Dreaming Bigger for Michigan’s Sunrise Side: A New Chapter for Lake Life Cottages in Downtown East Tawas
Phil & Sharon
Never did we imagine where one big idea in 2021 would take us.
Almost five years ago, we dreamed big for Michigan’s Sunrise Side and decided to do something that, at the time, plenty of people thought we were a little crazy for doing.
We built luxury cottages and an upscale waterfront event venue on the shores of Tawas Bay.
We believed people were looking for something different. We believed they would travel to the Sunrise Side for beautiful waterfront accommodations, elevated events and experiences, and the warm, small-town hospitality that makes the Tawas Bay area so special.
And they did.
What started as a vision became Lake Life Cottages and The Beach Barn, and today we are incredibly proud to welcome couples, guests and visitors from across Michigan and beyond to experience this beautiful part of our state.
Now, almost five years later, we’re dreaming bigger again.
A New Chapter in Downtown East Tawas
Our next chapter takes us into the heart of downtown East Tawas and the former William Look & Sons building.
Here, we plan to create three unique spaces, each with its own identity and purpose:
The Garage Cocktail Lounge
The Sunrise Club by Lake Life Cottages
The Guild
But our vision is much bigger than renovating an old building or opening three new businesses.
We see an opportunity to restore a piece of East Tawas history, create places for our local community to gather and bring new experiences to the Tawas Bay area — especially during the months when tourism traditionally slows.
And before we show you what this building will become, we want you to see where we’re starting.
200 Newman Street, East Tawas Michigan. Future Home of The Garage Cocktail Lounge and The Sunrise Club
Preserving the Past While Creating What Comes Next
Thanks to @justinandhaylee Photography and the incredibly talented Haylee Hill, we recently captured some of the “before.”
We think those photographs matter.
Years from now, when people are gathering inside these finished spaces, we want to remember where this journey began — and we want you to be able to look back with us.
Because this project isn’t about erasing the history of the former William Look & Sons building.
It’s about uncovering it, preserving its character and allowing the building’s past to become part of its future.
Squire Whipple bowstring trusses above the former showroom
One of the architectural features we’re most excited about is inside the former automobile showroom.
Our plan is to open that space back up to its original architecture and expose the Squire Whipple bowstring trusses, often simply called Whipple trusses, that have been hidden from view.
Rather than covering those pieces of history back up, we want to celebrate them.
Former Showroom Looking into the Parts room
Showroom looking onto Newman Street
We know a restoration like this will come with discoveries and surprises. We may uncover things that change a design decision or cause us to rethink a plan.
Upstairs in the Front of the Building
We want to share those moments, too.
The before. The demolition. The discoveries. The restoration. The design. And eventually, the transformation.
We’re taking you along for the journey as we bring life back to this iconic East Tawas corner.
And when the doors eventually open, three very different experiences will be waiting inside.
The Garage Cocktail Lounge
The Garage will be a comfortable, upscale cocktail lounge where the history of the property meets something entirely new.
Its name is intentional.
The former William Look & Sons property has deep automotive roots, and we want The Garage to pay tribute to that history without becoming a theme.
Think thoughtfully crafted cocktails, great conversation and a space that feels equally comfortable for someone who lives around the corner and someone discovering East Tawas for the first time.
Meet friends for a cocktail. Begin an evening downtown. Stop in before dinner or finish the night after an event.
Most of all, gather.
Former Service Station-Will be the Garage Cocktail Lounge
The Sunrise Club by Lake Life Cottages
The Sunrise Club by Lake Life Cottages will be our social club and gathering space.
And one thing we want to make clear from the beginning:
The Sunrise Club will be open to the public.
Our goal is to create a beautiful, comfortable and elevated space where people genuinely want to spend time.
One of the experiences we’re most excited about is welcoming visiting chefs for fine-dining evenings featuring plated dinners and menus created specifically for each event.
Imagine coming north for a winter weekend, checking into Lake Life Cottages along Tawas Bay, heading downtown for a cocktail and sitting down that evening for an intimate dinner prepared by a visiting chef.
Now imagine being a local resident in the middle of February and enjoying that same experience right here at home.
That second part is every bit as important to us as the first.
We want The Sunrise Club to be somewhere locals can gather after the busy summer season ends — to meet old friends, make new ones and perhaps find themselves sitting next to someone experiencing Tawas for the first time.
Those connections are part of what makes a small town special.
Visitors meeting locals. Locals meeting new people. Everyone gathering around food, cocktails, music and shared experiences.
We don’t want visitors simply to come to Tawas.
We want them to experience Tawas.
