The Cheese Lady to expand; Acoustic Tap Room to move

Feb. 1—TRAVERSE CITY — Two adjoining businesses on the west wide of downtown Traverse City will be separated later this year.

The Cheese Lady and Acoustic Tap Room — which share a history as well as geography — will stop being neighboring businesses come September. Both opened at their current locations in October 2014.

Acoustic Tap Room co-owners Susan Prescott and Bruce Grossman signed an extension of their lease to stay at 119 N. Maple St. through August. That will allow Acoustic Tap Room to move its tasting room and production to property in Interlochen at 17140 Honor Highway.

Acoustic Tap Room is also looking to open a second location in Kingsley. Grossman said the business is currently "going through all the formal hoops" in Kingsley for a suitable location.

The Cheese Lady, which has operated the Traverse City location of the franchise just to the south of Acoustic Tap Room at 600 W. Front St., is expanding its operation and plans to use the building on Maple Street as a commercial kitchen.

"We need more space," Traverse City owner Tina Zinn said. "We're already talking about what we're going to do when we move over there."

The Cheese Lady has 150 different cheeses from around the world, Zinn said. The business — with Zinn's daughter Kim Fish as store manager — also makes several dips in house.

Zinn said more space is needed for the dip production line at The Cheese Lady. The business also produces several exclusive cheese dips for several wineries and breweries in the area.

"It's gotten pretty crazy the number of dips that we sell," said Zinn, who said an outstanding staff helped make the expansion possible.

Zinn said The Cheese Lady makes four different kinds of cheese dip during the offseason and another couple during the summer months. Zinn said The Cheese Lady also sells at four different farmer's markets from May through October.

In addition to using the commercial kitchen for The Cheese Lady, Zinn said she plans to make the space available for other small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Zinn said a commercial kitchen space is always in demand.

"You're not going to have a hard time filling it," she said.

Prescott and Grossman will move the tasting room and production for Acoustic Tap Room to a renovated farmhouse on three acres later this year.

The 17140 Honor Highway property the couple purchased in early 2022 is just west of the Northstar Mobile Home Park on U.S. 31.

Acoustic Tap Room "serves locally-crafted mead, hard cider, cysers and munchies in a laid-back tasting room that encourages music, arts, interaction and more," according to its website.

The business plans to continue that trend in Interlochen as well as the potential spot in Kingsley.

Acoustic Tap Room produces product served at Right Brain Brewery, the Hofbrau and the soon-to-be-opened Loco Boys Brewing Company on 901 W. Front St.

Despite knowing Acoustic Tap Room would have to leave the location it opened on Grossman's Oct. 21 birthday didn't make it an easy one though.

"That location has worked out really well for us," Grossman said. "We haven't found a viable spot in Traverse City with how we operate."

"It's been so amazing; just incredible," Prescott said. "Our customers, the best people, seem to find us. We didn't have any issues."