A backyard shopping mall of personalized Home Depot sheds. A large pink disco marlin fish on display. A multi-story, blue spray-foam tree. A human-height watermelon-shaped wine holder. Those are just a few of the vibrant, quirky displays in Beachy family businesses in Caseville, Michigan.
From a Lake Huron beachside stop for ice cream and grub to a Bay Port drive-in that started it all in 1990, Kyle Bowles, 23, has gone viral @kyle._.beachy on Instagram and @kylebeachy on TikTok for putting an artistic spin on her family business and documenting its growth.
Here's what to know about the restaurants, Beachyville shopping mall, and viral brand that's putting a tourist town with a population of less than 700 on the map for people across the internet
and the world.
What is Beachy's?
Beachy's is a restaurant downtown in Caseville, Michigan. "Beachy" is Bowles' mom's maiden name and the last name of her grandpa, aunt and uncle, who opened the first family restaurant, though the name also matches the tropical, relaxed vibe inside. Bowles and her triplet brother, Westin, opened Beachy's with the support of their mom, Bethanne Rasmussen, and stepdad, Curt Rasmussen, after graduating high school in 2021. They've opened an additional restaurant or attraction every year since. Currently, the family owns and operates six restaurants and cafes and plans to open two more next year.
Beachy's, the family's main restaurant downtown Caseville,serves burgers, fries, flatbread pizzas, wings and more, with Westin Bowles overseeing food operations, while Kyle Bowles focuses on the art and marketing. The 2026 drink menu includes cocktails like the Sunburn Margarita and the Shark Attack. Some drinks are served in fish- and shark-shaped cups.
Beachy's is usually open seven days a week during peak tourism season, Memorial Day through Labor Day. After Labor Day, the restaurant usually closes on weekdays and maintains limited weekend hours, Bowles said. Updated seasonal hours and closures are usually posted on the restaurant's social media pages.
Where is Caseville?
Caseville is at the top of Michigan's Thumb on the coast of Lake Huron. It's known as a summer beach spot and for its annual Jimmy Buffett-themed Cheeseburger Festival. The town with a year-round population of less than 700 was expected to get 350,000 visitors during the 10-day festival between Aug. 14 and 23.
"You drive past all the windmills, and you stumble upon this two-block town with a great beach," Kyle Bowles said of what it's like to drive into Caseville. "It's a little town stuck in the 80s, but it's amazing."
Caseville is about a 2.5-hour drive north from Detroit.
What's Beachyville?
Beachyville is a shopping mall that debuted this year in the backyard common space behind Beachy's and Beachy's Bake and Brew cafe downtown Caseville.
Beachyville consists of 16 sheds the family bought from Home Depot and spent the winter building, painting, and customizing as an interactive experience. Visitors can shop for trinkets, stationery, toys and more at themed sheds like the pet store, deli and ice cream parlor. At the post office shed, visitors can write notes for the business and each other on postcards made from reused cardboard boxes. In the doodle shop, people can sign their names on the walls and leave their own marks. There's also a miniature greenhouse selling crochet flowers and a museum shed filled with framed family photos and handwritten notes detailing how the business has grown over time.
Beachyville is usually open seven days a week during peak tourism season. After Labor Day, the attraction will likely close on weekdays and have some limited weekend hours with the potential for a Christmas village during winter, Bowles said. Visitors can check Kyle Bowles's social media @kyle._.beachy on Instagram and @kylebeachy on TikTok for updated seasonal hours and closures.
Lefty's Drive-In
Bowles' Grandpa and longtime poultry farmer Al Beachy, Aunt Jody Beachy and Uncle Murray Beachy opened Lefty's Drive-In in Bay Port, down the road from Caseville, in 1990. It's the family's first restaurant.
The drive-in closes for the season after Labor Day and usually reopens on Memorial Day.
Lefty's Diner
As you drive into Caseville from the south, Lefty's Diner is the first Beachy family restaurant you'll see. The diner, a few minutes away from the main strip of town, serves up a variety of diner food and drinks. It's known for Kyle Bowles' wall art display of plastic balls.
The Beachy family opened the diner, its second restaurant, in 1998.
The diner remains open throughout the year.
Bake and Brew
Though Kyle Bowles said she loves every building and every person inside, the Bake and Brew cafe, established in 2024, is her favorite business she's helped build.
"With my body and soul I love the Bake and Brew," she said. "That was just such a weird passion project and then to see what it's turned into and then to build the shopping mall behind it. I just love the whole process."
Beachy's Bake and Brew is known for its lattes and the big, blue, two-story tree Kyle Beachy constructed inside. In the yard outside Beachy's and Beachy's Bake and Brew, there's seating and bar, as well as the entrance to Beachyville.
The cafe is usually open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week during peak tourism season Memorial Day through Labor Day. After Labor Day, it usually closes on weekdays and maintains limited weekend hours, Bowles said. Visitors can check the Bake and Brew's social media pages for updated seasonal hours and closures.
The Sandbox
The Sandbox is right on the beach at the county park in Caseville serving up ice cream, burgers and more.
Like the other businesses, it's painted in bright colors, teal and orange, and decorated with fun art and unique lights by Kyle Bowles.
The Sandbox will close for the season after Labor Day and plans to reopen for Memorial Day.
Murdogs
Murdogs in Caro, about 40 minutes south of Caseville, has been serving diner food since 2002.
It was opened by Bowles's uncle Murray Beachy and remains open all year-round.
Coming soon
A new location in Bay City called Beachy's Corner plans to open mid-October, Bowles said.
The Beachy family is planning to open an additional restaurant called The Sand Bar downtown Caseville in 2027.
When Beachy's went viral
Kyle Bowles began her social media journey, which has led her to more than 248,000 followers on @kyle._.beachy on Instagram and 362,400 @kylebeachy on TikTok, posting bartending videos in 2023 and eventually began expanding to showcase her art and her and the process of building her family’s restaurant.
“I just wanted to share the beautifulness of it and to build something great and to document it, and never expecting people to come and visit and travel all over the world but just to kind of show that there can be good and you can create something that you believe in," she said.
As family business expands, Bowles and her brother Westin Bowles try to honor the past and bring positive light to their small town.
"That sense of community for us was a big thing, and carrying on their legacy for what they've built when they were here and being able to carry that forward for them has been awesome," Westin Bowles said. "To share the awesomeness that is here and all the other businesses that are here and showcase what they bring to Caseville, as well, has been amazing."
Kyle Bowles's videos have introduced people all over the world to Beachy's and Caseville. Bowles said she met someone visiting from Australia this summer, and in the post office of the shopping mall, someone left a handwritten note signed "love from Ireland." Bowles said she recommends all business owners "post a couple dorky TikToks and let it roll."
"Let them know about you and do it in an authentic way and do it with the intent of just sharing the story," she said. "And it might just be all over the world."
'Do anything and everything ... then share it with the world'
Almost every time she's out and about working at her and her family's businesses in Caseville, she's approached by fans of all ages admiring her work and asking for photos. She said she gets just as excited to meet people as they are to meet her. When the Detroit Free Press spent about two hours with her for an interview in Caseville, she often greeted others with, "Hello beautiful people" and told them she loved them.
Bowles said she hopes sharing her art and being herself online makes others feel like they can also live creatively and authentically.
"Do anything and everything you want and then share it with the world," she said. "Look for the good in everything, be grateful all the time, and then love your mom and love your brother, and it usually will just work out."
Contact Natalie Davies at ndavies@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How to visit Beachyville, Caseville's homemade shed shopping mall
