MANISTIQUE, Mich. (WZMQ) – One of the latest additions to Manistique is bringing good food and good vibes to the downtown.
Treats & Things opened at 123 South Cedar Street late last summer. It’s the vision of co-owners Lisa Rosebush and Beth Atkinson.
“This building didn’t have anything in it,” said Rosebush. “[Atkinson] had always thought about wanting to have, what? An ice cream machine?”
“Soft serve ice cream!” Atkinson laughed.
Rosebush also began to laugh, “A soft serve ice cream machine!”
After two decades of laughter and friendship, the pair decided to go into business together. In addition to that soft-serve ice cream, Treats & Things serves up slushies, nachos and cheese, Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs, and throwback candies.
“Everything else is restaurants or bars downtown,” Rosebush said. “Just having the soft serve ice cream and the hot dogs, it’s an easy, affordable lunch for people.”
Those are the “treats.” As for the “things,” the shop offers a wide variety of merchandise from accessories and home goods to décor and novelty items.
“They come in here and they usually hit that door and then they look back there and go, ‘Wow!'” said Rosebush. “All of a sudden, you’ll just hear somebody crack up in the back room and it’s like, ‘Okay, somebody’s seen something!'”
“Even little kids like to look in because there’s toys and stuff on their level, so they get to shop too,” Atkinson added. “That’s kind of fun.”
The duo says the public’s response has been good so far, especially during the warmer months. They are looking forward to their first full summer in business this year.
“We realized how much this is a tourist destination,” said Atkinson. “I owned the pet store for 20 years and that was reoccurring customers, but this, tourism makes a big, huge difference.”
“Events that Manistique has really bring a lot of people,” Roesbush said. “Those days were really good and the campground’s been really good to us.”
Rosebush and Atkinson hope to provide Treats & Things customers with a one-of-a-kind experience and for each one to leave with a smile.
“People don’t know what they’re expecting when they walk in, so when they come in they are pleasantly surprised,” said Atkinson. “We’ve always got music playing; they come in dancing. There ain’t no rules! Just to have fun.”
Treats & Things is open Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. To see more of what’s inside the shop, visit the Treats & Things Facebook page.
