Old Mission General Store

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  This is an unusual place. If you give yourself over to the experience you will enjoy it every bit as much as we did. Looking for a place to eat, and not realizing how small Old Mission is, we thought we would get something to tide ourselves over. But after an excellent smoked whitefish sandwich on well baked french bread we were set. Ate outside and enjoyed the superb scenery. Back inside, the 5 cent (that's right a nickel) size coffee that was an option hit the spot, alongside with one of our kids' choices of a ten cent root beer from a barrel, and a black cherry phosphate (old time-y style.) Staff was witty and eccentric in just the right doses. The place is chock a block with unusual items--sundries, things you may need (shampoo, soap) things you may not (slingshots, foghorns) and I keep thinking about getting back there. It felt like a dream it was so off beat, but the real good food made sure it was here and now. Next time I will definitely get one of the terrific looking eclairs.

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  Posted on 08.01.13 Nick T.

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  Our expectations were quite low when we decided to drop in here for some lunch. But bit were we surprised by the quality and taste of these made to order sandwiches. They were very tasty & very large sized, we ended up only eating half & saved the rest for a picnic lunch the next day. It did take awhile to get our 5 sandwiches made, but we were in no hurry and found a nice table out front to wait for our food. When it arrived, it was delivered by 3 of the staff all with proud smiles on their face. It was a great lunch stop and we'll worth it!

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  Posted on 07.29.13 Dave C.

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  If "Petticoat Junction's" store owner Sam Drucker had a grandson who dropped the brown acid in the Haight, then came home to take over the family enterprise...well, it might look something like the Old Mission General Store.
  
  The first thing you have to remember is that this is primarily a store for tourists. It's also a kind of love letter to historic Old Mission, before the peninsula became home to trendy vineyards and plutocrats' bayside mansions. So, walking inside, you find yourself in a sort of half-business, half-museum.
  
  The place sells a little bit of everything -- food, booze, antiques, retro toys and other fun stuff. It has a small, eclectic selection of deli items, and an ice cream/breakfast/lunch counter.
  
  My suggestion: Arrive with an open mind, and with time to spare so you can truly explore the place. Don't worry about outcomes. And have some ice cream.  If you're a goal-oriented shopper, then you'd probably be happier driving back into Traverse City.

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  Posted on 11.02.11 Ellen P.

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  Okay, okay, okay.  It isn't all that clean.  It's a general store.  It's way the hell out on Old Mission peninsula, it's the only game in town, they really don't have to work to get people streaming through the doors.  I'm not excusing it.  I'm just stating the facts.  If there were another general store, right across the street, perhaps they would buy a broom.  And dustpan.  Or hire it out to a cleaning service.
  
  And that is absolutely ALL that is wrong with Old Mission General Store.  Folks, think of it this way:  There is NO other place like this, here, in another state, another country, or a parallel universe.  Nothing.  This is the real deal.  Cramped, stocked floor to rafters with all manner of gewjaws, froofraws, flimflams and un-neccesities.  Antique moosehead figurines.  Bottles of hootch.  Civil war fakeries.  Candy.  They'll whip up a ham, egg and swiss on rye if you give them a half hour; their deli section is a curious meeting of delicious and disarray.  They may have sold lingerie, I wasn't paying attention.  Ice cream cones.  Old single-shot Coke in the glass bottle.  (May not actually contain cocaine.)  You could easily outfit a dogsled search party or decorate a Hong Kong loft with the ephemera hanging off every surface.  Unique.
  
  The creme de la creme is the owner.  What a hoot.  Guy puts on a floor show, whether anyone's listening or not.  We heard his soliloquy on the Michigan volunteer regiment's staggering losses at Gettysburg.  Amazing.  (All you shallow simpletons who can't stand this place?  Get your ass over to Cracker Barrel.  That's more your speed.  Everything done according to corporate plan.  Bah!)  It's like the Bear Band from Chuck E Cheese escaped and opened their own shop.  Off the grid.
  
  Oh, and Susan J, Rachel L?  That behavior you experienced wasn't rudeness.   It was small-town commerce, in small-town America.   And isn't this an indictment of our entire American society? Well, you can do what you want to us, but we're not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America! Gentlemen!

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  Posted on 09.26.11 Kevin S.

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  We visited family in Traverse City who mentioned this place, so we stopped in for a quick looksie and a bite for lunch on our way back from the Old Mission lighthouse.  It was definitely a curiosity, and the back room especially felt like you were stepping back in time.  However, it's really not remarkable enough to warrant a stop all on its own.  The staff definitely played the old-timey role, but bordered on rude and were not very helpful in navigating the store, telling you where/how to order food or where/how to pick it up - you have to elbow your way in and order at the counter, and they will serve it to you through the counter in the adjacent room.  And the food served itself?  Skip it - everything we had (the loaded nachos and a sandwich) tasted like it came out of a can.

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  Posted on 05.26.11 Erin D.

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  I am new to Yelp, solely to advise people not to come to this store!  I have NEVER felt more uncomfortable shopping anywhere in literally my entire life.  The aisles are thin and you wind up bumping into things as people come in and out.  Because it is a food store/ice cream parlor/antique shop all combined in one, many families who seem to come here are obviously on vacation and just trying to enjoy a little old fashioned style. Unfortunately, if you take pictures (another family did this upon entering), they will go apeshit on you and make you feel very uncomfortable (another family experienced this, and left moments thereafter).  Friendly advice to the store owner: post signs regarding this outside, if it is such a big deal.  Furthermore, the [recovering drug-addict] cashier seemed to watch my entire family like a hawk while we shopped.  I was going to buy some sort of souvenier to remember my trip up the peninsula, but would have rather tipped a winery 6 dollars than given this place a cent.  My parents bought two kiddie cone ice creams-- 3 dollars a cone later, I am just baffled by the ridiculousness of this place.

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  Posted on 07.27.10 Rachel L.

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  I really enjoyed our unplanned little stop at this historical gem. It's been in operation for 160 years!!! We planned to run in for a couple drinks & found a store full of rare treasures, including rare sodas, lots of booze, a deli, baked goods, medicines...even brake fluid! We left with our beverages, a warm, crusty asiago loaf & a (huge) block of 12 year old Michigan cheddar cheese...DELICIOUS!!!

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  Posted on 11.09.09 K P.

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