Left Foot Charley

I went here with a girlfriend the other night, I really enjoyed my experience there. I typically don’t give ⁵⁄₅ ratings for places that I haven’t sampled their food at, but I really like the environment– music, waitstaff & beverage. My friend and I did their try 6 for $ 5.00 deal. Everything I tried was excellent & the staff was really attentive/​knowledgable. In terms of drink, I think Im going to die a «cinnamon girl», but I the dry riesling & antrim are so delicious. Overall, I would love to come back here.

Great wine and cider.
New cinnamon cider is killer. Had 2 glasses. Outside sandbox is fun for kids. Keeps them busy while we enjoy adult drinks.
Hay stays across the road to climb on too.
Come here, sit outside, have some cider. Awesome afternoon!

My review is only of the tasting room. That being said, what a great tasting room. The staff was friendly, courteous and knowledgable. Ciders — what a selection. Some were more to my taste than others, but the were all really good. I ended up with a growler of Cinnamon Girl Cider. And the Apple Ice Wine — can I just call it a juice box for adults? It’s so wonderfully apple and sweet and just a bottle of wonderful.
A good all around wine would be the Garden Wine — just delish!

I absolutely loved this tasting room. The wines were great here, and I loved that they had small apps you could order while tasting. I enjoyed all of the wines we tasted. Brought home the murmur, and wish I would’ve brought more! Really enjoyed my experience and I will go back.

We got recommended to this place from another winery in town.
The staff was fantastic, the cinnamon girl is a must try. The comped our wine tasting because we were newlyweds.
Would defintley go back!

Fun laid back atmosphere with trendy industrial inside and nice outdoor patio. Pretty wide variety of wines — both dry and sweet. My family swears by the Cinnamon Girl cider — it’s a special treat for me every time I come into town. Happy to see it started showing up at other breweries, Lake Ann for example.

Awesome place to sample several wines from many local wineries. They also have an amazing hard apple cider. Reasonably priced and the atmosphere is relaxed and comfortable

I like really dry red wines, so Michigan wines are a little sweet for my liking. However, the ciders at Left Foot Charley’s were fantastic! I loved the Cinnamon Girl Hard Cider. It tasted like cinnamon applesauce without being too sweet. I also really enjoyed the Antrim Cider. It was tart without being too acidic, and it had the perfect level of sweetness. Next time I go back, I’m going to stick to all the ciders.

Awesome building full of history (located in the old TC mental hospital), wonderful drinks, and tasty snacks! Definitely try their
house Rieslings and the yummy bread/​spread appetizer. The sundried tomato spread was to die for! I loved this place and will definitely be back! Our server, Cristina, was super fun too :) If you’re in TC and want to try a neat cider house/​winery, this is your place!

I think that Left Foot Charlie has an amazing staff that makes everyone feel welcome!

They have my cinnamon cider which I love! very few places make a cinnamon cider so them having it year round pleases me greatly. Their other cider is great as well it is a dry english style. As for their wines they are ok but their cider is where its at.

I popped in here by chance because a bartender told me it was a nice place for a cider or wine. It was a rainy day and couldn’t be a more perfect place to stay dry (well in one sense I suppose).
I really enjoyed my time spent here. For a six course wine tasting it’s only a mere $ 5. Yes. Fabulous deal. The wines were lovely which shocked me even more. Whites better than reds but still not overly sweet.
I didn’t try any of the food but it sounded alright plus I like that they kept the menu small and simple. As an out-​of-​towner I’m not sure what goes on there but it would make a great place for the occasional food truck (s). Loads of space to park & enjoy!
I left with a growler of half Relic & half Cinnamon Girl Cider. $ 18 but a refill is $ 13. Not sure when I’ll be up north again but when I am I will be stopping back in to this little watering hole.

