A new daytime food business is taking shape beside one of Traverse City’s established dinner restaurants. DayMade, the bakery and café from Modern Bird chefs Emily Stewart and Andy Elliott, lists its address as 539 West Front Street and describes a focus on brioche donuts, pastries and breakfast sandwiches.

The important update for anyone planning a visit is its operating status. As checked October 31, 2026, the business’s website invites readers to sign up for opening announcements. It does not provide a confirmed first-service date or a regular weekly schedule. I cannot confirm that DayMade is open for daily service.

A daytime counterpart next door

In a May 8 interview with 9&10 News, Stewart and Elliott explained plans to expand into the former Mary’s Kitchen Port building. Their bakery concept draws on Stewart’s pastry experience, including work in Chicago kitchens before the couple moved to Traverse City.

The report described pastries, pie and breakfast sandwiches as part of the planned menu. It also traced the chefs’ local beginnings to selling baked goods at the Sara Hardy Downtown Farmers Market before opening Modern Bird in 2022. The new concept extends that baking background into a dedicated daytime business.

For neighbors, the distinction is practical: a bakery visit would serve a different part of the day from a dinner reservation. The current Modern Bird website lists supper Tuesday through Saturday, 5–9 p.m., at 541 West Front Street. Those are Modern Bird’s hours, not DayMade’s future schedule.

What the current preview establishes

DayMade’s own description establishes the broad food concept and a way to receive updates. It suggests coffee, a quick bite and larger pastry pickups as intended uses. It does not yet establish final menu prices, advance-order terms or how a busy opening morning will operate.

That leaves several useful details to watch for: confirmed service days, opening hours, the first menu and whether customers will order at a counter, online or both. A business preview can introduce a promising new stop without treating all those arrangements as settled.

The former Mary’s location also gives longtime residents a familiar address for an unfamiliar business name. The café is a new venture, so older information about the previous store should not be used to assume a menu, ordering system or opening time.

Before making it part of your routine

If you are considering pastries for an office gathering or family visit, wait for the business to explain larger orders. Ask about quantities, pickup windows and ingredient questions when ordering becomes available. A mention of a baker’s dozen is not a confirmed promise of same-day stock in every variety.

For a first personal visit, check the latest announcement before setting out. Save the operator’s own page rather than relying on a reposted opening rumor. If you need a specific item, confirm it directly instead of applying the early preview menu to every future service.

DayMade is one to follow as West Front Street’s food lineup develops. The next concrete milestone is a confirmed opening announcement from the operators, followed by the daily details residents can use. Until then, the verified story is a new bakery concept with a local restaurant team behind it—not a finished review or a guaranteed holiday opening date.