The Little Fleet – Traverse City, Michigan
Return Visit in 2018
The wooden bleachers serve a dual function. They screen the outdoor biergarten seating area from the street. They also provide a variety of vantage points to people watch while enjoying beverages. Likewise, the planter boxes with skinny trees serve a dual purpose of helping trees to grow on what is otherwise a concrete parking lot, and to give a place to sit around the tree. The relatively low slung platforms have sufficiently deep of an area for several people to sit.
Compost and recycling are prioritized on the side of the wooden bleachers. This is clearly designed by green and blue signs that distinguish between the two. Environmental consciousness is clearly important for the demographic group(s) that Little Fleet is trying to attract.
A pergola is capped with corrugated transparent roofing. This covers the skinny tables and benches below. Efforts are being made to train what appears to be hops up the pergola structure.
Bistro tables and stools of a few varying shades of gold and yellow – also common beer colors – helps to provide varied options for people to sit. The taps are operating from a refrigerated truck behind them. The food trucks that make up the “little fleet” are to either side. A substantial tent with festoon lights strung along its ends, provides an enjoyable spot for people to gather both during the day and night.
Corwood BBQ is one of the food trucks in the Little Fleet. For the entrepreneurs that manage them, this is far more cost effective and appropriate for the regional climate with only a few peak weather months out of the year, than is a bricks and mortar business with the related costs of upkeep.
Finally, the outdoor space is supported by a weather protected indoor space. This is also where the bathrooms and a more extensive bar are located.