As Antrim County tourism has changed around it, Traverse Bay Farms has stayed put in Bellaire -- and has 25 years of memories to prove it
Bellaire, MI (PRUnderground) September 7th, 2026
For 25 years, the same specialty food shop has sat along the M-88 corridor in Bellaire, watching the seasons -- and the tourists -- roll through. This September, Traverse Bay Farms marks a quarter-century in the heart of Northern Michigan, from its Bellaire storefront to its second location in Elk Rapids.
It's a vantage point few local businesses hold long enough to talk about. Over 25 years, founder Andy LaPointe has watched a summer Saturday in Bellaire change from one era of Up North tourism to another -- the ebb and flow of the season, the shift in who's stopping in, and how a small food company built to serve the local community the visitors passing and customers across the nation through has adapted along the way.
"You don't stay on the same street for 25 years without noticing how the place changes around you," said LaPointe, founder of Traverse Bay Farms. "The corridor today doesn't look like it did in 2001. But the reason people pull in hasn't changed -- they want something that tastes like Northern Michigan."
Across those 25 years, the company has grown from a local storefront to another retail location in Elk Rapids into an award-winning brand -- with more than 38 honors across its line of salsas, fruit jams, barbecue sauces, salad dressings, and cherry juice concentrate -- while keeping both stores rooted in Antrim County and the communities that started it.
To mark the milestone, Traverse Bay Farms is celebrating throughout September at its Bellaire and Elk Rapids locations, and online at traversebayfarms.com. LaPointe is available for interviews on how the M-88 corridor and Antrim County tourism have changed over a quarter-century of watching the seasons from the same front window.
About Traverse Bay Farms
Founded 25 years ago in Northern Michigan, Traverse Bay Farms provides award-winning specialty foods -- including salsas, fruit jams, barbecue sauces, salad dressings, and cherry juice concentrate. The company operates retail stores in Bellaire and Elk Rapids, Michigan, and ships nationwide from traversebayfarms.com.