I really, really, really like this place. First of all, the wine is pretty decent: the whites, like most wineries in Northern Michigan, are pretty solid and surprisingly they have a delicious red there. The food menu is limited, but if you’re looking for a snack it will be the «jam» to your «PBJ sandwich». They also make hard cider, and «Cinnamon Girl» as they like to call it, is a coy sexy beast all on its own. Best of all, amongst all the other things I like about this place, if you are hankering for a meal, you can bring in outside food! Last time I was here I got a pizza at Pleasanton Brick Oven Bakery, and it satisfied me in ways only a top notch pizza could.
To wrap up this review, the staff is friendly, knowledgable, and willing to offer up a local secret food spot. Equally awesome are the ex-​mental hospital doors that make up the bar. Why not drink a glass (or two), jump on the crazy train, and see where the night takes you!

If the only thing you take away from this review is that the cinnamon girl cider is amazing, so be it. My husband and I visited LFC at the end of November when Traverse City was covered with snow. Despite it being the «off-​season» for Michigan tourism, we were treated warmly by the bartender, who was approachable but knew what she was talking about. We brought home 2 growlers of cinnamon girl cider for Thanksgiving and they were a hit! Can’t wait to go back :)

Really friendly service. She joked with my friend and I because «every time she turned around, our glasses were empty.» Our reply was, «Yeaahhhh…We work retail, we are sorta pros at this.» Don’t worry, Unilocalers. We did taste it though. We’re not complete alcoholics! Wine was great. Cozy atmosphere on the grounds of the old mental institution. They even had a few tables and chairs outside. Great little place to relax.

Cider on tap: check. Bring your gluten-​free and gluten-​loving friends alike, we can all get along at LFC. A few options for cider if the timing is right, but they always have at least one. Then there’s the really good wine to have also. And THEN there’s the Monday night open-​mic night (how’s that for an afterwork date). And THEN they serve these fun dinners on Thursday, which gluten-​free, vegetarians, and vegans can all have. (At least when i was there, they catered to all).
Great location at the Commons, easy parking, and outside food allowed — hey, why don’t you bring over some Spanglish? LFC does offer a few appetizers if you have a compulsive need to eat something while drinking, like moi. Or go on Thursdays when they have the fun pop-​up dinner events. Cute setting and good wine. Hint: there’s even a sandbox if you absolutely find it necessary to bring your kids to a tasting room.

The friendly staff explained their wine offerings in easy to understand, non-​pretentious language. I learned a little more about wine and what I liked in a relaxing environment. The front windows let light in to open up the space inside. Ambient music played while we sipped our wine and chatted during our visit. LFC is easy to find once you enter the Grand Traverse Commons area.

I’m surprised by the negative reviews. To call this place creepy with peeling paint misses the point of a miraculous resurrection of a historic facility. The Traverse City State Hospital with its towers and red roofs was a large asylum with its own farms. We almost lost this, but it was restored as the Grand Traverse Commons — an ultimate act of recycling. Left Foot Charley’s was part of he laundry building. It has a very cool urban vibe, frequently hosts musical and epicurean events, and has a delightful patio for relaxing and imbibing. I love the ciders. Sometimes they run out, but not as often as they used to. When they’ve supplied events like the beer fest or wine fest, they were surprised at the demand initially.
I don’t claim to be a polished wine drinker, but I’ve always found their wines to be pleasant and the tastings to be fun. The staff is great. All in all, I’m very happy to have Left Foot Charley’s and the other businesses in the Commons in our town.

Oh Charley, in the words of Olivia Newton John «I honestly love you». Your hard cider makes me so very happy. I filled 2 growlers with 2 ciders I haven’t tried before now — but loved the free samples I tried prior to my purchase.
The wines I have purchased in the past I have also loved. Basically I haven’t met a drink here that I didn’t like!
The people working are always friendly too! Love this place!

Even before my first visit to Traverse City, I had heard of Left Foot Charley courtesy of a friend who brought a growler of Cinnamon Girl hard cider to a weekend reunion. Great friend, great cider.
When I finally made it to Left Foot Charley myself — located on the site of the former Northern Michigan Asylum — it was a homecoming of sorts for my liver. The location is beautiful: treed, quiet, large windows, and ample seating both at the bar (inside) and on the shaded patio (outside). A pour of sweet-​but-​not-​too-​sweet cider and you have all the elements in place for a happy hour indeed.
Unilocal note: invest in a growler. It’s eco-​and-​budget-​friendly, sure, but it’s also just: dang cool. There. Said it.