If you wanted to see the changing face of Saugatuck, yesterday was the day.
On her final day in business, Doc’s Café owner Yvonne Dougherty threw a party for her many customers friends.
There was good food, her classic Sledgehammer coffee (and wine), plus plenty of what-am-I-going-to-do-now lamentations from folks who have come in every day — “literally,” one said — since she opened her converted-garage doors on September 11, 2000.
Fans of all ages flocked to Doc's on its final day.
“As cheesy or clichéd as this may sound,” Yvonne wrote in a farewell letter,
you’ve become like family to me. While discovering what kind of milk you prefer in your latte and the variety and quantity of sweetener, I’ve also learned about you. I’ve learned about your families and your careers.
You’ve shared with me your successes and your hardships. In return, you’ve learned an awful lot about me — perhaps, at times, to the chagrin of my 3 children (all former Doc’s employees at one time or another) and my husband (the man who truly made this dream possible).
Yvonne promises to open a new incarnation of Doc’s — somewhere — “very soon.”
Meanwhile, across the street — literally — Saugatuck Craft Butchery threw a welcome-to-the-neighborhood party for itself. They’re the newest shop to open in the first phase of the Saugatuck retail/residential/office redevelopment — the same project that, in its next phase, will demolish the building housing the now-former Doc’s, among others.
The crew and customers are all smiles at Saugatuck Craft Butchery.
I’m not much of a red meat eater, but the spiced hamburgers that were free for the sampling were — literally — the best burgers I’ve ever tasted. That includes Shake Shack — and Big Top.
The plaza by the river was rockin’. There was music, food, and an old-fashioned, meet-your-neighbors vibe. It’s exactly what the developers of Saugatuck envisioned several years ago — but it was exactly the type of friendly, funky place Doc’s already was.
Thanks for the memories, Yvonne. We hope you’ll resurface somewhere, soon.
Thanks for coming, Saugatuck Craft Butchery. We hope you’ll be here a long time, as the area grows and thrives around you.