Greetings, Coffee Lover!
Since my last communique, Spring came—and quickly yielded to the full glory of summer. With a couple days in the upper 90s, we all warmed those last, chilly spaces in our winter bones. Rainfall has been good, but nothing like downstate, and we’re in a couple day stretch of wet and cool weather, but the weekend and Fourth of July prediction are for upper 70s and sunshine!
Glen Arbor is as busy as it’s ever been! In speaking to all my merchant friends, innkeepers, restauranteurs, and even our customers who rent out their condominiums and cottages, reservations are solid and business is good. The range is from “down a smidgen” to even to “up a bit,” and mostly it is in the even to up category. As business owners, we breathe a collective sigh of relief.
So, tourism is good, and our friends near and far are returning to the Dunes. Two exciting announcements in the last week also raise optimism about Michigan’s economy, with General Electric building a high-tech Wind Turbine Research Center in Metro Detroit (1,000 jobs), and Ford Motor announcing that this new quarter’s vehicle production has been boosted again to build nearly 500,000 vehicles, 16% higher than this time last year. More of those announcements are needed, but they sure are heading in the right direction.
Around the cafe John finished some repainting and it’s nice and fresh in there, and Jody has lots of new artwork on the walls. The patio and garden are great, but still no frog in my pond. However, I’m no longer in despair, as I have three frogs and two near-frog tadpoles in my pond at home—a first. If you want to see the biggest frog eat a bug and croak, go here to see a one minute YouTube video.
Okay, Okay, the part you’ve been waiting for: the new name for the novelty Rock With Barack coffee. It will now be known as “Empire Blend!” There were over 100 names suggested, and four folks nominated Empire, but the first one to do so was Professor Phillip Diller. As he so astutely noted: “Indonesia, Africa, Hawaii, and Barack, all couched in UpNorth…this is clearly the Empire Blend.” We also like to think it pays tribute to our Glen Lake neighbor to the south. Thanks, Dr. Phil!
In honor of the renaming, you, dear email newsletter readers, may purchase inaugural Empire Blends online at 10% off using the coupon code EMPIRE. Remember, this is online only, and you need to use the coupon before July 15th. Why this Leelanau Coffee Stimulus? Because we wish to make sure we have a base of loyal Empire Blend drinkers, and you are among our most loyal customers. Thank you!
The Fourth of July approaches, and I’m looking forward to the Glen Arbor Parade. This year I think I’ll be a spectator as it passes the end of my driveway on M-109. Also, it saves me from buying 25 pounds of Jolly Rancher candies, and waxing the MGB. Should you wish to view a Glen Lake calendar of events, click here, and the Glen Arbor Sun website has lots of local news. My blog, which I’m convinced no one reads, is here. Please be among the first to keep up with my pithy observations. Finally, if you’re not a friend of Leelanau Coffee on Facebook, you may rectify that here. Why? More pith, and also some online specials. Woo Hoo! Still not sure about Twitter…