What's Actually Open on South Airport Road This Fall, and What's Still Just a Sign in the Window

About 25 years ago, Joe Short looked through the windows of an old hardware store in Bellaire and pictured the pub that became Short's Brewing. This year he did the same thing at Logan's Landing. "It seems we've got a soft spot for rickety buildings with lots of potential," he said when the purchase was announced.

Something similar is happening along the whole South Airport corridor in Garfield Township. Logan's Landing, the Grand Traverse Mall, and Cherryland Center are each being rebuilt, and the new tenants are mostly places where you spend an afternoon: a brewery deck, a trampoline park, a dog park with a café, a gear consignment shop next to a trail. A few of these are already open, and several smaller ones were aiming for this fall. But the anchors are later: the Short's taproom is set for spring 2027, and the former Macy's storefronts still don't have named tenants. So this fall, the corridor is a mix of construction fencing, "coming soon" pages, and target dates nobody has confirmed yet. Here's what's open now, what's only planned, and what's setting the schedule.

The Building That Faces the Trail

Short's Brewing founder Joe Short and CEO Scott Newman-Bale teamed up with Keen co-founders Tim Pulliam and Steve Morse to buy Logan's Landing East under a new partnership called South Boardman Lake District, LLC. The building is nearly 16,000 square feet. Short's will be the anchor tenant, and Vincent Amroian of Vince's Fine Jewelers, the former owner, plans to stay.

On paper the site sits on a busy commercial road. MLive reported in July that South Airport Road is estimated to carry more than 40,000 cars a day, east and west combined. The other number in that story explains why Short's wants this particular building. In the Boardman Lake Loop's first year after it opened in 2022, trail counters at the Medalie Park and Logan's Landing area logged 212,243 people on foot and on bikes. Short told 9&10 News in August that the plan is built around the neighborhoods nearby, not downtown foot traffic:

"We feel like we're going to fill a gap with the neighborhoods that are close by as far as having a place to go, being outside, being on the water, being on the Boardman loop."

Inside, Short's plans to follow the template of its other locations, with merchandise, a bar, a kitchen, live music, and possibly a small stage. The menu is still being worked out. The opening date has moved around a bit depending on who you ask. The press release says "as soon as April 2027." MLive reported May 1, 2027 as the date on the calendar. Short told 9&10 the interior is aimed at the brewery's 23rd anniversary, the last weekend of April 2027. Either way, it's a spring 2027 opening. The one-day patio party on the rebuilt deck back in August was a preview, not the start of regular hours.

If you saw the April photos of the Boardman River pressed against the building, Short says the water came within a few inches and never got inside. He said getting through the flood made the group more confident in the property.

The first new tenant could open sooner. In August, the Ticker reported that Cari Lick was bringing Second Third First Hand, or 231 Hand, to Logan's Landing "this fall," next to Vince's and the planned taproom. It will sell used outdoor gear on consignment along with new products from small cottage and eco-conscious brands, and unsold items can be donated to local outdoor nonprofits. We haven't found a confirmed opening day.

The same idea is going up farther north on the lake. Construction has started on the Mill District off Woodmere Avenue. Brick Wheels is moving its headquarters there from Eighth Street, a coffee shop called The Loop is set for spring 2027, and the liquor license application describes a 100- to 150-seat restaurant with a deck overlooking the trail corridor. The Ticker hasn't given an opening date for the project as a whole, but it's another site built facing the loop.

The Mall Is Rebuilding Around Its Outside Doors

You can see the same thinking at the Grand Traverse Mall, even if the details differ. The former Macy's is being turned into a five-tenant strip center. Each storefront will open to the outside, so shoppers won't have to go through the main mall corridors. Garfield Township officials confirmed in February that build-out was underway, and they said more outlot buildings would come to the mall parking area later.

