Business News

Gifts available, gathering to come

Business profile

ESCANABA -- A new business that opened on Ludington Street amidst this year’s major construction has already earned a positive reputation and is still developing.

Water Lily Gifts and Gather, operating at 1113 Ludington St. under the ownership of Brandy Torvinen of Gladstone, sells location-themed souvenirs, decor, home goods and more. The next phase will be to arrange the “gather” element; Torvinen intends to convert the rear of the building’s lower level into a meeting space where classes can be held.

Most recently, the building had been occupied by Superior Driving Academy and Superior Outdoors, which conducted driver’s education and firearm training.

The building is part of the Olson block of Escanaba’s main street and was erected after 1899 but before 1903, according to the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office. It belongs to the Escanaba Central Historic District, which includes the 200 to 1800 blocks of Ludington Street and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.

In the early years, the new building at 1113 was the home of Bink’s Wholesale Liquor and Supply. A bakery was later reported at the address, then a barber. In 1924, it contained a rooming house. Gamble’s Store occupied the building in the late ’20s into the mid 1930s, when T&T Hardware moved in. Other occupants included a Works Progress Administration review office in 1941 and the Red Cross headquarters for Delta County.

The Olson block of which Water Lily Gifts and Gather is part also includes the three addresses to the east -- 1107, 1109 and 1111 -- but 1113 is the only one that retains the original, late-Victorian facade on the upper story.

“Renovations have covered and/or removed all style details from the three eastern storefronts of this building. The second story of the fourth (1113) provides evidence of the original architectural composition of the other three storefronts. These details are confirmed by an early photograph of the Olson Block in a souvenir guide that was published (around) 1903,” states the National Register.

Before Brandy Torvinen and her husband Jeff purchased 1113 Ludington in April of 2025, the last sign over the commercial space had read, “Superior Training Services.” The Torvinens had bought the property for the apartments above and had considered renting out the lower floor before Brandy decided on a vision for a business there.

The couple has lived in Gladstone since 2014, and previously resided in Iowa, Illinois, Houghton County and downstate Michigan.

Visits from relatives outside the area that led to Brandy formulating the idea for a gift shop in Delta County.

“We had family come up for events, and there was hardly any places for them to go or shop,” she explained. “And with the cruise ships coming in and so forth, I just felt like there was a void.”

After renovating one of the two upper-story apartments, the Torvinens set about transforming the downstairs space. Jeff painted the walls and refinished the hardwood floors, but no major renovation was needed. About a year after the couple bought the building, Brandy -- the sole owner of Water Lily Gifts and Gather -- was ready to open the retail shop.

She described the items stocked in the store as U.P.-themed gifts for tourists in addition to gifts for birthdays and other events. While Brandy had expected more tourist traffic, the people who frequent Water Lily have turned out to live nearby.

“Honestly, my main demographic are locals,” Brandy said, expressing some surprise. But it makes sense, she reasoned, noting the short tourist season.

The draw of the store is that it carries “things that are readily available for local people to give as gifts that don’t break the budget, but we also have a lot of other things,” she said.

Between souvenir-type gifts, clothing, candles from Marquette-based nine0six and Company, body butters, crockery and soup mixes, “I’m hoping to have covered all the bases of what somebody would want,” Brandy said.

Towels from the brand Geometry were recommended by several people, so the store now carries them. They are said to be highly absorbent and have found a fan base that includes Kelly Cox, Brandy’s right-hand at Water Lily.

Kelly’s and Brandy’s children married each other, so the two women are now family as well as friends. When Brandy was shopping for items to bring into the store before opening the business, Cox was often along. When it came time to set up shop, Cox helped arrange the store. When the store was ready to open, Cox was interested in seeing customers’ response -- and now she works there several days a week.

Baked goods are often available as a sort of pop-up within 1113 Ludington St. Cox is the baker, and technically her products -- things like cookies and brownies and other sweet treats -- are sold separately, not through Water Lily.

For the vibe of the store, Brandy said, “My goal was to have it feel like a Charlevoix or a Petoskey type of store without the prices of those cities.”

In addition to the previously-mentioned items, other products stocked at Water Lily include food goods made with cherries from the Traverse City area and works by U.P. artists Kelli Korpi, Sara Torvinen and Kim Fleming.

In the coming weeks, Brandy is looking forward to bring her business into its next phase. While the front half of the ground floor is occupied by the gift shop, she’s looking forward to creating a classroom space in the back.

When Ludington Street construction made front access inconvenient and sometimes impossible, businesses like Water Lily -- which opened on May 1 of this year -- utilized a back door. At that time, with people trekking through the building, opening the gathering space seemed premature.

Now that things are settling down, the Torvinens are ready to redecorate the back and begin inviting people to hold classes there. Brandy said she hopes to launch in a couple weeks.

Both Brandy and Cox remarked on how supportive the community has been since the business kicked off this spring.

Cox said she enjoys the warm environment found in the store, fostered by its customers. “It’s like you connect with everybody, and it feels like they’re friends when they leave,” Cox said. “We have an amazing clientele. Like, so friendly, so just supportive.”

The storefront of Water Lily Gifts and Gather is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.