Labor Day has come and gone as local businesses steam ahead to a not so shoulder season that is fall.
Northern Latitudes Distillery in Lake Leelanau has restarted construction of its 12,000 square foot distillery a few blocks east of its current narrows location “We are back in the saddle,” Northern Latitudes owner Mark Moseler said. “My hope (of opening) would be December-January. We are on the way, baby.”
Northern Latitudes broke ground at the end of summer 2023 with hopes of being done in summer 2024.
Since beginning to serve Lake Leelanau with libations in 2012, Northern Latitudes has outgrown its 4,000-square foot retail space that’s located next to Hannah’s Cupcakes.
The new Northern Latitudes headquarters will be roughly 12,000 square feet. Approximately 2,500 to 3,000 square feet will be the production facility.
Moseler added that Labor Day weekend was overall a “good” weekend, despite fighting perfect weather on the peninsula that he thought would keep customers out of the distillery.
“Weather didn’t seem to affect business. It kind of feels like it’s getting back to normal after COVID. A year that starts creeping back towards normalcy,” Moseler said.
Northern Latitudes among other libation businesses aren’t slowing down since summer ended unofficially. From now until the second week of November is a sprint for the busiest time of year.
“It’s a different type of tourist. They are a little bit older than the families that are going back to school. It’s a completely different demographic,” Moseler said.
Moseler added that their Suttons Bay coffee and distillery business has been busier than ever since it opened over the winter.
“The idea of having coffee and a distillery seems to have been a wise choice,” Moseler said.
Northern Latitudes will be experimenting with new ideas for the new building over the next few months.
Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate
The chocolatiers of Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate in Empire have had a bustling summer that peaked with a record breaking Labor Day weekend.
“This has been the best summer yet in terms of overall revenue and actual visitors,” Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate owner Jody Hayden said. “Our summer staff was fantastic. It’s also been the smoothest summer yet and I attribute it to the fantastic staff. I didn’t know we could top last year (Labor Day weekend).”
But they did, pulling in roughly $9,000 in sales on Sunday alone.
“For us, a local chocolate shop, that’s a really great day,” Hayden said.
The chocolate shop will be open seven days throughout fall and winter to serve all chocolate needs as the local shop begins gearing up for the holiday season.
They will also begin shipping all over the country for the holiday season.
Grocer’s Daughter also celebrated the last weekend of the season for its gelato shop that ended its third year of business.
“It’s our third year open and we are hitting our stride,” Hayden said.
Grocer’s Daughter has sought help from partner and financial institution Venture North Funding.
While Grocer’s Daughter fights the growing cocoa crisis, Venture North has helped secure funding to help with bulk orders of chocolate that traditional banks find risky. She has recently sought to secure chocolate supply for the next 18 months, relying on cash flow from her business and an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) to the U.S. Small Business Administration of $110,000. Another loan of $50,000 was also secured to place a 27,000-pound cocoa shipment.
“They are consistent champions of us and other small businesses and we are fortunate to have them,” Hayden said.
The loan was approved and closed by Venture North in one week. Melissa Fruge, Regional Manager in Northern Michigan for U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, assisted by contacting the SBA.
“Jody, D.C. and the extended family of Grocer’s Daughter are rock stars,” said Laura Galbraith who has presided over more than 170 low-cost loans of over $10 million that have leveraged over $40 million more within Venture North’s 10-county region. “Collectively, they set a high bar for small businesses everywhere – their stewardship of their business reflects long-term thinking toward a level of success and prosperity for all – including their diverse team of employees and the cooperatives and incubators they are supporting in far-off cacao growing regions.”
Oftentimes, Grocer’s Daughter is buying a container full of chocolate that can run upwards of $150,000 from colleagues in Ecuador and on the Ivory Coast of Africa.
Over the past few months, cocoa prices have risen like never before at %150 from $2,300 metric ton to $12,000. Because of long standing partnerships, Grocer’s Daughter has been able to stall rising prices at 45%, instead of 150%. They have since begun to secure 18 months of cocoa supply, while keeping a keen eye on the future.
“I’m watching the market and we’ll know more in October if high prices continue. If so, we have to secure cocoa as much as possible,” Hayden said. “The next 18 months will be interesting to see across the board.”
