If there is one thing a tourist must see when visiting Plymouth its Kellogg Park.
The small park serves as a town square of sorts for the community. It’s where the town’s festivals and events are held. It’s where people go to walk their dogs or sit down to relax or take a summer stroll. Businesses downtown want to set up shop overlooking it so more foot traffic heads their way.
“Clearly the focus point is Kellogg Park, the jewel of downtown,” says Paul Sincock, the city manager for Plymouth. “That makes for a vibrant downtown and for vibrant neighborhoods.”
It’s also the intersection point for most of the city’s major roads, such as Penniman Avenue, Ann Arbor Trail and Main Street. Most of the city’s businesses line those roads, stretching out from the downtown core that surrounds Kellogg Park. The neighborhoods seamlessly integrate into the business corridors, creating a solid density of buildings throughout the town.
“It’s unique and it sets us apart from other downtowns,” says Sherrie Pryor, operations director for Plymouth’s Downtown Development Authority. “We’re very fortunate to have the city laid out like this and to have everything grow up organically around it.”
That density, and lack of vacant lots to break up the continuity of buildings, makes the city more walkable and welcoming. It invites residents and visitors to wander in the town and discover new businesses and features snuggly fit into a pleasantly crowded downtown.
“Expect the unexpected,” says Sharon Peigh, a longtime downtown business owner and resident. “People will walk into my store and say, ‘I didn’t know that was here. I didn’t know you had a town square.’ People are blown away by what we have here.”
The rise of the restaurants
For decades downtown Plymouth served as a traditional small-town downtown with lots of small-business retailers and a sprinkling of restaurants. That started to change in the last 10 years as downtowns across Metro Detroit started to become destination spots with lively night life.
“We had 10 restaurants pop up out of nowhere,” says Jan Eisen, a Plymouth resident. “There’s really something for everybody.”
Today, it seems like you can’t walk a block of downtown without passing a restaurant or coffee house or bar or some sort of food-service businesses. There are the normal corporate staples, such as Jimmy Johns, Subway and Starbucks. But there are also a large number of unique establishments, such as E.G. Nicks, 336 Main Martini Bar and Doyle’s Tavern.
The 1999 Tavern occupies an old downtown garage. It opens up the old garage door in the summer so patrons can enjoy patio dinning. Sean O’Callaghan’s exudes an old-world Irish pub’s ambiance by surrounding its customers with dark wood paneling, historical pictures and antiques. Although Pryor suggests trying all of these places, she swears by the Burger Spot, which is odd for someone with her particular taste for food.
“I’m a vegetarian and the Burger Spot is one of my favorite places,” Pryor says.
For those looking to stay in Plymouth, there is the 932 Penniman bed and breakfast. The 1903 Victorian mansion offers all of the turn-of-the-century charm one expects after looking at its carefully restored exterior.
The downtown also has a wide range of eclectic businesses from the Penniman Art Gallery to the home-décor store Sideways Inc. Longtime staples like these help distinguish downtown Plymouth from Metro Detroit’s other downtowns.
Festive events
It’s difficult to walk through downtown Plymouth on a weekend and not notice something going on. The town has a wide range of festivals that take place throughout the year, ranging from holiday and ice sculpture festivals in the winter to summer parades and art festivals in the summer.
“Every weekend there is something going on here,” Eisen says. “I just hope too many people don’t find out about it. It’s already too busy at times.”
In the winter, Plymouth will celebrate the holidays with the Santa’s Arrival festival in late November. It’s topped off with the lighting of the town’s Christmas tree in Kellogg Park. After the holidays, the city will fill Kellogg Park with elaborate ice sculptures for its International Ice Spectacular in January. The sculptures stay up until they start to melt away.
The warmer months are packed with festivals and events. There are the normal staples, such as the Fourth of July Parade and the Art in the Park art festival in July. But there are also other festivals more unique to Plymouth, such as the Chili Cook Off in early October and Pumpkin Caper over Halloween. The Pumpkin Caper encourages young kids to trick or treat through downtown stores and enjoy Halloween games in Kellogg Park.
“We get throngs of people in here for that,” Pryor says. “It’s like New York City with people shoulder to shoulder and the kids’ costumes are amazing.”
There are more than festivals going on though. The Plymouth Canton Symphony Society performs in the old Penn Theater in downtown which is being restored. That theater also shows second-run (I’m not sure how to say movies that aren’t premiering but haven’t gone to video yet) movies for $3 a ticket.
There are also a variety of concerts being performed in Kellogg Park. Those range from the “Music in the Park Children’s Concert Series” on Wednesday afternoons to “Thursday Night Community Band Concert Series” to the “Friday Night Music in the Air Concert Series.”
A vast majority of these events are geared toward families and young children. However, there are a number of entertainment options for adults, such as the concerts held at the local restaurants and bars periodically throughout the year. It basically adds up to people who can’t find something to do in Plymouth aren’t looking very hard.
“We have a lot going on down here,” Pryor says.