new coastal – From Beverly Shores to Three Oaks, new restaurants, shops, and tasting rooms are reshaping weekend plans along Indiana’s Lake Michigan coast and southwest Michigan—while a few longtime favorites have closed.
By the time the summer light stretches across Lake Michigan, Chicago weekenders have long been headed north—toward beaches, sunsets, and the kind of slow vacation that doesn’t require big-city planning. This year, the drive along U.S. Route 12 is starting to feel different.
In Indiana. the stretch around Indiana Dunes National Park and Indiana Dunes State Park has never been just a pit stop. But if it’s been a couple of years. the towns along the lake—small and without traditional commerce centers—now have plenty of new places to land. Even the familiar orange Studebaker that once served wood-fired pizza in Beverly Shores is gone. The South Shore Ovenworks pie experience has changed: the only way to get one now is to reserve the food truck for a private event.
Beverly Shores is also where Blanket Fort has opened at 1 E. Dunes Highway, a design studio and shop founded by Matthew Buccilla. He describes his style as “vintage modern meets-cozy cabin-meets Japanese wabi-sabi. ” and brings experience designing spaces around the world for furniture maker Herman Miller. Blanket Fort sits in a midcentury building and is open the first and third weekends of the month.
A short drive away, Michigan City’s new arrivals read like a welcome break from the usual coastal playbook. The Heron at 522 Franklin St. focuses on French food, and its happy hour runs from 4–6 p.m. (even Fridays), featuring $10 martinis alongside deeply discounted wine and beer. Up the street at 827 Franklin St. Rocco’s Tavern comes from the family behind Cafe Farina next door and Farina’s Supper Club in Michiana. and it aims for a Rush Street steakhouse feel.
For diners willing to plan ahead, C.12 at 132 E. 6th St. is a reservation-only 12-seat Lebanese restaurant opened in the lower level of a 100-year-old Masonic Temple. Owned by longtime area restaurateur Momahed “Moe” Mroueh. it features diners seated around a horseshoe-shaped counter with an open kitchen. one seating a night. and a prix-fixe tasting menu priced at $65. Below ground at 1108 Franklin St. The Nightingale offers a moody room with small lamp-lit tables. old-school cocktails. and live music—mostly jazz and blues—with hours that run only occasionally.
Cellar Door at 1901 Franklin St. is another new opening, arriving last year in a historic building that once housed Harmony Bar. Its mix is the draw for travelers: friendly service. a carved wooden bar. games including 10-pin bowling and vintage pinball. and a patio. It also brings a kitchen influenced by the head bartender and chef, who came from Hummingbird Lounge in New Buffalo.
Shopping has followed the food. The Wren at 410 Wabash St., a gift shop focused on sustainable, natural products, sits across from Lighthouse Place Outlet Mall. In the Arts District, Abigail Hayden Interiors & Design at 607 Franklin St. offers home accessories and art plus the owner’s own line of upholstered furniture.
The coast also has a new take on quick beach-ready meals. The Standard 1208, located at 1208 E. Second St. at U.S. 12, opened after being previously called Unsalted No Sharks and having been downtown Michigan City. It now operates out of an old Standard Oil station across from Burn ’Em Brewing at 1215 E. Second St. Along with gifts and souvenirs, The Standard serves Italian sub sandwiches meant for taking to the beach. A second location opened just after the first, in New Buffalo at 19 N. Whittaker St.
Heading north on Route 12 into Michiana, visitors find Swells: A Dive Bar at 3201 U.S. 12. It’s serving four pizza styles—tavern style. Detroit style. deep dish. and hand-tossed (New York style)—plus soups. salads. and sandwiches. The setting is built for groups who come to watch their team on TV. and it even keeps Veuve Clicquot on the menu.
Tonelli’s Tavern on Twelve at 3103 U.S. 12 is close by, opened by the owner of Michigan City’s popular Tonelli’s, which closed a few years ago. The property previously hosted restaurants including Blind Pig and Trip’s Tree House. but Tonelli’s is now entering its 12 months in business with classic Italian red-sauce fare and prices described as decent.
On the Michigan side, the changes aren’t subtle. Even with the time-zone shift and the usual sense that small towns don’t move fast, the coast along Red Arrow Highway has seen new restaurants and shops open, while a few longtime favorites have shuttered.
