Manistee County – Readers are intrigued by new businesses in the area, but 2022 is the year many local agencies say goodbye.
Several businesses approaching or exceeding 100 years of age are closing or changing hands in 2022. They include Wahr Hardware (108), Linke Lumber (95), Communicraft (127) and Somsel Lumber (102).
Sara and Rick Linke are former owners of Linke Lumber; Don Wahr, former owner of Wahr Hardware; and Dave Somsel of Somsel Lumber have both announced their retirement in 2022. Linke Lumber and Wahr Hardware closed, while Somsel Lumber was sold to Mann-based company Homestead Timbers.
Mexican restaurant La Riviera in Manistee is also closing its doors in 2022 after four years in business. The decision to close has saddened and encouraged many of the restaurant’s patrons, despite management’s announcement that the restaurant will be reopening.
Other businesses closing in 2022 include relatively new businesses in the Manistee area such as Manistee Hobbies, Lake Town Art Manistee (both opening in 2021), Da J Wok and Taqueria Diablo, which opened in February.
new business
While some business owners have chosen to close shop in 2022, others have decided to do business in the Manistee area.
Patricia Shick (left) and her assistant Elizabeth Carroll work the counter at P&L Sammich Barista. Shick opened its new Manistee sandwich shop downtown in March.
Scott Fraley/Journalism AdvocateIn March, Patricia Shick, who also owns Nana’s Cleaning Company, launched her second business in Manistee. Shick, known as P&L Sammich Barista, said the restaurant was opened with the locals in mind.
“I’ve always felt that businesses never cater to locals, they always cater to tourists,” Schick said in March. “That’s why I want to keep my prices (affordable) because who’s going to support you when the tourists leave?”
Environmental consulting firm AKT Peerless Environmental Services announced a new location in Manistee in March.
The Manistee location joins other AKT locations in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Farmington, Saginaw and the San Francisco Bay Area.
According to its website, AKT provides “environmental, economic development, construction and sustainable development services” to private and public sector clients across the country.
Photographer Kaitlyn Griffin (pictured) started her business in Manistee in April.
Courtesy photo/Catelyn GriffinKaitlyn Griffin, a Manistee photography fan, opened up about her photography career with a press spokesperson in August.
“Photography has always been one of my favorite art forms for a number of reasons,” Griffin said. “The biggest has to be the stories that can be created with it — and there are so many ways to tell stories.”
Griffin launched her company, Kaitlyn Griffin Photography, in April.
Wellnested is a new home improvement store in downtown Manistee opening in 2022.
Scott Fraley/Journalism AdvocateWhile Manistee’s Teresa Kieffer registered her home improvement business Wellnested in 2019, she won’t open a store at 429 River St until 2022.
“For years, I’ve dreamed of opening a brick-and-mortar storefront,” Kiefer said in June. “What started out as a creative outlet for me has now led me to this new chapter.”
Wellnested is a home and lifestyle store specializing in professional interior styling, home decor, furniture and specialty gifts.
Luke Kooy, 18, opened his sports card store, Up North Collectors Sports Cards & More, on July 1. The store is located at 237 River St.
Submitted photo/Luke KooyIn just over a month, Luke Kooy has gone from earning his Manistee High School Diploma to opening his own card and collectible store on River Street.
The entrepreneur has built a strong online presence among card collectors, with a YouTube channel with over 19,000 subscribers and an eBay store with over 12,000 items sold.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” Cue said in June. “The opportunity came up recently, so I decided to go for it.”
Ted Fricano is owner of Fricano’s Manistee River at 440 River St.
Jeff Zidd/Journalism AdvocateAfter a year and a half of work, Ted Fricano opened his restaurant on River Street in July.
Fricano owns a string of pizzerias that bear his name in Muskegon and Grand Haven.
Fricano told The News Advocate ahead of his restaurant’s opening that he thinks it sets his restaurant apart.
“Well, on the one hand it’s 75 years old. They’re very uniform (pizzas)—all thin crust, all 12 inches. It’s simple,” he said.
Suzanne and John Long hold a certificate from the Manistee Area Chamber of Commerce at the grand opening of their accounting firm, Salt City CPA, in July.
Scott Fraley/Journalism AdvocateJohn and Suzanne Long—a husband-and-wife accounting team from Southern Michigan—opened their accounting firm, Salt City CPA, in July.
Starting her own accounting firm has been a goal of Longs for more than a decade.
“It’s been fun for us. It’s something we’ve always wanted to do,” Suzanne Long said. “We’ve been talking about starting our own accounting business almost ever since we met – about 15 years ago we were talking about our own business.”
Jamieson Hanna opened Third Life Brewing in Manistee in early November.
Michelle Feder / Press SpokespersonIn November, Jamieson Hanna opened Third Life Brewing in the Iron Works building at 254 River St. in Manistee.
Originally from Detroit, Hanna moved to Manistee to work as a winemaker.
“Third Life Brewing has been a pipe dream of mine for years,” he says. “I’ve been brewing my own beer for a long time, and it’s every homebrewer’s dream to open their own shop.”
Hanna said he is the sole investor in the brewing company and currently serves as the company’s brewer, bartender and janitor.
Adrean Mangiardi directed production.
Submitted photo/Adrean MangiardiMangiardi Films LLC, a nearly 20-year-old video production company, relocated to Manistee from Southeast Michigan in 2022.
Filmmaker Adrean Mangiardi works on professional and personal video projects, and his clients include major companies like Google and Microsoft.
“If it’s video content that you need, we can make it happen,” he told the News Advocate in December.