Traunik Attractions

Lily's of Traunik

As of spring, 2008, the classic 1926 Mikulich's general store, at Traunik's four-corners, has now become an espresso coffee bar, grocery, health food store, and gift shop. It carries fair trade and organic goods whenever possible, without being too expensive for the neighborhood, it's hoped. (Fair trade goods support small producers and workers around the world.)

There are farm-fresh eggs, local produce in season, plus bulk herbs and spices, cold-pressed oils, and Higher Grounds fresh-roasted coffee beans from Traverse City.
Dee Morgan bought the building when the store closed in 1986. She continued it until 2003 as "Morgan's General Store," with functional housewares and gifts.

To make the store a gathering place again, A.J. and Jeff Fischer have worked through a lot of regulatory hoops and installed new coolers, a freezer, and sinks. (They gave the old post office to the Alger County Historical Museum.)

Local people are thrilled to see the local landmark occupied again. Opening in a chilly April, with snowy weather, the store was busy, without any advertising, because farmers and neighbors spread the word.

Ten years ago, A.J. and Jeff, then screen printers in Fort Lauderdale, bought a 100-year-old limestone house in nearby Chatham as their off-season home. In summers, A.J. came back to build up the garden. She is a builder and renovator of stone houses. The Fischers had hoped to find a stone building in rural Leelanau County. But prices were much too high. Coming upon Chatham on a trip through the U.P., it seemed just fine.

Now the Fischers have sold their Florida business. They're full of enthusiasm about Traunik. It seems remote but isn't far from Escanaba, Rapid River (22 miles south), Au Train, Munising, and the rural commuter zone by Marquette, 38 miles to the northwest. They want Lily's to be practical, inspiring, and broadly appealing without competing directly with other local grocers.

There are Michigan beers, wines, organic chocolates, sulfite-free organic wine, Krause's Organic meats from Engadine, and Amy's Organics in the freezer. A.J. intends to bake breads, muffins, spelt cookies, cheesecake, and more, to take home or eat here. And she's knowledgeable about the homeopathic remedies she sells.

Amy is proud of her Vietnamese hanging lanterns, made of pine, silk, and paper. Some are shaped like stars.
Glycerine and French milled soaps, herbal household cleansers, cards and postcards, recycled paper by the ream — there's quite a variety of useful specialties.

Ask about the upstairsovernight apartment, intended as a romantic getaway for one couple. (May, 2008)

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