The Sunrise Club will also offer an optional membership program with additional benefits, including discounts and early registration for ticketed dinners, visiting-chef experiences and special events.
We’ll share much more about membership and programming as we get closer to opening.
The Guild: Gathering on a Larger Scale
The Guild will be our largest event space, designed to accommodate approximately 250+ seated guests.
It will provide the Tawas Bay area with another option for weddings, celebrations, corporate gatherings, community events and larger private functions.
Our experience with The Beach Barn has taught us something important:
People will travel to Michigan’s Sunrise Side for an elevated event experience.
The Guild will allow us to accommodate events that simply don’t fit at The Beach Barn while introducing even more people to East Tawas and the surrounding area.
But private events are only part of what we envision for The Guild.
Some of what excites us most will happen when the traditional tourism season has ended.
Old Body Shop—To become The Guild
October Through May: A Different Kind of Tawas Season
We don’t believe Michigan’s Sunrise Side should only be a summer destination.
From October through May, we want to build a calendar of experiences that gives visitors a reason to make the drive north — and gives those of us who live here more reasons to enjoy our own community.
Food. Music. Art. Makers. Visiting chefs. Seasonal celebrations. Special dinners. Unique events and experiences.
Some may be intimate evenings at The Sunrise Club. Others may fill The Guild. A weekend might begin or end with cocktails at The Garage.
Different experiences, but all with the same purpose:
Creating something worth coming to the Sunrise Side for.
Creating an Entire Tawas Bay Weekend
This is where the larger vision comes together.
Imagine East Tawas in November, February or April.
You check into Lake Life Cottages along the shores of Tawas Bay.
You head downtown for cocktails at The Garage, attend a visiting-chef dinner at The Sunrise Club or experience a special event at The Guild.
The next morning, you grab coffee or breakfast locally, walk downtown, shop, have lunch at another local restaurant and explore Tawas Bay and Lake Huron.
Maybe you stay another night.
That’s the experience we want to help create.
And Lake Life Cottages doesn’t need to provide every piece of it.
We shouldn’t.
Our locally owned restaurants, shops and businesses are an essential part of what makes the Tawas area worth experiencing.
We don’t want to compete with what makes this community special. We want to add to it — bringing more people here, encouraging them to stay longer and giving them more reasons to explore the businesses throughout our community.
Giving Michigan Another Reason to Turn East
Michigan is filled with incredible destinations, and the west side of our state has done an amazing job of becoming known for waterfront communities, dining, events and weekend experiences.
We believe the Sunrise Side deserves its place on that list.
We aren’t trying to turn East Tawas into somewhere else.
Quite the opposite.
We want people to discover what is already here:
Lake Huron. Tawas Bay. Downtown East Tawas. Our locally owned businesses. Our slower pace. Our community. Our people.
Come north for an experience. Watch the sunrise over Lake Huron. Walk downtown. Meet a shop owner. Find a restaurant you love.
And maybe East Tawas becomes somewhere you return to again and again.
Three Spaces. One Shared Vision.
When we look at the former William Look & Sons property, we don’t see three separate businesses.
We see three distinct spaces working together toward something much bigger.
The Garage Cocktail Lounge — a place to gather over a great cocktail while honoring the automotive history of the property.
The Sunrise Club by Lake Life Cottages — a place for locals and visitors to meet, dine, connect and experience something new.
The Guild — a place to celebrate, gather and bring larger events and experiences to Michigan’s Sunrise Side.
Together, we hope they become another reason to visit East Tawas. Another reason to stay an extra night. Another reason to explore downtown. And another reason to experience Michigan’s Sunrise Side during every season of the year.
A piece of downtown East Tawas history
We’re Dreaming Big Again
In 2021, we took a chance because we believed people would come to the Sunrise Side for something special.
They did.
Now we’re taking another chance — this time in the heart of downtown East Tawas.
We’re going to uncover the history of this building, preserve what deserves to be preserved and thoughtfully create what comes next.
And we’re going to take you along for the entire journey.
We’ll share the before.
We’ll share what we uncover.
We’ll share the restoration.
We’ll share the transformation.
And eventually, we’ll open the doors and share the finished spaces with you.
A historic East Tawas building given new life. A place for locals to gather.
A reason for visitors to come north.
More opportunities for our local businesses.
And another reason to experience Michigan’s Sunrise Side — all year long.
The Garage—The Sunrise Club—The Guild.
Three unique spaces inside one remarkable piece of East Tawas history — with one shared vision for what Michigan’s Sunrise Side can be all year long.
This is the before.
Follow along as we bring this iconic East Tawas corner back to life.
We can’t wait to show you what’s next.