Just past the roughly 18 cannabis dispensaries along Route 12—some 18 or so with more on the way—Farmette at 18439 U.S. 12 in the outskirts of New Buffalo has become an instant favorite. The store includes an in-house bakery specializing in sourdough. a coffee and drinks bar. and a specialty food shop with a well-stocked freezer and refrigerator case. plus produce and flowers in season grown on site. The owner once tended Rick Bayless’ garden in Chicago.
In New Buffalo, PostBoy at 207 N. Whittaker St. opened in fall of 2024 and is described as the hottest restaurant along this coast. James Galbraith leads the kitchen; he founded Benton Harbor’s foodie favorites Houndstooth and Anemel and previously worked under Chicago chefs at Intro. Blackbird. Elske. S.K.Y. Bellemore. and Boka. The spot has a hopping patio and an indoor/outdoor bar, and reservations are recommended because it gets jammed.
For provisions headed straight to an Airbnb or vacation home, Angela’s Provisions at 225 N. Whittaker St. serves homemade soups, pastas, breakfast and lunch sandwiches, and salads—made to order or available via fridge/freezer case.
Bookshore at New Buffalo brings a different kind of gift option. The shop is home to big, gorgeous art books meant for a coffee table—or any surface—and it’s owned by the same family that runs the popular tourist draw Stray Dog restaurant.
Beer and wine have also kept pace with the restaurant growth, even after closures. Harbor Country’s biggest news lately was the closing of Greenbush Brewing Company in Sawyer, a popular spot for 12 years. For beer lovers, Mangata Beer Co. opened last fall at 15936 Red Arrow Highway in Union Pier. It’s a sister operation of Transient Artisan Ales at 4229 Lake St. in Bridgman. and its tasting room emphasizes easy-drinking. lower-alcohol beers—pilsners. lagers. saisons. and Belgian ales—created at Transient’s brewhouse.
In Sawyer. Fulcra Brewing Company opened last July at 13400 Red Arrow Highway in a two-room bungalow. built around the dream of two home brewers—one of whom is a Dark Matter Coffee alum. Fulcra focuses on balanced. drinkable brews. and the owners say a beer garden has just opened. with plans for live music. food trucks. or restaurant pop-ups.
Three Oaks, meanwhile, lost Patellie’s, a popular pizza take-out, last winter. But the owners used the space to expand their wine and beer store. P.+E. Bottle Shop at 28 N. Elm St. now carries cheese. bread. crackers. olives. and prepared food—built for pairing with wine—along with a much-expanded selection of wine and craft beer.
Food keeps changing shape here too. For breakfast or lunch, two Chicago transplants reopened the popular Viola Cafe at 102 N. Elm St., which had been closed for a few years. Along with their chef. former Chopping Block owner Shelley Young. the menu includes a Southern twist with po’ boys. beignets. meat loaf. greens. fried green tomatoes. and mac ’n’ cheese alongside breakfast classics.
For dinner, Three Oaks recently gained Longstory, which opened in December 2024 at 8 Maple St. The restaurant has had some bumps. including chef changes. but it’s popular with locals who gather for happy hours and order from a New-American-with-an-accent menu featuring chicken shawarma. Tuscan kale salad. polenta torte. grilled fish. New York strip. roasted beets. and more.
Elsewhere in town, Goods & Heroes at 7 Maple St. added a store within a store: GH Yarn Haus, specializing in natural fibers and hosting knitting get-togethers and classes.
Wine tastings are part of the new rhythm as well. Dreihart Winery. a small wine tasting room with a capacity of 25. opened in spring 2025 just off Three Oaks’ main drag at 6 Linden St. E. It’s described as an offshoot of 6 Linden, which sells local meat, produce, eggs, and cheeses, along with imported pastas. The winemaker, Gottfried Hart—described as a charming man with stories to tell—is usually pouring. He is a former co-owner of Hickory Creek Winery in Buchanan. and the menu pairing suggestion is straightforward: grab smoked trout rillette to pair with your wine.
Near the dunes, the story becomes personal in the way only a coastal beat can. Jan Parr, a former Chicago journalist, lives in the middle of the Indiana Dunes in Beverly Shores and writes about local happenings at DunesDiva.com.
Indiana Dunes U.S. Route 12 Beverly Shores Michigan City Michiana New Buffalo Union Pier Sawyer Three Oaks restaurants breweries shopping