Downtown Alpena's New Restaurants and Businesses: Fall 2026

On 2nd Avenue, the changes stack up within a few blocks of each other. The Black Sheep Pub at 113 S. 2nd Ave. closed on Sept. 30. Bob's Bullpen has moved from 125 N. 2nd Ave. to 117 N. 2nd Ave., and the restaurant and arcade are gone. Farther up the street, 700 N. 2nd Ave. is getting a new facade and three food businesses that used to sell from Water Street Commons.

If you've been downtown since June, you've seen a lot of "closed" and "for sale" signs. Put them on a map, though, and most turn out to be businesses moving a block or two, trading spaces, or taking over a storefront someone else left.

The Summer List That Made Everyone Ask

Anne Gentry, executive director of the Alpena Downtown Development Authority, listed the changes in a September column for The Alpena News. Thunder Bay Winery moved out of the Center Building to its production facility on Water Street. Sweet Baby James closed. Noise & Toys moved out of downtown, and Bob's Bullpen took over its old space. The vacant Sports Page lot on Chisholm Street went up for sale, and Thunder Bay Chrysler across the street closed. Rusty's Corks & Cocktails put its building on the market, Art in the Loft announced a restructuring, and the Black Sheep's owners retired.

The downtown Biggby closed sometime over the summer as well, according to The Alpena News.

Gentry wrote that she has come to expect downtown turnover over her last nine years, but that even she had been asking "what is going on downtown?" Her column carried that worry in its headline: "Is downtown headed for a downturn?"

Follow the Addresses

The October DDA meeting filled in where many of those businesses ended up. Several of the exits on the summer list reappear here as arrivals.

The Center Building gives the clearest picture. When Thunder Bay Winery moved to Water Street, its space didn't stay empty. Rusty's is moving in, and two cafés already in the building used the shuffle to trade spots. The Chisholm Street building Rusty's is leaving is still for sale. In The Alpena News' report on the October meeting, Gentry said the building's size, with an upstairs and a downstairs, has been the biggest hurdle for people who have looked at it, and that she has been trying to connect interested parties who might share it.

For regulars, the swap matters. Blue Moon serves soups, salads, sandwiches and ramen, and Marithyme, owned by Rony Khoury, sells Mediterranean grab-and-go food. Both are still in the Center Building, just not where you last ordered.

Urban Bird & Company, owned by Lindsey Clark, sells women's clothing, shoes, accessories and gifts. Footwear is the focus, with a shoe-lounge area, and the shop plans to carry Dune Jewelry made with Lake Huron sand. It was set to open Friday, Oct. 16. Holiday-season hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays.

Water Street Commons Worked the Way It Was Supposed To

The Blu Blends move says the most about downtown right now. Blu Blends makes smoothies and açaí bowls from real fruit, and it started out of a Water Street Commons stall with its sister businesses, Truck Your Pizza and Truck Your Bakery. Now it is moving into a permanent space on 2nd Avenue.

"This is exactly the purpose of the Commons: give new businesses a space to launch, test the market, and find success in a brick-and-mortar," Gentry wrote in her Alpena News column.

The Commons keeps doing that job. At the October DDA meeting, Gentry said there is still interest in its three vacant pop-up shops and that most people who rent one come back or book more days. The DDA is also looking at using the stall Blu Blends is leaving as Santa's house this year, since the old Santa house no longer fits in Culligan Plaza and needs repairs.

The Commons, at Water Street and 2nd Avenue, keeps fall hours through October: Fridays 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sundays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and closed Monday through Thursday. Holiday hours begin Friday, Nov. 27, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. After that, it opens Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Three Kitchens Are Being Built

The Black Sheep's closing will be followed by more places to eat downtown. Gentry's column counts three new restaurants under construction:

• The Eddy, at 112 W. Chisholm St.
• A new tavern at Clem's Bait & Tackle, which Gentry called "at last, a place to get food and drink along the Thunder Bay River."
• A new restaurant in the former Black Sheep, run by the owner of Rosa's, with a concept she described as "not Italian."

That last one is Tara Brilinski, owner of Rosa's Lookout Inn in Spruce. She is leasing the 113 S. 2nd Ave. building rather than buying the Black Sheep business, and the Black Sheep's owners told The Alpena News that the name will change. The Eddy is the only one of the three with a public name, and none has announced an opening date. Gentry wrote that she expects "exciting announcements throughout the upcoming winter months."

There's a similar handoff outside downtown, at 10085 U.S. 23 North near Grand Lake Road. Anthony and Liz Jekielek are turning the longtime Hideaway Tavern into The Mountain Hideaway. The Alpena News reported a soft-opening target of Sept. 21 and a menu that mixes favorites from the couple's other two restaurants. Call ahead for hours before you drive out.

Two Downtown Projects With Dates This Fall

Thunder Bay Theatre has been closed for six years and is finishing a $2 million renovation. It plans a grand reopening in spring 2027, with smaller events this fall and winter. To unlock a dollar-for-dollar matching grant through the Public Spaces Community Places program, it has to raise $50,000 by Nov. 14, according to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. In mid-October, the Patronicity campaign had $36,208 from 88 patrons, about 72% of the goal, and closes at 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 14.

The second project is a grocery store. The DDA and United Way of Northeast Michigan are working on a community-owned food co-op that would carry produce, dry and canned goods, baked goods and dairy, likely with a focus on organic and natural foods. By late September, the group had finished a market-feasibility study, a pro forma and a committee structure, and recruiting members and electing a board were the next steps. Gentry expects the membership-ownership campaign to launch later this fall, though a storefront could be several years off.

Downtown Went Through This About Seven Years Ago

Gentry's column ends with a look back. A business owner told her downtown tends to change in seven-year cycles, and about seven years ago it went through a similar stretch. The Alpena Mall closed, and downtown picked up Colburn Outfitters, Glik's, Cobbygoose, Prattscape and the Style Wherehouse. Sweet Baby James, the Bluebird Boutique, Two Bit Arcade, Freier's Pizzeria and Red Brick Tap & Barrel opened around then. Both cinemas closed, and a fire at John A Lau closed Thunder Bay Theatre.

Two names show up on both lists. Sweet Baby James opened during the last wave and closed this summer, while Thunder Bay Theatre, shut down by that fire, is now in the final weeks of its fundraising to reopen. Gentry's own answer to her headline was "I don't think so," and she pointed to the businesses and people investing in downtown's next stretch.

If you're wondering what a storefront change near you means for your street, or want to talk about downtown Alpena property, Eric Arnoldi keeps up with these changes block by block and is happy to share what he's hearing. Let's Connect.