ACME -- A community ripped apart by bitter debate over Meijer Inc.'s stalled development plans will try a new approach to unite its diverse business mix.
Legal battles over Meijer and other projects along M-72 have dominated headlines for months, but concern has grown among Acme Township business owners over other troubling trends in the commercial district. The recent closing of Mountain Jacks, a once-popular restaurant on East Grand Traverse Bay, a shuttered upscale furniture store and shopping plazas dotted with vacant spaces are equally worrisome to the township's business community.
"I think there's a lot of concern by all the business owners in Acme," said Mark Smith, 22-year owner of Outdoor Adventures Down Outlet along M-72.
Smith is among those driving an effort to organize a business association in Acme Township. The group's inaugural meeting last week drew close to 75 participants, and they'll meet each month with plans to formally organize as a business association.
The idea was the brainchild of longtime local restaurateur Howard Schelde, who in 2002 opened TraVino Traverse Wine & Grille restaurant on M-72. Like many business owners in Acme who reside outside of the township, Schelde found himself largely on the outside looking in as Acme residents debated the township's disputed development proposals.
"All I knew about Acme was what I read in the paper," Schelde said.
But after the recent Mountain Jack's closing, Schelde decided it was time for the Acme business community -- owners who live there and elsewhere -- to organize and promote local businesses and attempt to leave the bitter divide over Meijer in the past.
"We think we have products and services that people, not only in Acme, but around the community, can patronize," Schelde said.
The township is home to a wide array of business interests, ranging from major employers, like the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa, to small, locally owned lodges and campgrounds. The mix also includes numerous retail stores, small manufacturers, agricultural operations, professional offices, restaurants and an upscale car dealership.
But the business district largely is known as a "pass-through" area for motorists heading in and out of Traverse City. The challenge is to make it more of a destination shopping area, Schelde said.
"What we have to do as retailers and commercial interests is find a way to make people stop on their way through," he said.
Township officials, branded by critics as anti-business because of their long-running battle with Meijer, are getting behind the effort. The township sent invitations to businesses from its personal property tax database, and Supervisor Wayne Kladder also went door-to-door in the community to invite local business representatives to attend the opening session.
Acme officials were encouraged by the gathering. Ideas included creating a map that highlights the township's business district, cross-promotional coupon books and punch cards offering discounts or financial incentives at local businesses.
"It seems to have been a big hit," township Manager Sharon Vreeland said. "Everybody stayed away from politics. Everybody came together to talk about how to do business better."
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