Bluebird Restaurant & Bar

What Bluebird Restaurant & Bar does

Bluebird Restaurant & Bar (legal entity Bluebird Restaurant and Tavern) is a privately held, single-location full-service restaurant and tavern located at 102 East River Street in Leland, Michigan, on the banks of the Leland River in Leelanau County. Founded in 1927 and continuously operated by the Telgard Family, it functions as a heritage dining destination serving a blended customer base of Leelanau County residents and seasonal visitors to northern Michigan, with a menu centered on locally sourced Whitefish and a scenic waterfront experience. The physical footprint comprises a 100-seat indoor dining room and an expanded 100-seat outdoor patio overlooking the Leland River, steps from Historic Fishtown, with seasonal hours (peak Wed–Sun, reduced in winter).

The business operates three revenue streams: (1) on-premise dine-in service, the dominant revenue line, (2) a brand-merchandise e-commerce store at bluebirdleland.com/blue-bird-merch offering apparel, hats, stickers, and Blue Bird Yacht Club (BBYC) merchandise priced between $4 and $69, and (3) digital gift cards sold through the Shift4 payment platform. Distribution is direct-to-consumer both physically (single restaurant) and online (U.S.-wide merchandise shipping). Customer acquisition is overwhelmingly organic, driven by 95+ years of community reputation, word-of-mouth, and a social presence on Facebook and Instagram. There is no external funding, no corporate parent, no documented M&A activity, and no disclosed financial metrics; the company employs approximately nine people.

Commercially, the company is in a post-rebuild phase: a two-year reconstruction completed in 2024 added the expanded riverside patio and remodeled interior, and the merchandise line and BBYC sub-brand were activated in tandem, indicating a deliberate extension of the brand beyond food service. Operations remain fundamentally constrained by single-site geography and seasonality, but the combination of added capacity, a new digital gifting channel, and a merchandise line represents concrete reinvestment-led expansion of the commercial surface.

Name

Bluebird Restaurant & Bar

Legal name

Bluebird Restaurant and Tavern

Website

https://bluebirdleland.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1927

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Bluebird Restaurant & Bar is a 95-year-old, family-owned full-service restaurant and tavern on the Leland River in Leland, Michigan, serving locally sourced Whitefish and waterfront dining to Leelanau County residents and tourists, with a secondary online merchandise line and digital gift cards.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Waterfront Restaurant & Tavern

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (722410)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Neighborhood Bars & Taverns (CRANACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Cocktail Bars & Lounges (CRANACAD)

Keywords

• Waterfront dining
• Restaurant services
• Locally sourced cuisine
• Branded merchandise
• Northern Michigan hospitality

Headquarters

HQ city

Leland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Dine-In Service: Full-service dining restaurant serving locally sourced menu including fresh Whitefish. Offers full menu 11:30am-8pm and pizza until 9pm. Operates with seasonal hours, open Wednesday through Sunday during peak season with limited winter hours.
2. Merchandise Sales: Online merchandise storefront selling branded apparel including t-shirts, hoodies, crewnecks, hats, stickers, and yacht club merchandise. Products priced from $4 (stickers) to $69 (burgees, quarter zips).
3. Gift Cards: Digital gift cards available for purchase through Shift4 payment platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Bluebird Restaurant & Bar is a full-service waterfront restaurant and tavern operating at 102 East River Street in Leland, Michigan, serving a locally sourced menu including fresh Whitefish, pizza, and full bar service from a 100-seat indoor restaurant and 100-seat outdoor patio overlooking the Leland River. The establishment also operates a branded online merchandise store selling Blue Bird apparel, hats, stickers, and Blue Bird Yacht Club (BBYC) burgees, alongside digital gift cards.

Product overview

Bluebird Restaurant & Bar is a northern Michigan restaurant and tavern that operates as a single, unified hospitality establishment offering waterfront dining services and a branded merchandise line. The core business is a restaurant with an expanded 100-seat outdoor patio and 100-seat indoor restaurant overlooking the Leland River. Supporting the dining experience, the company sells Blue Bird branded merchandise including apparel (t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, quarter-zips, hats) and accessories (stickers, burchees), collectively marketed under the 'Bird Merch' line with the Blue Bird Yacht Club (BBYC) sub-brand. The company has operated for over 95 years and underwent a comprehensive two-year reconstruction to feature an outdoor-oriented design.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Blue Bird Yacht Club (BBYC): A yacht club associated with the restaurant, featuring branded merchandise including burpees, sailing hats, and quarter zips.