The tenants still haven't been named. On September 29, owner Daniel Stern of Lormax Stern told the Ticker the company is "hoping to announce the new tenant lineup in the coming months." The company has said it's aiming for an organic-focused gourmet food store, a national bookstore, an outdoor apparel retailer, and an upscale apparel store. Separately, a 2,385-square-foot Chipotle was approved for an outlot in the former Macy's parking lot this spring. It doesn't have an opening date yet.

Inside the mall, Zhending Hu, whose family owns a massage business there, partnered with Jazmine Scott on Cluckery TC, a food court spot for classic and spicy fried chicken sandwiches and hand-battered strips. Hu worked at restaurants like Panda Express and spent six months developing his own recipes. "I think the mall is part of a lot of people's memories," he told the Ticker. "One thing it seemed like we could do for the community is create more memories and bring people back." The owners were aiming for mid-August. Cluckery's website now lists hours at 3200 W South Airport Road, but we couldn't find news coverage confirming the opening, so check before you go.

Cherryland Center Is Filling Up With Things to Do

Cherryland Center has gone furthest in this direction. Altitude Trampoline Park is open on a temporary certificate of occupancy. That's because of a sidewalk Garfield Township requires along South Airport Road: Altitude asked to be excused from building it, since it's a tenant and not the property owner, and planning commissioners said no. Township Manager Chris Barsheff says the township is working with the property and business owners to get the sidewalk built. It's a small dispute, but it shows the township wants this stretch of road to work for people on foot, too.

Two Brothers is a dog park with a café at 1776 S Garfield Ave. Its homepage now says it opens in late fall 2026, though an older page on the same site still says spring. K1 Speed posted that it was "temporarily closing" in early June. On August 6, the company told the Ticker it was finishing a deal to make the Traverse City location corporate-owned and expected to reopen "within the next couple of weeks." We haven't found anything confirming it has reopened.

You can definitely eat there now. Michigan-based Pita Way opened in the outlot next to Starbucks, serving build-your-own bowls and soups. Its posted hours are 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.

Where Everything Stands as of October 4

• Open: Pita Way at Cherryland Center. Altitude Trampoline Park, on its temporary certificate.
• Hours posted, opening not confirmed: Cluckery TC in the mall food court.
• Announced for this fall: 231 Hand at Logan's Landing, and Two Brothers, targeting late fall.
• Reopening announced, not confirmed: K1 Speed.
• Being prepared for tenants as of February, no tenants named: The five former Macy's storefronts.
• Approved, no date: Chipotle in the former Macy's parking lot.
• Spring 2027: The Short's taproom at Logan's Landing, plus The Loop coffee shop at the Mill District.

The Bridge That Sets the Pace

Getting to the Logan's Landing end of the corridor has been harder since April. The flooding washed out Beitner Road and destroyed the bridge's two-pipe culvert. Newman-Bale told MLive that's part of what made the near-term plan scary: "You're just about to put millions of dollars into a place and then have no one have access to it."

Earlier this summer, the bridge was expected back by Christmas. The newer schedule from Grand Traverse County Road Commission manager Dan Watkins, reported by UpNorthLive on September 21, looks like this:

1. Now: Crews are pouring the concrete base of the bridge.
2. October 13: The beams arrive and connect the two sides of the river again.
3. November: Asphalt plants close, and concrete work gets more expensive and harder to do.
4. Around the first of the year, weather permitting: A rough estimate for when drivers can cross again.

"We're definitely racing Mother Nature," Watkins said. The Road Commission's work schedule for the week of October 5 still lists Beitner Road closed between Williams and River roads. If the beams go in on time and the weather holds, the bridge should reopen a few months before Short's opens its taproom. For the Grand Traverse County neighborhoods closest to the river, that means a winter of detours and then two spring openings on the loop. If you're comparing this with downtown, our August look at Front Street covers the other side of town.

If you own a place near the Boardman corridor and host guests, or you're just trying to work out which of these openings will be ready by spring, Leelanau Living Realty Group keeps up with dates like these every week. Ask us what's open before your guests do. Relax. We got this.