✍️ Support the Interlochen Depot – Help Us Create a Vibrant Community Hub!

We need your support to bring the Interlochen Depot to life — a welcoming, vibrant community space right in the heart of Interlochen!

Our plans for the Interlochen Depot include:
✅ A small food truck space featuring De Food Truck and possibly other local food trucks and community events in the future.
✅ A spot for a new incubator truck to help ambitious community members make their dreams of owning a food truck come true.
✅ Picnic tables and seating for gathering and enjoying local food.
✅ A beautifully landscaped area with native plants and flowers.
✅ Micro trails and a nature preserve to create a peaceful connection with nature for everyone to enjoy.
✅ Regenerating native vegetation and endangered plants to preserve our beautiful area.

The Interlochen Depot is designed to be a true community hub — a place where residents and visitors can come together to relax, eat and connect. The property is located in the Village Commercial District (VC), which means the intended use is a “permitted use by right.” Under Michigan law, that means the proposed use should be allowed without needing special approval or a variance.

🚧 What’s the Problem?
Doing something new that isn’t clearly defined in the zoning ordinance is creating huge delays. Despite the property being properly zoned for food truck use, we’ve faced unexpected roadblocks from the township. Township officials have suggested that we need both a land use permit and a special use permit — which isn’t typically required for a permitted use by right.

Additionally, there’s confusion around whether food trucks on private property are regulated under the township’s zoning ordinance — which currently focuses on food trucks on public property.

We’ve expressed our willingness to work with the township and even donate our time to help draft appropriate zoning laws that reflect the best interests of the community and its natural spaces — but it remains unclear whether the township is willing to work with us.

We’ve been working hard to clarify these issues with the township, but the delays are putting the project — and the positive impact it will have on the community — at risk.

💪 Why Your Support Matters
By signing this petition, you are helping us show the township that the community wants and needs the Interlochen Depot. Your support will demonstrate that this project is not only legally sound but also widely supported by the people who will benefit from it the most — YOU!

🌱 Our Vision
Our goal is to open De Food Truck with a small seating area and gathering space this season while we continue working on the larger vision for the Depot. We also plan to organize a community cleanup day and plant native flowers and greenery, creating a space that reflects the beauty and spirit of Interlochen. We are excited to play a part in preserving and regenerating a natural area right here in our community.

✍️ Sign the petition today to help us get the Interlochen Depot up and running! Let’s show the township that this is a project the community believes in and supports. Together, we can make the Interlochen Depot a reality!
Thank you!
Feel free to contact us for more information about the project or find us on social media — we have a full detailed proposal available to read online.