[Northman]

I live in Petoskey, but have spent a lot of time in Cheboygan, and I like Cheboygan just fine. It's a quiet, small town in a beautiful part of the state.

It's a shame in this day & age that no one is impressed or just plain pleased by anything other than bright lights and big publicity.

Cheboygan will never be a shopping mecca.....or a tourist town like Petoskey.......or the base for Fortune 500 businesses......

Cheboygan is Cheboygan........and for over 30 years that's been good enough for me.

[ShabbyChick]

Well, I didn't know that Petoskey had "bright lights and big publicity"...but I do like the gaslights! Anyway, what is wrong with being a tourist town? People flock to Traverse City and Petoskey year-round because there are *things to do*...while the businesses in sleepy towns like Indian River and Cheboygan suffer as they watch the tourists (and the $DOLLARS$) pass them by! People don't want to buy real estate in those sleepy towns, either. I don't hate Cheboygan, I grew up there and it has it's charms...but charm doesn't pay the bills. You've got to give people a REASON to come! Unless you are wanting to keep them away...in which case I would have to say Cheboygan (among other towns) is doing a pretty good job, and why would you ever be satisfied with that?

I have some suggestions:

~YMCA
~Bed & Breakfasts (with adequate parking...you know who you are!!!)
~EXPANSION OF THIS OLD HOUSE PIZZA!!!
~Updating football field, especially bathrooms!!!
~A great Chinese Restaurant, Bob Evans, Red Lobster
~Mini golf
~Maurices, GAP, Old Navy, Kohl's, JcPenney (not just a catalog center!)
~Whole Foods (where Carter's used to be), Gordon Food Service
~Holiday Inn, Hampton Inn, Marriott Hotel
~Better utilization of riverfront, more restaurants on water accessible by boat
~Farmers Market every Saturday
~Fill those ugly vacant buildings downtown! (Former Rivertown Cargo, etc)
~More consistent streetscape...right now it's a mix of updated vs. in need of facelift
~Nice benches downtown


Maybe I should head up the "Commitee for a Better Cheboygan"...

[Northman]

Originally Posted by ShabbyChick

Maybe I should head up the "Commitee for a Better Cheboygan"...

Yeah, maybe you should. Hope you do better with that than you did interpreting my post. The lights & publicity remark was a generalization (aimed at people just like you who think Cheboygan needs to be so much more than what it is), not a description of Petoskey.

Anyway, good luck with all that.....look forward to seeing Cheboygan blossom into a regional powerhouse under your guidance.

[ShabbyChick]

Originally Posted by Northman

Yeah, maybe you should. Hope you do better with that than you did interpreting my post. The lights & publicity remark was a generalization (aimed at people just like you who think Cheboygan needs to be so much more than what it is), not a description of Petoskey.

Anyway, good luck with all that.....look forward to seeing Cheboygan blossom into a regional powerhouse under your guidance.

Northman~
Ahhh, now I understand the attitudes that my father-in-law (who is a real estate developer) is up against in Cheboygan County! WOW. And I guess that is why Cheboygan is what it is. At least you like it that way!

[mofromcheboygankalamazoo]

Originally Posted by ShabbyChick

Well, I didn't know that Petoskey had "bright lights and big publicity"...but I do like the gaslights! Anyway, what is wrong with being a tourist town? People flock to Traverse City and Petoskey year-round because there are *things to do*...while the businesses in sleepy towns like Indian River and Cheboygan suffer as they watch the tourists (and the $DOLLARS$) pass them by! People don't want to buy real estate in those sleepy towns, either. I don't hate Cheboygan, I grew up there and it has it's charms...but charm doesn't pay the bills. You've got to give people a REASON to come! Unless you are wanting to keep them away...in which case I would have to say Cheboygan (among other towns) is doing a pretty good job, and why would you ever be satisfied with that?

I have some suggestions:

~YMCA
~Bed & Breakfasts (with adequate parking...you know who you are!!!)
~EXPANSION OF THIS OLD HOUSE PIZZA!!!
~Updating football field, especially bathrooms!!!
~A great Chinese Restaurant, Bob Evans, Red Lobster
~Mini golf
~Maurices, GAP, Old Navy, Kohl's, JcPenney (not just a catalog center!)
~Whole Foods (where Carter's used to be), Gordon Food Service
~Holiday Inn, Hampton Inn, Marriott Hotel
~Better utilization of riverfront, more restaurants on water accessible by boat
~Farmers Market every Saturday
~Fill those ugly vacant buildings downtown! (Former Rivertown Cargo, etc)
~More consistent streetscape...right now it's a mix of updated vs. in need of facelift
~Nice benches downtown


Maybe I should head up the "Commitee for a Better Cheboygan"...

Cheboygan is trying to do what it can with the money that is has...all those things cost money!
My father is the vice president of the DDA Downtown Development Authority....so I will help clear some things up
*In Recent years, Cheboygan has held successful Riverfest Days along with Wanigan Festival, BluesFest and so on....these festivals actually attract large crowds and are improving each year they are held.
*The Gables Bed and Breakfast has plenty of parking I am not sure what you are talking about! yeah, more B&Bs would be nice, but you need people willing to run them!
*This Old House is charming the way it is and does very well!
*They are always making improvements to the Football field-some would say more than other sports although the new track and soccer fields oh yeah and baseball fields at the high school are top notch!
*People choose to shop at the evil empire as i like to call it...therefore those other stores would really have to compete-the discount department store Peebles does well and really is not that bad!
*I would love to see something to go in the leftover space near Peebles, but that takes money...
*they will soon be building a Pedestrian bridge over the river which is aimed at improving the utilization of the riverfront...the main problem is a lot of the property along the riverfront is privately owned....
*During the month of august, sept and oct there is a farmers market every weekend in the parking lot at the Opera House-check it out
*I believe that the streetscape with the nice gaslight style lamposts are great-they are working on getting funding for new sidwalks and not sure what else you are looking for?
*more benches would be nice
*there is now outdoor seating at a few of the restaurants downtown which is nice
*And the former Woolworths building will be demolished as soon as all funding comes through-it was mentioned in today's Tribune. Nobody has inhabited it because the building is unsuitable for anything so the city was waiting for funding to tear it down which will cost over $300,000.
** I forgot to mention that we have a Best Western, Fleetwood Inn, Continental Inn, and numerous fantastic small motels-we are all set on places to stay! there are nice cabin rentals on Mullett Lake as well as on Lake Huron-try them out sometime they are beautiful!

