Capistrano has its swallows, and baseball fans have their pitchers and catchers, but only Kalamazoo has a Root Beer Stand. And Polar Vortex be damned, they're opening up on Monday, February 11th.

Yes, the legendary Root Beer Stand, with its unique Root Beer mix, maybe with a scoop of ice cream; the hot dogs and the chili Dogs (and Monday's forecast is for a high of 32 degrees, so there'll be plenty of chill in the chili dog).

The Root Beer Stand's Facebook page has a graphic stating 83 years of service, but a MLive Story from 2016 would indicated that this is year 89 of putting smiles on people faces and root beer in the bellies.

The annual opening of The Root Beer Stand reminds me of other spring rituals like taking a convertible for a quick spin with temperatures below 50 (and Monday will definitely be below 50 degrees). Yes, I can't wait either. It means polar vortex or no polar vortex, there is hope.

 

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