With its flavored coffees, gourmet teas, live music performances, WiFi access and casual, laid-back atmosphere, the
Falling Rock Cafe and Bookstore would easily fit into any big-city urban chic neighborhood.
But the Falling Rock is located at 104 E. Munising Avenue, in the heart of downtown Munising, offering both residents and the Upper Peninsula's seasonal influx of tourists a place to enjoy breakfast or lunch and browse through shelf after shelf of the store's collection of new and used books--more than 20,000 in all.
Owners Jeff and Nancy Dwyer were initially attracted to the U.P. as a vacation spot, then left their positions at the University of Florida to make Munising their permanent home. Their initial remodeling effort turned into a restoration project, giving the Falling Rock a new--yet historic--look.
Nancy Dwyer explained how the couple acquired the store's impressive collection of books, and what makes the Falling Rock a popular destination for tourists and locals of all ages.
"We bought the inventory from two used bookstores that were going out of business and so we obtained about 50,000 used books within the first year we were open," she says. "In addition to filling the dozen or so Internet book orders per week, I also fill special book orders from walk in customers. Our used book collection is mostly rare, hard to find, out of print books."
More than a cafe or a bookstore, the Falling Rock is also a hub of activity for area musicians, meetings and clubs.
"There is live music every Saturday evening. That is one of our busiest evenings. Musicians from all over the country perform. At first we sought out musicians--in recent years, musicians have contacted us," Dwyer says. "They like our venue; the cafe is comfortable, good acoustics, appreciative audience, family environment. We host open mic nights about every three months. Those nights are packed with people ages three to 90 wanting a chance to show off their talents. Also on Wednesday evenings, there is a live music jam."
That's far from the end of things happening at Falling Rock. Wednesday night is also game night, with everyone invited to come play games while listening to the music.
Falling Rock is among the locations for the Pine Mountain Music Festival each summer, and hosts meetings of U.P. sled dog volunteers, Grand Island Marathon volunteers, and many others.
In addition to the Dwyers' support of local music, they also support local art, with classes like drawing, watercolor and jewelry hosted at the café and bookstore. The outside of the Falling Rock recently became a showcase for artist's talents, as well.
"Something new within the past year is the mural on the east side of our building," says Dwyer. "This was in large part, thanks to a DDA facade grant matching funds to businesses to improve business building facades. Alana Luttenton, a mural artist, did a great job depicting local scenes and attractions in Alger County."
The eclectic mix of books, music, food and drinks in a family friendly atmosphere draws an eclectic mix of customers from near and far.
"Our customers are both locals and tourists," says Dwyer. "Our summer business has a very large percentage of tourists. Our winter business is both locals and tourists here for silent winter sports.
"A large percentage of our customers are people that might not be considered locals or tourists. They are people who live here part of the year or visit multiple times per year or once per year. They are people who are driving through town from western U.P. to go downstate or vice versa," she says. "Locals tell us it provides them with a sense of community they cannot get anywhere else."
The Falling Rock also offers an additional something that can't be found in any big city cafe: a generous helping of small town hospitality.
"Many people comment on our friendly staff and welcoming atmosphere. We are not just a coffee shop in any sense of the word; we are so much more. In any one day we may help someone find a campsite or waterfall, call the local bus for transportation for some retired folks, (or) call a local author who lives down the road to come in so a customer can meet them," Dwyer says.
Another feature coming to the cafe will again be a mix of the new and historic.
"One major change in the near future is that we hope to be roasting our own coffee" Dwyer says. "We have a 100-year-old coffee roaster that has been refurbished and is fully functioning. We are just waiting on final approval from the mechanical inspector so we can put in the venting system."
Deb Pascoe is a freelance writer and an award-winning columnist. She also maintains a blog, sobersinglemom, which focuses on her life as a single mom, recovering alcoholic, and codependent pet owner.