I first became acquainted with Loafer's Glory back in the late 80's/early 90's...I can't remember how I found out about this place, but the description of an old small-town livery-turned-mini-mall of boutiques and eating spots sounded interesting, so I made the trek to the tiny village of Blanchard to check it out. What fun! This was back in the days of the Victorian revival, so there was a boutique of Victoriana; a jewelry and candle nook; a bakery; antiques; "country" home accessories; a soda fountain; a candy store; antiques; a restaurant with waitresses in period dress. The place was wall-to-wall shoppers, mostly female...there were even tour buses stopping in.
Fast-forward to 2011. My partner and I, on an antiquing meander through central Michigan, decided to visit Blanchard, and we toyed with the idea of stopping for lunch at Loafer's Glory. What a disappointment. Certainly reflective of the state economy, the establishment has lost a lot of productive store space -- an outdoor antique barn was closed, as was a downstairs restaurant, and some of the little boutique spaces had been consolidated. We found hardly any antiques or domestic handmade craft items; instead lots of what we call CSFC -- cheap "stuff" from China. The old-times/good-times atmosphere seemed somewhat muddied. We were so disappointed, in fact, that we didn't stay for lunch. (And I will give a general shout-out here to the Wildfower Tea Room, in the middle of the buiding, for serving good light-luncheon food. The buttermilk pie is wonderful.)
What would I do to revive the fortunes of this place? I think the building and surrounds have potential. Maybe a small nursery around the barn area; maybe a quilt/yarn shop; maybe an art/craft gallery with an emphasis on local artists/artisans; maybe an area for local food artisans. (Thanks in part to its proximity to two state universities, there are a decent number of artists/artisans in this area.) I don't know. But I know that I don't appreciate visiting a business dedicated to "the good old days" only to find made-in-China merchandise. read more