Cheboygan is working hard at attracting more tourists and it is working at making it a desirable place to live-which I already think it is!!!!

[Northman]

Originally Posted by ShabbyChick

Northman~
Ahhh, now I understand the attitudes that my father-in-law (who is a real estate developer) is up against in Cheboygan County! WOW. And I guess that is why Cheboygan is what it is. At least you like it that way!

Damn right I do........... and since you obviously don't, just stay away and let those of us who can appreciate a small town for what it is do just that.

I think I hear Traverse City calling you as I type this. You'll get your development fix down there real quick.

[ShabbyChick]

I was just thinking about my life growing up in Cheboygan, wondering why many people are so anti-growth in that town. I remember how inconvenient it was for a lot of people to have to drive 45 min. to Petoskey for *nice* clothing. It was either that or settle for the local choice...Kmart! If you needed something in a hurry it was really a pain! Do you think people enjoy that with the gas prices today? At least now the people of Cheboygan have another chioce...they can go to Walmart. Great. So what is wrong with GAP and Old Navy? How would they make Cheboygan a "regional powerhouse"? I know an awful lot of people who drive to Petoskey when they go out for dinner, but I don't know anyone who drives from Petoskey to Cheboygan for dinner. Would a Bob Evans and Red Lobster mean turning your back on your small town feel? NO. It would just make Cheboygan more ENJOYABLE for it's citizens AND for tourists. A YMCA would give the youth a lot of healthy activities and replace that eyesore of a rec center! Would that be the end of Cheboygan as you know it? I don't know anything more "small town" than a farmers market, and Cheboygan has a lot of great farmers! Heck, I'd go if they had one! Why be so grumpy about things? Take pride in your community and do everything you can to make it a great place for your citizens and bring in tourist dollars to boot! Or, you can sit on your porch rocker and scoff at the bright lights and big publicity.

[ShabbyChick]

Northman--WOW. I think Traverse City is all set. I love it there. We just stayed at a great B&B there (The Wellington Inn), ate fantastic chinese, went antiquing, did some shopping at the mall. All within the town, too! Their citizens don't have to drive at least 45 minutes to find great things to do. But I won't stay away from Cheboygan, all of my family is there. I know how much they hate having to drive to do certain things. It doesn't have to be that way.//

Mo-Thanks for setting me straight on a few things. I didn't know about the farmers market! That is great. As for the streetscape, I was referring to the buildings, there is a lack of consistency/uniformity--Mulligans (nice) vs. Step In (meh) The lamps are very nice, benches would certainly complete it! I understand these things take $ and time, but it all starts with imagination and initiative. It is good to know that there are some who care to make it more that it has been, and they really have done a good job since I lived there, but a depressed feeling seems to permeate the town. Maybe due to the unemployment rate in Cheboygan County? All the more reason to try to draw in those tourists dollars. And I would LOVE to run a B&B, but I don't live in Cheboygan. The one they have is for sale...is no one staying there? I disagree about a This Old House expansion. Man, they are packed every time we go, our family of 7 always has to eat at separate tables and parking can be a nightmare. That is a good thing, it means they are a fantastic place to eat...but I'd love to see them expand so more of us can enjoy it (and sit together when we go)! YUMMM! I'm glad to see your enthusiasm and vision for what Cheboygan can be...itself, only better!

[onthewaterway]

The face of Cheboygan is beginning to change. We DO have a chance to become as busy as our sunset side counter parts. The clientele will be different, but the traffic will be similar. We have one prime resource the west side does not, the Inland Waterway, and all of the under uilized property situated along. We have so much room for growth. The entire city council was replaced during the last election. As MO stated, the first eyesore on the radar is the Woolworth building. The new council has made this a priority and it soon will be gone. The DDA was given suggestions from the council to get the ball rolling, faster. One key plan is to develop a design sceme all downtown businesses will adhere to. Incentives are being put in place to entice downtown business to remodel storefronts following a common theme.

Keep the postings coming, this only serves to market our diamond in the rough.

P.S. Northman, I sincerely appreciate your kind words regarding Cheboygan. However, as a business owner and active member of the community I can assure you we are not satisfied with our little town, yet. We are working very hard to improve the economy and well being of the residents of this city. Do we want to become as jammed as Petoskey or TC? Not exactly. The traffic in P town these days, especially in the summer is rediculous. I can promise you though the businesses along 31 love the traffic.

[mofromcheboygankalamazoo]

thank you on thewaterway....my dad has a downtown business also so things in town are very important to him....my parents also live right in town.....



shabbychick-I meant to post about chinese restaurants!!!
Have you ever been to IndoChina Gardens? it is an AWESOME chinese and Thai restaurant on the East side of the river! I have had people from west bloomfield and people from all over say how much they love that place!!! I can't go home without either going there to eat or ordering take out chicken pad thai

Now i really can't wait til thanksgiving which will be the next time i'm home in cheboygan!!!!