Plans keep developing for downtown area
Maker’s market, new restaurant and gathering space coming to Buchanan
Those working on the ongoing revitalization of downtown Buchanan believe that three of the small city’s shortcomings will be addressed with the completion of the historic Redden Building before the end of the year.
The project, which was undertaken by residents Michael and Elaine Rowland, will provide about 3,000 square feet for a new restaurant, cidery and meadery called Thistledown, which will be operated by Brian Dougherty, co-founder of the nearby River St. Joe.
In addition, the building will include two short-term rentals on the second floor because the nearest hotel rooms are located in Niles. And perhaps most importantly, space is being set aside to create a type of incubator for area food vendors, retailers and other businesses.
Ashley Regal, director of LiveBuchanan and the city’s assistant director of community development, has been overseeing the effort to bring a maker’s market to the Redden Building at Front Street and Days Avenue.
So far, three businesses have signed up for space in the market — including McBain Lane Farms, which will offer fresh farm goods and groceries, as well as Taqueria Don Chepe and Diana’s Kitchen, which have been testing the market with food trucks at Munchie Mondays in downtown since mid-May.
Regal expects another food and retail vendor when the space — called The Hometown & Co. Mercantile and Food Market — is ready to open sometime in October, about the same time as the restaurant Thistledown.
Plans keep developing and expanding for the downtown area, which was languishing just a decade or so ago until antiques dealers from the Chicago area started moving to the area, attracted by the historic buildings in the city’s core.
And they were followed by cannabis dispensaries that restored and took over many of the remaining spaces in the historic downtown district. Except for the Redden in the center of town, most of the onceempty spaces are now occupied.
“The Redden project is huge because of the size of the building and its prominent location,” says Richard Murphy, Buchanan’s director of community development. “When this is completed, everything else is downhill.”
The completion of the Redden will address three of the biggest requests from residents — restaurants, shops and space where visitors can stay — but it will also serve as one of the main hubs of a social district that the city is developing along Days Avenue moving south from Front Street.
Among other things, Days connects to Buchanan Common — the city’s main gathering spot — and is wider than usual because it once served as a gateway from the train station to the commercial district. Though the Hometown Mercantile space will have limited indoor seating, most will be outside around the building, Regal says.
As the building prepares to open this autumn, festive overhead string lights will be installed above Days, and the Buchanan District Library will make its wall along the street available for public art displays, further enlivening the area.
Perhaps as soon as next year, a streetscape project could get underway that would include trees, sidewalk improvements and even an outdoor fireplace to make the space more of a year-round destination.
Buchanan knows it’s currently nearing the crest of a wave caused by the interest of the cannabis industry. But no one knows how long and to what extent that will last because it already has five dispensaries within about a mile along Front.
The restaurant and retail maker’s market inside the Redden is aimed at ensuring further infilling of spots as they become available, and Regal points out that another incubator — aimed at potential tech and service providers — is planned for the second floor of the library.
Already, spaces that have been revamped are finding “higher and better uses,” that can afford higher rents and prices that come with a town that’s on the rise. Honor Credit Union, for example, just recently moved from its old location at 117 N. Red Bud Trail to a new spot at 128 Main St. that previously housed a Chemical Bank branch.
After nearly a $1 million renovation, Honor turned a bank building, which had been empty for several years, into a bright, modern branch for its growing business in the community while also providing new space for Redbud Insurance Services, which it purchased in December 2021.
It’s apparent that Buchanan is on the rise and Honor wants to be there to support the community as it grows, says Karol Behrle, a Buchanan resident and community development officer for the Berrien Springs-based credit union.
Beyond investing in a new branch office, Honor also is partnering with the new maker’s market as a monetary sponsor and also as an educational resource for the budding entrepreneurs, who might need assistance developing financial skills as their businesses grow.
Hopefully, some of those businesses will grow and take the next step, finding a permanent spot in Buchanan. After testing the market, Don Chepe and Diana’s Kitchen already are taking a first step by moving into the Redden.
Aimed at attracting food trucks for lunch and dinner by creating a regular event, Munchie Mondays already has been extended through the end of August and operators already are asking if it might be extended even longer, Regal says.
Residents and visitors alike enjoy the opportunity for outdoor dining along Days and in Buchanan Common. Imagine what that might turn into with streetscape improvements and an outdoor area that allows for adult beverages.
Nearly a year-round venue. “Michiganders don’t mind a little winter,” Murphy says.
Have you heard?
Waka Dog Cafe in the Campus Shoppes at 1809 S Bend Ave., South Bend, plans to close at the end of business on Saturday Aug. 12. The owner said the closure was the result of the still rising costs of running a family-owned restaurant, and that the family would instead focus its energy on its rapidly growing cleaning company. It sounds as if employees at Waka Dog will be absorbed by the cleaning business. The business originally started in Mishawaka more than 15 years ago. … KPot Korean BBQ is moving into the space that was once occupied by Bar Louie at University Park Mall in Mishawaka. K-Pot is Korean cuisine consisting of grilling meat that you prepare yourself at your table. The chain is mostly located on the East Coast. It hopes to open before the end of the year.
Email Tribune Market Basket columnist Ed Semmler at esemmler@sbtinfo.com.