Products and services

• Waterfront Restaurant Dine-In Service Full-service restaurant and tavern serving a locally sourced menu including fresh Whitefish, pizza, and full bar service from a 100-seat indoor restaurant and 100-seat outdoor patio overlooking the Leland River. Open Tuesday through Sunday with full menu 11:30am-8pm and pizza until 9pm. Targeted at locals and visitors to Leland, Michigan.
• Blue Bird Branded Apparel Branded apparel sold online including classic and neon-sign graphic tees (Classic Employee Tee 2026 Edition, Neon Sign Tee Back Graphic, Neon Sign Tee Front Graphic, Tone-on-Tone Tee, BBYC Tee), long sleeve tees, crewnecks, hoodies, and quarter zips. Prices range from $30 (tees) to $69 (quarter zips). Made in partnership with Comfort Colors, Cotton Heritage, and Enza. Targeted at brand enthusiasts, former visitors, and yacht club community members.
• Blue Bird Branded Headwear Branded hats including the Bird Hat Daddy-O (dad-cap), Perched Bird Dad-Cap, Neon Patch Hat (trucker-style), and Blue Bird Yacht Club Sailing Hat. Prices range from $38 to $48. Targeted at brand enthusiasts and yacht club community members.
• Blue Bird Yacht Club (BBYC) Burgees Classic and Wing Design yacht burgees for the Blue Bird Yacht Club, made of nylon flag material in navy and ecru colors with brass grommets. Approximate size 12x18 inches. Priced at $69. Targeted at boat owners and yacht club community members.
• Blue Bird Stickers Die-cut vinyl stickers that are dishwasher-safe, available in five styles: Neon Sign (5"x2.12"), The Bird (4"x1.27"), Green Bird (3"x4"), Blue Bird Est 1927 (3" diameter), and Blue Bird Round (3" diameter). Priced at $4. Targeted at brand enthusiasts and souvenir buyers.
• Digital Gift Cards Digital gift cards purchasable online through the Shift4 payment platform, redeemable at the Bluebird Restaurant & Bar. Targeted at gift-givers for diners and visitors.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• The Boathouse Restaurant: The Boathouse Restaurant is a waterfront dining venue in the Traverse City area serving similar local seafood and casual fare to a regional tourist and local clientele, with overlapping waterfront-dining positioning.
• Trattoria Stella: Trattoria Stella is a higher-end northern Michigan restaurant in Traverse City's Village at Grand Traverse Commons; comparable as a regional dining destination drawing on the same tourist economy, though it skews more upscale than Bluebird.
• North Peak Brewing Company: North Peak is a Traverse City brewpub offering craft beer and casual food in a downtown tourist setting; comparable as a Michigan craft food-and-beverage operator serving the same northern Michigan visitor base.
• Short's Brewing Company: Short's is a well-established northern Michigan craft brewery in Bellaire with food service; comparable as a Michigan craft food-and-beverage destination that competes for the same regional tourist dollars, though at a larger scale.

Direct peers

• Art's Tavern: Art's Tavern is a historic Leelanau County tavern (Glen Arbor) operating since 1929 as a casual neighborhood gathering spot with full bar and food — directly comparable in heritage, format, and tourist/local customer mix.
• Hop Lot Brewing Co. Hop Lot is a craft brewery and food destination in Suttons Bay, MI serving northern Michigan with a similar combination of locally rooted food and beverage in a casual Leelanau-area setting.
• The Cove: The Cove is an iconic small restaurant located in Leland's Historic Fishtown, immediately adjacent to Bluebird and serving the same mix of locals and Fishtown visitors with casual waterfront dining — the closest direct geographic and conceptual peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/bluebirdleland
• Instagraminstagram.com/blue.bird.leland
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bluebird-restaurant-&-bar

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bluebird Restaurant & Bar