.  The potential the Dilworth has in again becoming an important economic engine for our community can not be understated.  I have been very impressed in what I have seen in Mr. Grove so far.  It appears that he has the resources, skills and heart to do what is needed for the long term success of the Dilworth.  I look forward to working with him in the months ahead as plans are developed to bring the Dilworth back to life.”

The Dilworth opened in 1912 and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since the mid 1980s. In recent years renovating the property has been identified as one of the top community goals. A feasibility study funded through a Michigan Economic Development Corporation planning grant and the Main Street Program, was completed on the property in 2011 and provided valuable information for this transaction. No grant money or public investment is being used for the purchase of the Dilworth although the Main Street Program will help to secure all local and state incentives available to the renovating the Dilworth, Conklin said.   

 “This is great news for our community,” said Boyne City Mayor Ron Grunch. “Mr. Grove’s commitment to Boyne City and his investment in our community are very much appreciated.  We are excited to work with Mr. Grove and we will do everything we can as a city to help make the project successful.”

The Dilworth Hotel is one of the few buildings still standing that is constructed from bricks manufactured by the Boyne City Brick Company, according to documentation from the city’s National Historic Register application, which was approved last December. The building received renovations and updating over the decades, most often associated with changes in ownership, during the 1940s, the 1960s and the 1980s.

“The restoration of the Dilworth will be a tremendous economic boost for Boyne City. It will serve as a catalyst for our downtown, increase pedestrian traffic, vastly improve the entry into downtown, and will provide needed hotel accommodations,” Conklin said. 

The Wolverine Dilworth Hotel resulted from the vision of city fathers who desired first-class accommodations for visitors to the city, according to information published in “Settlers to Sidewalks in Boyne City,” a history of Boyne City by Robert Morgridge. The Boyne City Hotel Co. was composed of 46 shareholders, and its directors read like a who’s who of Boyne City’s commercial elite: W.H. White was president and majority shareholder, and other directors included his business associates, William Martin and Ervan A. Ruegsegger.  The grand hotel was constructed with locally-produced bricks from Boyne City Clay Products Co., and $40,000 had been expended by the time of the grand opening, attended by 240 patrons, on February 1, 1912. It is the only surviving large hotel from Boyne City’s lumber era. 

In 1935 it was renamed the Dilworth Hotel after it was purchased by Wesley Dilworth.  During the 1930s and 1940s it was the site of the Smeltania Ball and fish dinner that culminated the three-month long fishing event held annually during the heyday of lake and river smelt runs.  Dilworth sold the hotel by the mid-1940s, but it retained its reputation for serving the area's best food and remained a favorite dining spot.  The Wolverine-Dilworth was the place to stay when visiting the area through the mid-twentieth century, and among other guests, Ernest Hemingway is reputed to have stayed here.

Mr. Grove is asking that all inquires for comment or additional information at this time regarding the Dilworth be directed to Hugh Conklin, Program Manager of the Boyne City Main Street office, at 231.582.9009 or email Mainstreet@boynecity.com.   Additional information of this matter will be forthcoming through this office.