If you walk too fast, you just might miss this piece of New England right here in Ann Arbor known as Durham’s Tracklements and Smokery. Situated in a small outpost near Ann Arbor’s Farmers Market, this unique smokery brings community and thoughtfully smoked dishes to the Ann Arbor food scene. It’s one of those “if you know, you know” kind of places. But that’s not how it should be… everyone needs to know about Tracklements.
This hidden Kerrytown neighborhood gem is small and surprisingly doesn’t smell too fishy! Pre-orders are highly recommended by email or text. When you arrive, it’s always fresh and waiting for you. Tracklements is only open right now on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and by appointment. They also ship their fish and are even beloved by East Coasters.
Photo by Lindsey Smith (February 7, 2026).
My go to order is the cold-smoked salmon, so thin it practically melts in your mouth with each bite. Tracklements isn’t just doing a classic smoked salmon, however. They add unique seasonings and flavors to take their fish to the next level, including: pecan wood, twice-smoked, Thai-cured, pepper-cured, and many more. If you don’t trust me, trust Anthony Bourdain, who loved their salmon and smoked mackerel.
When ordering, I asked beloved team member Ellen what their most popular flavor was, but she turned the question back to me: “All of our flavors are popular… which is your favorite?” So I went with the pastrami cold-smoked salmon, thinly sliced. Their pastrami seasoning brings a unique but subtle hint of another beloved Jewish deli classic. While I love smoked salmon on top of a carb, you can often find me popping pieces straight into my mouth plain.
Each bite of their smoked salmon brings me back to a typical Sunday morning in my New York Jewish home, where smoked salmon has become engrained in our religious culture and traditions. In both times of celebration and in sadness, you will often find a platter of smoked salmon right next to a big bag of fresh bagels. Finding Tracklements my sophomore year of college helped me recapture cherished family memories while so far away at school.
Since Tracklements is takeout only, I typically stock up on fish for my weekly lunches. On my most recent visit, I headed over to their nearby neighbor, Sparrow Market, to pick up some Zingerman’s bread and fresh produce, to make an insanely delicious avocado toast. Every time I order Tracklements, I feel like I am a part of their beloved “fish” family.
T.R Durham started his curing journey in his own bathtub (don’t worry, they have made it a more professional process nowadays), eventually opening Tracklements in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1993. They moved to Ann Arbor in 1997 when Durham’s wife joined the University of Michigan’s faculty. What started off as just smoked salmon, has now become seasonal specialties and additional weekly favorites like smoked cheese, smoked trout, and smoked olives. If it can be smoked, they have probably done it.
So what exactly makes their award-winning smoked salmon so special? Let’s start off with the basics. Many people use the words smoked salmon and lox interchangeably, but they are different. Originated in Scandinavia to help preserve fish, smoked salmon goes the additional step from lox’s salt-cure: it’s smoked! (Duh!) Tracklements has both cold-smoked salmon and hot-smoked salmon. Cold-smoked salmon looks like “lox” and is meant to be sliced thinly, delicious on top of a bagel with cream cheese. Hot-smoked is chunky and firmer, best used on crackers or on top of a salad.
At Tracklements, they source the fish for their cold-smoked salmon from the Faroe Islands, which is an archipelago cluster between Norway and Iceland. Their hot-smoked salmon comes from the Bay of Fundy, situated between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
So, how do you find out what they have to offer each week? Their menu is posted on their Instagram. Just browse and email/text your order on over to Ellen. I recommend trying something new each time you visit.
If you can’t make it during their limited opening hours, stop into either Zingerman’s or Cafe Zola to get your Tracklements fix. But if you want to feel a part of their family, make a visit over to Kerrytown. Even on a cold Michigan winter day, Tracklements’ smoked salmon is always going to be worth the Saturday morning effort.
Travel Muse Magazine 
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