Most of the new places on Traverse City's winter dining list come from people who already run a well-known place downtown. The team behind Mama Lu's is opening a second restaurant on Union Street. The chefs at Modern Bird are opening a bakery in the building next door to their dining room. Bay Bread Company is moving its whole menu to Lake Avenue. And Bonobo Winery and Dojo Sushi now share one small room on Franklin Street.
That shapes how this season plays out. DayMade's pastries come from the same pastry chef whose scones sold at the Sara Hardy market, and the people opening The Happy Cat cooked a decade of Mama Lu's tacos. In most cases the original stays open while the new one gets going.
| What's changing | Who's behind it | Where | Timing as of late October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Happy Cat opens | Mama Lu's owners | 108 South Union Street | Targeting Thanksgiving to Dec. 1 |
| DayMade opens | Modern Bird owners | Former Mary's Kitchen Port, West Front Street | Targeting Thanksgiving |
| Bay Bread consolidates | Krystal and Scott Fluette | 131 Lake Avenue | Randolph Street retail closes at year-end; full menu on Lake Avenue from Jan. 4, 2027 |
| Bonobo and Dojo share a room | Bonobo CEO Todd Oosterhouse and Dojo's Brent Shafer | 115 Franklin Street | Open since August |
Union Street gets a second restaurant from the Mama Lu's team
The Happy Cat was first meant to replace Mama Lu's. In spring 2026, co-owners Adrienne Brunette and her husband, chef John Larson, announced plans to turn the taco shop at 149 East Front Street into a fast-casual Asian restaurant. By August the plan had changed. The Ticker reported that Mama Lu's would stay on Front Street and The Happy Cat would take over the Identity Brewing space at 108 South Union Street. Brunette told the paper that guests and staff had both said they wanted to keep Mama Lu's.
That story matters because of what it shows about how this team grows. They opened Mama Lu's in 2016, then The Flying Noodle in 2020 and The Burrow TC in 2022, according to Northern Express. The Happy Cat will be their fourth concept, and none of the earlier ones closed to make room for it.
The space opened up on friendly terms. Amanda Thomas of Identity Brewing told The Ticker that she and her partner Josh Thomas knew the Mama Lu's team from the industry. She said leaving Union Street "was a decision we made intentionally." Identity's last day was set for September 25, and the Thomases hinted at a "future venture in the downtown area" with no timing yet.
Here's what Northern Express says the menu will include:
- Dim sum, crispy spring rolls, crab rangoon and pot stickers
- Steamed buns, plus house-made noodles from a pasta machine set up to make them to order
- Green beans with spicy chili crisp
- A curated sake list, Asian beers, and cocktails built on lychee, lemongrass, yuzu and anise
- The restaurant's own playful version of a fortune cookie to finish
Brunette told Northern Express the design takes inspiration from the street markets of Hong Kong, with "big bold flavors and big bold colors inside." The room will seat up to 50 inside and 40 on a seasonal patio. Earlier, The Ticker reported that the restaurant plans to serve lunch and dinner, with a strong takeout program.
The team was renovating through October, and the opening date is still a goal:
"Our goal is to open, hopefully, between Thanksgiving and the first of December. However, we'll see when we start getting in there—you never know what you'll find with a remodel of an old building in Traverse City."
Brunette gave that timeline to Northern Express on Oct. 24. Thanksgiving falls on Nov. 26 this year. The restaurant posts updates at happycattc.com.
DayMade expands Modern Bird into the building next door
Modern Bird's owners are growing the same way, by adding a second place close to the first. Chefs Andy Elliott and Emily Stewart bought the former Mary's Kitchen Port building, right next to Modern Bird on West Front Street, and are turning it into DayMade, a daytime bakery and café. The Ticker reported the purchase in May. It noted that Mary's had been a Traverse City institution for more than four decades before it closed the previous August.
The bakery menu is based on food Modern Bird regulars already know. Stewart was a pastry lead at Bang Bang Pie and worked at BOKA and Blackbird in Chicago. In Traverse City, she and Elliott first built a following at the Sara Hardy Downtown Farmers Market, selling scones, buns and pop-tarts. When Modern Bird opened, baked goods like its flaky cheddar bread became menu staples. The Ticker also noted that Modern Bird was named one of the 50 Best Restaurants in America by The New York Times, the only Michigan restaurant on the list, and that the couple were 2026 James Beard Award semifinalists.
The Record-Eagle reported on June 30 that the owners hoped to open by Thanksgiving and take holiday pie orders, which Modern Bird has offered in past years. Tentative hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. If it opens on schedule, the café adds a breakfast and lunch counter next door to a restaurant that serves dinner.
Bay Bread moves its whole menu to one shop on Lake Avenue
Bay Bread Company is heading the other way, from two locations to one. Krystal and Scott Fluette opened a second shop at 131 Lake Avenue, in the former Hagerty Cavallino Café space, after learning their Randolph Street building was listed for sale. In September, The Ticker reported that they will close the original Randolph Street shop at the end of 2026, sooner than first planned.
The owners wrote that "it's a lot for people who don't like change." They added that Lake Avenue will be "fully operational with all breads, sweets, sammies, coffees, and so much more" starting January 4. They called it "the natural next step, as our lease is coming to an end on Randolph later in 2027." The bakery is the same, but the address changes. If you shop on Randolph Street, December is your last month there. Bay Bread's website lists Lake Avenue weekday hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Two established names share 27 seats on Franklin Street
The newest room that's already open shows a third version of the pattern. Two existing businesses share one space. Todd Oosterhouse is CEO of Bonobo Winery, and Brent Shafer owns Dojo Sushi. Dojo moved in with Bonobo at 115 Franklin Street in August. Northern Express described the place as Bonobo wines paired with Dojo sushi in a room of about 27 seats, eight of them at the sushi bar. In a room that small, those eight bar seats make up nearly a third of the place.
Planning the next ten weeks around these dates
These moves cluster around the holidays, so the dates are worth putting on the calendar:
- Thanksgiving week, Nov. 23 to 27. DayMade's target opening and the window for its holiday pie orders. Watch for updates from Modern Bird.
- Nov. 26 to Dec. 1. The Happy Cat's target opening on Union Street. Check happycattc.com before you go.
- December. The last month of Bay Bread retail on Randolph Street.
- Jan. 4, 2027. Bay Bread's full menu at 131 Lake Avenue.
More familiar names could follow. Nabiel Musleh told The Ticker in September that he is bringing his Middle Eastern restaurant Zakey back to Traverse City with a smaller menu of wraps, hummus, fattoush, shawarma, falafel and lamb dishes. He was negotiating for a location at the time. The Identity Brewing owners have also said they plan to come back downtown. By spring, several more downtown addresses could belong to people Traverse City already knows.
At Schaub Team Premier Realty, we follow these openings and moves because they change how a neighborhood feels day to day, from your morning coffee stop to where you take guests for dinner. If you're curious how life downtown connects to the value of your Traverse City home, we're glad to talk it over and prepare a free property valuation for you.
