Jillian Manning | Author
It's a Date: Three Fresh Ways to Celebrate Valentine’s Day
Feb. 5, 2022
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, Northern Express set out to find some creative new ways to observe the holiday. Say so long to flowers and dinner — from breaking glass to getting sweaty with your partner to catching the performance of the season, here are our top three...
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Green Girl: Kelly Young of Torch Cannabis Co.
Jan. 29, 2022
Kelly Young owns a dispensary, but her goal isn’t to get you high. Instead, at Torch Cannabis Co. in Central Lake, Young promotes a holistic approach to self-care.
“My whole passion has been around helping people get access to [cannabis],” she says. “To lea...
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The Old Mission General Store's Pizza
Jan. 8, 2022
The Old Mission General Store cooks up some of the tastiest pizza in town … 15 miles out of town, on Old Mission Peninsula. (Trust us — it is well worth the drive!) Their New York-style pies have a perfect blend of cheese, sauce, and thin, crispy crust that can be finished wi...
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Right Brain Brewery to Host NM E3 Book Fair
Jan. 8, 2022
There’s nothing we love more than a great team-up. Northern Michigan E3, the Traverse City region’s antiracism taskforce, has partnered up with Right Brain Brewery to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr., weekend with good books, good cheer, and good changes for our community. On...
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Cider Centerpieces
Nov. 14, 2020
Hold my beer (and my wine) because autumn is cider time. Truly, could there be a better place to enjoy cider than the apple Mecca of northern Michigan? You probably know one of the farmers whose apples made it into your glass. You get all the inside jokes that cider makers include when na...
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Flying Noodle: Launched In A Pandemic, And Going Strong With Gusto
Sept. 19, 2020
Is it a bird? A plane? No — it’s a flying noodle! And it landed in downtown Traverse City this summer, at 136 E. Front St., the space formerly occupied by eateries like Gaijin and, before that, Harvest). The aptly titled “Italian Pasta House” offers a delightful ar...
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The Dish's "Heat At Home" Meals
Sept. 19, 2020
The convenience of takeout and the comfort of a home-cooked meal meet at The Dish Café in Traverse City, now offering “Heat at Home” meals Monday through Friday. Intended for two — with the promise of yummy lunchtime leftovers — these hearty dishes include an entré...
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No Barriers
Sept. 12, 2020
Since 2017, Wells Fargo bank and No Barriers — a nonprofit whose goal is “to fully unleash the potential of the human spirit” — have teamed up to offer a unique program: the Global Impact Challenge. The program is focused on diversity and inclusion and is open to e...
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The Den
Sept. 5, 2020
Axe throwing. An escape room. Mini-bowling. An upscale bar. It’s all at The Den — located inside Grand Traverse Resort and Spa — a petite entertainment center-slash-eatery that packs a grizzly-sized punch.
NOT YOUR AVERAGE BEAR
Golfers will ...
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The Couple who Turned One Hotel into an Up North Hospitality Dynasty.
July 11, 2020
Stafford Smith is known as one of the region’s foremost hospitality professionals, with iconic Northern Michigan properties like the Bay View Inn, the Perry Hotel, and the Weathervane Restaurant under his umbrella. But his nearly six-decade career wasn’t planned; it was built ...
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Designer Christopher Ciccone
July 11, 2020
In Northern Michigan, the last name Ciccone usually brings to mind a famous pop singer or a Suttons Bay winery. But in 2019, another Ciccone arrived to make his mark Up North.
Christopher Ciccone, younger brother of Madonna and son of Tony, proprietor of Ciccone Vineyards in Sutto...
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Opa! Grill & Taproom in Traverse City
July 4, 2020
Opa! Grill & Taproom — it’s impossible to say the name without the exclamation mark, or without imagining the savory taste of fresh tzatziki sauce. One of the few Greek-inspired restaurants in northern Michigan, Opa! has been serving up authentic gyros, spanakopita, falafe...
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Drive It Like You Stole It — er, Rented It
July 4, 2020
’Tis the season for summer cruisin’. With gas prices still hovering around $2 in most of Northern Michigan, there’s never been a better time to go for a drive … especially if you’re taking a trip back in time.
No, we’re not taking a DeLorean, b...
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Gaylord’s C.R.A.V.E.
June 20, 2020
Opened in May of 2018, C.R.A.V.E. Pasta Pizza Pub serves up creative pizzas and pastas in one of Gaylord’s most iconic Main Street buildings. For the history buffs, The A.B.C. Comstock Hardware store was built in 1878 — that’s 142 years ago — and housed the well-kn...
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McGee’s 72
May 23, 2020
When John McGee and Glen Harrington met working at Apache Trout Grill, they had no idea a friendship would one day turn into a multi-restaurant partnership. Today, the duo owns and operates McGee’s 72, McGee’s 37, Harrington’s by the Bay, Sorellina, Slate, and Grand Trav...
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The Dish Cafe
April 18, 2020
For 14 years, husband and wife duo Randy Waclawski and Patty Hickman have owned The Dish Cafe, located steps from the busy corner of Front and Union streets in downtown Traverse City. The bright, intimate space offers a healthy take on fast-casual dining, featuring crowd-pleasing salads, ...
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Fried Chicken Po’ Boy
Jan. 25, 2020
Perfectly crisp fried chicken. Fresh warm bread. Honey jalapeno mayonnaise. (And then lettuce, onion, and tomato, because vegetables are supposed to be important.) This is the Fried Chicken Po’ Boy at Pearl’s New Orleans Kitchen in Elk Rapids. For those who haven’t been,...
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Snowbelt Brewing Co.’s Pie Pants Cider
Dec. 7, 2019
Imagine if two favorite northern Michigan ciders — Tandem’s Smackintosh and Left Foot Charley’s Cinnamon Girl — had a love child. That baby would have bright, tart notes of apple paired with the perfect amount of holiday spice, begging to be enjoyed alongside a Chr...
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A Present and Your Presence
Nov. 30, 2019
’Tis the season for holiday parties! As you run to and fro in the snow, you’ll need the perfect gift for your hostess, and while there are dozens of great bottles of wine to choose from around town, we challenge you to get a little more creative. Below, check out seven gifts y...
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Fishing, Fashion, and Family
March 2, 2019
You can take the girl out of northern Michigan, but you can’t take northern Michigan out of the girl.
At least, that’s the case for Cara Summers Smith, creator of Summers&Co, a line of feminine fishing apparel and accessories that launched this past winter...
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