Matt Dohm has a stack of business cards at Slabtown Barber Shop that have nothing to do with haircuts. They carry the contact information for Nicole VanNess, the City of Traverse City's parking director. He made them to hand to customers who come in upset about the new way they have to pay for parking on Randolph Street.
Those cards sum up what's happening in Slabtown this fall. Randolph Street west of Division has long worked as a place for short stops: a haircut, a loaf of bread, a cone at The Dairy Lodge, a few minutes in a shop you noticed while driving by. Over the next three months, the city's parking trial and one of the corridor's best-known bakeries are both changing how those short stops work. Their decisions land within weeks of each other.
What changed at the curb
About a month before The Ticker reported on it on October 3, 2026, small green pay-to-park signs went up along Randolph from Division west to Cedar Street. Before that, parking on this stretch was free, with a two-hour limit.
Here is how it works now:
- Where: Randolph Street, from Division Street west to Cedar Street.
- How to pay: the ParkMobile app, text, or phone. There are no meters or pay stations on the block.
- How long: a 90-day trial. The city will review it afterward.
- Rates: the city says it set them below its standard rates on purpose.
The published coverage doesn't give the trial's hourly rate, its enforcement hours, or exact start and end dates. The signs on the block are the only reliable source for those. ParkMobile's Traverse City support page says the city's zone numbers run from 6801 to 6897 and tells drivers to get their zone from the local green signs. Check the sign closest to where you parked before you enter a zone in the app.
If the signs went up in early September, the 90-day trial would wrap up around early December. That's an estimate based on the article's "about a month back," not a date the city has announced.
Why the city chose a trial
VanNess told The Ticker the city acted after repeated complaints about congestion on Randolph. Part of the problem is that cars parked on both sides narrow the street. The city could have removed on-street parking from one or both sides. It decided to test paid parking for 90 days instead.
The reasoning centers on turnover. When parking costs money, cars don't sit in one spot as long. Fewer long-parked cars means a wider street, and VanNess said it could also free up more spaces for customers.
That's also why there's no hardware on the block. In her words:
"Using the existing mobile payment system allows the city to test the approach without installing permanent infrastructure."
VanNess said business owners weren't consulted, but property owners got notice before the change. She also said the pilot wasn't meant to raise money, and that its revenue may not even cover what it cost to set up.
Who the two-hour stop served
The owners who spoke to The Ticker describe Randolph's customer base the same way the city describes its traffic problem: lots of people making short visits. They disagree about whether paying by phone helps or hurts those visits.
Dohm says some of his regulars carry flip phones and a few don't have credit cards. He worries they'll get their haircuts somewhere with free parking. Slabtown Barber Shop is at 709 Randolph.
Across the street, Laura Millar opened Artful Interiors at 714 Randolph, Suite 101, instead of downtown, largely because the street parking was free. She told The Ticker she relies on spontaneous customers while she's still building a following. Chad Smartsy, who owns Hair Code Salon next door to her, said the old two-hour limit had been working. Dairy Lodge owner Stacey Popp and her fiancé, Ron "Blue" Moeggenberg, said they wanted a meeting with business owners before the change.
Sleder's Family Tavern at 717 Randolph has a different concern. It has its own lot just west of the restaurant. Front-of-house manager Alicia Mason said the staff worries that customers of nearby businesses will fill it, and that people who see a full lot will assume a long wait at a restaurant that may actually be quiet. If you park there to visit somewhere else on the block, you're taking a spot from Sleder's customers.
Bay Bread follows the grab-and-go crowd to Lake Avenue
The biggest change on Randolph this winter has nothing to do with parking. Bay Bread Company's original shop at 601 Randolph closes at the end of 2026.
The owners, Krystal and Scott Fluette, gave three reasons when they announced a second location in May: their lease was running out, the Randolph building was up for sale, and they needed more space. Back then, the plan was to keep Randolph open until the lease ended in October 2027. By September 29, they had moved the closing up to the end of this year. Starting January 4, the Lake Avenue shop will carry the full lineup of "breads, sweets, sammies, coffees, and so much more."
The new shop is at 131 Lake Avenue, between Cass and Union, in the former Cavallino Café space in the Hagerty building. Its posted hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The menu right now includes breakfast burritos, fruit parfaits, pasta salads and wraps, and there's indoor and outdoor seating. In May, Krystal Fluette said the shop was aimed at Hagerty employees returning to the office and other downtown foot traffic. She also pointed out that several nearby grab-and-go spots, including Maxbauer and Swiches Deli, had closed in recent years.
"Grab-and-go is where the demand is," she told The Ticker.
The parking trial and Bay Bread's move had separate causes. Both come down to the same kind of customer, the person who stops in, buys something and leaves. The city is trying to get those visits to turn over faster on Randolph. Bay Bread is taking its version of that visit to a block full of office workers.
If you're used to Bay Bread's Saturday hours, plan around this: the May schedule had Randolph open Tuesday through Saturday and Lake Avenue open weekdays only. Once Randolph closes, Lake Avenue is the only shop, and its posted hours today are Monday through Friday.
A new bakery coming on West Front
A few blocks away, the corridor is getting a bakery-café. Andy Elliott and Emily Stewart, the chefs behind Modern Bird at 541 W. Front, bought the building next door at 539 W. Front, the former Mary's Kitchen Port. They plan to open a daytime bakery-café there called DayMade. Mary's closed on August 1, 2025, after more than four decades, when its owners retired.
Modern Bird was the only Michigan restaurant on The New York Times' list of the 50 best restaurants in America, and its chefs were 2026 James Beard Award semifinalists. Stewart, a pastry chef, says DayMade will focus on brioche donuts, pastries, breakfast and other sandwiches, and coffee and espresso. Pop-tarts, which she sold at Modern Bird's early farmers market pop-ups, are coming back. Some sandwiches will use Modern Bird's fried chicken. The plan is to open five days a week, weekends included, from early morning to mid-afternoon.
The opening target in May was "late fall." We haven't found any newer update on that date, so treat it as a target, not a confirmed opening.
Not every new opening on this stretch has lasted. Let's Play Studio opened at 531 W. Front this summer and has since closed. Co-founder Miriam Pico is continuing her Mindful and Musical classes at The Alluvion.
Key dates through January
- October 24, 5 to 8 p.m. Common Objects, a gift shop and quilt studio run by Cody Cook-Parrott and Katy Campbell, holds its grand opening in the Front Row Centre building on Front Street.
- Late fall. DayMade's targeted opening at 539 W. Front.
- Around early December. Our estimate for when the Randolph parking trial's 90 days run out, based on when the signs went up.
- End of 2026. Bay Bread's last days at 601 Randolph.
- January 4. Bay Bread's full menu starts at 131 Lake Avenue.
The city says feedback gathered during the trial will shape what it does with Randolph's curb next. Parking Services is the office handling it, and you can reach it at [email protected] or 231-922-0241. If you live in Slabtown and park on Randolph, the next two months are when your input counts.
If you own a home or condo near Randolph and want to talk through how changes like parking rules and new or closing shops come up when buyers ask about the block, Traverse City Real Estate follows Slabtown closely, from Slabtown Flats to the shops on West Front. Schedule a Consultation and we'll go over what's changing on your street.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
