07/07/2024
Happy Independence Day weekend everyone !
With the re-opening of the bridge (did hell just freeze over ? I was about ready to plant corn out there for the summer ... ), we felt it was a great time to update everyone on our status.
We thank you for your patience with us. We don't post often. But we don't want to over-hype .. as so many do.
We garn-tee you that when we are ready to open, we will blow up your inbox. It's just not that time yet.
First, Scoobys has its own FB page now ... look for "Scoobys Snack Shack - Manistee" and you'll find it.
* We believe that both parking lots will be paved in the next ten days. The lights are up. The landscaping is loving all the RAIN. We even got our own Milwaukee House WALL out back if you haven't seen it. Kudos to the guys from Swidorski Excavating and Swidorski Trucking for hauling like 9 million tons of wet, nasty CLAY out of there and making it flat and solid.
Oh, and we have 20,000 pavers (3 semi loads) being delivered Friday to build our two patios. 6000 square feet. If you wanna come help set 'em down, let me know (ROFL)
* MILWAUKEE HOUSE has been thru a rollercoaster of liquor license transfers (3 in, two out). As the dating sites say, "it's complicated". We originally bought the license from the HiWay Inn in Maxwelltown (after the fire) and placed it at Milwaukee House. We later transferred that one to Scoobys, because we think a cold beer and BBQ go together. Don't you ?
Long story short: The incoming liquor license for Milwaukee House (from Shirleys in Onekama) won't be transferred until late 2024. So we will open our Italian, German, Polish and steak/chop cuisine dinner place next spring. It's just out of our control for 2024. But when we DO open ... 18 draft beers (yessss Jamieson, you have dedicated taps) .. A cocktail and martini lounge up-top-on-the-back with a view of Manistee Lake.
Our MH facility has already passed all rough inspections, and we're just finishing up a lot of detail, trim, finish and decor work between now and then.
* SCOOBYS SNACK SHACK is less "finished" but will open first. We've been in a lengthy and complicated utility easement debate ... it's been going on for two years. We think we are FINALLY just a couple weeks away from that being behind us. We have 90% of what we need to do, done.
We want to let so many cats out of the bag about Scoobys, but it's not that time yet. Never hype before you can deliver is our motto. But we will have some key staff people that you may already know, that will impress you with what you can get for your tummy.
Scoobys will have a huge variety of things for you. We have two "sides" to the project, but even those have niches.
The front of the building (the old gas station) is essentially a short order lunch counter and diner. With a drive thru window. And ice cream (hard and soft). And fountain service (if you know what that is). And a small bar, right in the front window (you can see it now that the BRIDGE IS OPEN) with 12 draft beers. (Yes, Jamieson .. I see your nose prints on the front door). And a great courtyard where we will smoke BBQ every day. Gyros, Al Pastor taco (on the spit). homemade Yooper PASTIES and a lot of other things we aren't ready to blab about just yet.
The "back 40" at Scoobys, which we built a year or two ago, is a different adventure. We acquired the beer and wine license from the T&B Market (Filer City, next to the post office) and the package liquor license from the Copemish Market, and we will become Manistee's finest new deli and liquor store.
If you know what the kids thought "T&B Market" meant back in the day, you might be a local.
You'll recognize the reach in coolers from Manistee Beverage, and the expansive wine racks from Moving Spirits on River Street if you're a local. We will have dozens of varieties of wine. Not 14 brands of white zin ... but rather dozens of different flavors within the red/white, sweet/dry spectrum.
Life is too short to only drink Zinfandel.
But there is another element to the Back 40 also. Think deli. Baked goods. Fresh deli sandwiches. This cat stays in the bag for now, but you'll like what is planned for the deli side of Scoobys.
Did I mention that we will have kegs-to-go ? Homebrew beer and wine making supplies ? Jerky ?
I'd better stop before I get accused of hyping it ..... which I seriously don't want to do. I can already hear the News-Advocate calling.
Shortest version: We are still progressing. We will be there soon. No tax abatements, no taxpayer money, uphill in the snow, backward, with no shoes on.
