Summertime Beach Town
By Nicholas Drabant/ Photography by Stephen Mannina
On the shores of New Baltimore’s beach, watching the waves lap against the sand, gazing out across the horizon of Anchor Bay, it’s hard to remember that you’re not standing on an ocean’s shore. Modern mixed-use storefronts mix with the classical 19th century buildings dating back to when New Baltimore first incorporated itself, forming a city unique to just about anywhere in Michigan.
“It’s such a closely knit, tied community that it’s filled with passion,” said Jennifer Stockwell-Colombo.
Colombo runs and maintains New Baltimore’s iconic Pink House, a Victorian-style home built in 1875, having refurbished this symbol of the city into a combination bakery, tea room and bed & breakfast. Since moving her Just Delicious Scones operation from Roseville to New Baltimore in 2019, she has become heavily involved with the community, joining the city’s Downtown Development Association and the New Baltimore Business Alliance. This summer, they’ve finished the renovations on the Pink
House’s patio, allowing outdoor dining for the first time.
“The historical society has protected the old buildings, while the city council has supported all these new businesses,” said Colombo. “We’re holding onto the charm as hard as we can, and we’re making sure that everything that’s developed fits into that.”
New Baltimore, like most beach towns, truly comes alive when the weather gets warmer. While there are no shortage of options for dining and spirits — from the classic Fin’s and its new elevated rooftop patio overlooking the bay, to the original Blind Owl, and Colombo’s own Pink House — there’s plenty more to occupy your summer in New Baltimore. Like the Tashmoo Distillery now in its fourth year, the prized Washington Street Winery and the On The Bay Restaurant, Bar & Boutique where you can eat, drink and shop.
Every Sunday until October 25th, New Baltimore will host a Farmers Market on Washington Street, featuring over one-hundred local vendors and food trucks, live performances, and community wide-fun — all just feet away from the public beach and cool waters. And every Wednesday during the summer, the New Baltimore Business Alliance sponsors free concerts on the waterfront at the Walter & Mary Burke Park.
Key to supporting these events, Colombo explains, is that parking will always be free in New Baltimore. “Prepare to walk. It is a walking community. We will never put meters out here.”
Once more, New Baltimore will host the annual Bay-Rama Fish Fly Festival to ring in the summer June 24 to 28. Visitors and residents alike can enjoy pageants, games, parades, live entertainment and endless fun on the picturesque waterfront. The crown jewel of the festival, the 61st annual fireworks show, will take place on Thursday, June 25, with live music performed by the Meldrum Brothers Band.
Similarly, on July 30 and 31, the Anchor Bay Thunder Street Party will arrive in downtown New Baltimore. The event promises to show off hot rods, hot boats and more spectacular fireworks over the bay — all alongside opportunities to help raise money for Special Olympics Michigan and St. Jude’s Hospital. And then, to cap off the summer with Labor Day weekend (September 5 and 6), New Baltimore will be hosting its annual Art on the Bay just steps away from Lake St. Clair, featuring hundreds of vendors from around the country.
While the summer of 2026 looks to be another fantastic season for New Baltimore, next summer will be an even bigger boom for the town. 2026 saw the arrival of new music speakers, an ADA-approved playground, and security cameras installed throughout the downtown. And by the start of 2027’s summer, New Baltimore will have finished construction on two additional mixed-use apartment buildings and a new, high-capacity boat marina. The added facilities in the new marina will open up New Baltimore to a population that can’t quite reach them now: boaters. Come summer 2027, visitors will be able to sail up to Macomb County’s beach town. As Colombo explains, “What will happen with the beach, will be the best thing to happen to New Baltimore.”
“I feel we have so much to offer. New Baltimore is probably the friendliest town people will find,” said Colombo, looking out into the beautiful Anchor Bay from the Pink House’s upper floor. “We want to stay as kind and down to earth as we’ve always been.”
For more information visit cityofnewbaltimore.org.
