It had been a long time since I felt the rush of cold air that floods out when entering a building, and I had almost forgotten. My feet led me down the sidewalk to the corner of Hall and Front Street to a large brick building-previously a candy factory-North Peak Brewing. I was sure someone in the industry would know something about a new speakeasy in town. My first idea: head toward whatever bar/restaurant I saw first. After watching the Air Dog competition for a while, I set out to find the secret, perhaps nonexistent, bar. I had a mission and wouldn’t return to the sanctuary of the office until it was completed. I scooped up my phone, my sunglasses and my half-full bottle of Aquafina (the essentials) and snuck out the front door onto Park Street.Īs I crossed over the threshold between office and sidewalk an invisible heat wave wrapped itself around my body and within minutes my clothes were sticking to my skin.
I heard it was connected to a flower shop or something, I don’t know.” Those were my leads and my goal was to find it. To me, that meant I would be spending an hour in the blistering 80-degree heat at least I’d be able to grab a slushie-and a hot dog!īut, before I turned back around, she also suggested something else her chair rolled closer on the brown office carpet as she began to tell me about a hidden speakeasy somewhere within the city. While refreshing my inbox for nearly the tenth time, my boss suggested I head out to the Cherry Festival and take some videos of the Air Dog Competition taking place in Clinch Park. I unpacked my green and white Under Armour backpack and flipped open my sticker-studded laptop. All of my interviews were scheduled for next week and I had no other stories planned for the day. When I first pushed open the black steel door and entered the cool air-conditioned building at work, I had no idea what I would be doing. In the midst of National Cherry Festival in downtown Traverse City, word is spreading about an underground speakeasy hidden in the cracks of the city.