Sci-fi on display at The Treasure Hoard

Jun. 22—TRAVERSE CITY — The dragon has escaped Michigan's Tri Cities and landed in the Grand Traverse Mall.

This dragon doesn't breathe fire, but simply watches over the collectibles offered at the newest store in the Grand Traverse Mall, The Treasure Hoard.

And his name is Trevor.

"At each of our stores we have a dragon and each store it has a different name," owner Michael Kazee said of the six-foot tall, seven-foot long plastic dragon that broke the trend of starting with a 'R' name.

The Treasure Hoard — which specializes in science fiction pop culture — is the latest of several moves at Grand Traverse Mall.

Across the corridor from The Treasure Hoard, GT Bay Gymnastics recently put up a new sign.

GT Bay Gymnastics moved into the former home of H&M almost a year ago. The clothing retail store, which opened June 22, 2017, closed "in the beginning of 2021," according to an email from H&M Media Relations.

Paige Moreau, the general manager of Brookfield Properties, which manages the Grand Traverse Mall and RiverTown Crossings in Grandville, said the GT Mall will soon have a free-standing hair salon again.

Moreau said Premier Salon is under construction and "opening shortly" in what most recently was Regis Hair Salon.

"We're shooting for August," said Philip Beehler, who will co-own Premier Salon with his daughter, Tristina Beehler.

"We're super excited to have them come in," Moreau said.

One long-time tenant of the Food Court in the Grand Traverse Mall, Teriyaki Grill Express, recently left the Garfield Township shopping mall.

"We will be looking to move outside of the mall," a sign on its Food Court location read, posted on social media. "Please continue to provide us with your support. Please follow out Facebook and Instagram for more updates."

Moreau confirmed the departure, but noted a new tenant is coming into that spot. Moreau said it was too premature to announce the new tenant.

The Traverse City location of The Treasure Hoard is the fourth Michael and Elaine Kazee have opened since October 2019 and the first outside Bay City, Saginaw and Midland. It's been quite a whirlwind for the couple, which started in a 700-square-foot space in the Bay City Town Center Mall.

The first store opened in October 2019, just five months before COVID hit, Michael Kazee said.

"It definitely was a little setback," he said.

After its June 2020 re-opening, Michael Kazee said "things picked up real quick."

The Kazees followed with a second location in the Fashion Square Mall in Saginaw in October 2020 and in the Midland Mall in July 2021.

"We did that for a couple of years; we did fairly well," Kazee said. "Elaine and I went to Traverse City a few times. We saw the mall and said, 'Hey, this is a great location.'"

So after hearing from a lot of customers from Lansing, Detroit and Traverse City about when The Treasure Hoard was coming to their town, the couple decided to go north for its fourth location.

Michael Kazee admitted it's a little scary owning a store that's 2 1/2 hours away from where the couple lives, when all its other locations are 15-20 minutes apart.

But the decision was a good one, he said. The Facebook post about the June 2 opening day received more than 100 comments and more than 100 shares in less than three weeks.

"We kind of have the area we're at fairly well saturated," Michael Kazee said. "We got fairly well known quickly."

A self-professed "geek at heart," Michael Kazee said The Treasure Hoard is "not a hardcore game store," even though it carries Magic booster packs and a range of Dungeons & Dragons books and miniatures.

There's also statues, goblets, mugs, swords, Funko figurines and other items from Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings.

"Games, collectibles and cool stuff is what's on our business cards," Michael Kazee said. "Just to know there's things people like that I like and are into the same things is really nice."

The Kazees said The Treasure Hoard in Traverse City opened with three employees, including manager Mackenzee Larr.

The Kazees took time off from setting up the store to have a booth at Cherry Capital Comic Con over Memorial Day weekend, filling in when a vendor canceled two days prior to the event.

While the Kazees are open and operating in the Grand Traverse Mall, the Beehlers are looking forward to opening. Philip and Tristina Beehler opened Precision Cuts and Styles in the Cherryland Center in May, but Premier in the GT Mall will be a full-service salon.

"It'll be nice to have one in there," Philip Beehler said.

Regis Salon closed abruptly on Dec. 31, 2019, according to previous reporting. Personnel were notified a few hours before the close of business on Dec. 30 it would permanently close the following day, according to Jan. 3, 2020 article

That came on the heels of the MasterCuts store in GT Mall closing on Oct. 7, 2019.