If you haven’t been to Pinckney in the last few years, what I’m about to say will shock you. But here goes:
Pinckney has the coolest downtown of any small town in Michigan.
By far.
I’ll wait for you to stop laughing. Pinckney? Cool? Hahahahaha!
Yes, it’s true. Pinckney now has the coolest downtown of any small town in Michigan. The downtown is only three blocks long, but I defy you to find any three-block downtown anywhere in Michigan that’s cooler than this one.
Most small downtowns in our state are little more than a collection of pizza shops, greasy spoons and attorney offices. Pinckney used to be pretty much like that, but no more. Downtown Pinckney is now cool. Way cool.
On the Moorehouse Downtown Coolness scale of 1-10 (with 10 being the coolest), I’d say that Pinckney went from about a 1.5 to a 9. And it’s knocking on the door of earning a 10.
If you’re interested in the rest of my rankings, I’d say that Ann Arbor is the coolest big downtown in Michigan (a 10); Traverse City is the coolest medium-sized downtown (a 9.5); and Pinckney is the coolest small downtown. And I’m never wrong.
Pinckney’s march to coolness really began back in 2011, when La Vita Bistro opened its doors. An upscale Italian restaurant with a fantastic menu and a coolness factor that’s off the charts, La Vita Bistro showed everyone that a podunk little town like Pinckney could support a truly great restaurant. People now come from all over Michigan to try the food and experience the ambience at La Vita.
And just look at some of the cool businesses that have opened in downtown Pinckney in the years since:
- The Dio, which has become one of the Midwest’s premier dinner-theaters, has staged everything from well-known musicals (“Cabaret’) to little-known gems (the recent “Daddy Long Legs”). The quality of acting is incredible, the food is great, and the place is packed every weekend all year long.
- Go Taco, a unique Mexican restaurant unlike anything we’ve seen in these parts, has become a hugely popular lunch destination. Their tortilla chips alone are worth the trip.
- Main Street Nutrition, a shake shop that’s my daughter Lottie’s favorite place on Earth, has great shakes and a cool, woodsy decor that looks like it belongs in Grand Haven or Charlevoix.
- The Froyo Cafe, a gourmet frozen-yogurt place, opened a week ago, just in time for Art in the Park. I gave it a try over the weekend, and I’ll be back a LOT.
The Froyo Cafe, a gourmet frozen-yogurt shop that just opened in downtown Pinckney.
All of these businesses are the type of places you’d expect to find in Ann Arbor, Royal Oak, maybe even Brighton or Howell. But Pinckney? All of these cool places are in Pinckney?
No way!
Way.
Downtown Pinckney also has a family restaurant (the Pinckney Diner), a Chinese place (China House), a legendary eatery that’s been there probably since Teddy Roosevelt was president (Aunt Betty’s Restaurant), a great donut shop (the Pinckney Bakery), a hardware store, a hair salon, a barber shop with the most comfortable barber chairs around and much more.
ALL IN JUST THREE BLOCKS!
When you factor in a downtown park and playground, and a spectacular library that’s just a block away, and you’ve got yourself the coolest small downtown in Michigan.
So the moral of this story is that you’ve got to come check out downtown Pinckney. You can even make a day of it this summer. Go swimming at Silver Lake in the Pinckney Recreation Area (just 10 minutes away), stop to take some pictures in Hell (just five minutes away), and then have dinner and some frozen yogurt in downtown Pinckney. Maybe even see a show.
You need to see it all for yourself. Pinckney might be hard to spell, but it’s easy to enjoy.
