“You can’t beat a beer, a sunny day, and good company!” Nash Pater grins as he stands on a patio overlooking the greens at Reddeman Farms Golf & Banquets on a recent weekday afternoon. Pater–vice president of development for Vargo Golf Company–is part of a team that’s upgrading the public golf course since purchasing it earlier this year. Vargo, which owns or operates nine golf courses in Michigan, including four City of Detroit courses, had been looking at Reddeman for about five years, Pater says. “The timing was right” for the purchase, and he says the former owners (Patty McCarthy and Frank Garzia ran it for more than twenty years) have been supportive.
Pater describes the course, which is set on 150 acres, as “peaceful and serene. It’s out in the country in a beautiful neighborhood with no traffic–just the birds chirping.” Of Vargo’s different properties, Reddeman Farms offers “the best views of a course from the restaurant,” and this should help it boost its banquet business, he says. With seating for up to 200, the restaurant can host weddings, corporate events, and family parties, and Vargo hopes to attract more of them: instead of just one or two weddings a year, he’d like to see at least twenty. (Pater says the company’s Myth Golf & Banquets in Oakland County hosts fifty weddings a year.)
The new owners are keeping the course’s amenities, including a pro shop and a bar with a half-dozen beers on tap, which anchors the restaurant space. They’ve added five large-screen TVs and want to increase restaurant traffic. Since warmer weather’s arrived, the restaurant’s open from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m., offering sandwiches, burgers, and appetizers–nothing over $10. On Fridays they’ve introduced a fish fry, which may change over the summer to other weekend specials, Pater says. Theme nights, DJs, and other community events are possible. “We need to be creative,” he says, especially in the off-season.
“Winter is hard on golf courses,” Pater says. When the pond freezes over, he sees it as a perfect spot for ice skating. Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are other off-season options. “We want to create a fun environment,” he says, and he uses the word “rebranding” to describe how the company wants to make the course a year-round destination.
“We redid the cosmetics–all the little things, the niceties,” he says. Golfers, he explains, are both a “meticulous” and a “loyal” group, and league players and regulars are a key to the course’s success. Vargo has made landscaping upgrades, including adding more flowers. He says there are new flagpoles, clean ball washers, better-mowed greens, and new garbage cans at every hole. The clay that underlies the course is being “softened up” with aeration. In the next couple years, Pater says they hope to renovate the interior of the building, with the possibility for expansion in the future.
Reddeman Farms Golf & Banquets, 555 S. Dancer Rd., 475-3020. 7 a.m.-8 p.m., restaurant open Mon.-Sat. 3 p.m.-8 p.m. reddemanfarmsgolfcourse.com
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Just one year after purchasing Shabby Chic, an upscale women’s consignment shop in Oak Tree Plaza, Stephanie Moran has moved her business downtown and renamed it Moran’s Consignment. “It’s a total dream,” says Moran, about her move to the renovated old police station on Middle St. She lives just one block away from her new shop, which opened May 1, and says, “I’m most excited to be more involved with the festival and special events downtown.”
Moran says her lease was up at her former location, and she was outgrowing the space. “It was a busy but good year,” but she wants to “increase foot traffic” in the new space. She hopes to expand her hours and add some men’s items. She chose her namesake for the new location because she thinks having a “family name is important … one day if we have kids, they can say, ‘My parents own Moran’s.'”
Moran’s Consignment, 104 E. Middle St., 433-9730. Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Closed Sun. Open later Thurs. during Sounds & Sights. moransconsignment.com
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Alison Mackie has turned her small art studio in a downtown basement space into Chelsea Underground Art Gallery. Mackie is a painter and former full-time stay-at-home mom who recently moved from Ypsilanti to Chelsea with her husband, John. She says it was John who convinced her to turn the 700-square-foot space into a business–and she’s launched the gallery with works by a range of artists. “From the Outside Looking In: Diversity and Community,” her first exhibit, features works from New York City’s Richard Meyer, France’s Jeannette Gregori, and local artists Doug Worthington, Ken Shenstone, Anne K. Beyer, Matthew Millar, and Rick De Troyer.
“I don’t want this to be a pretty little gallery on the side of the road … I want to do meaningful work and be engaged with the community in a consciousness-raising way,” she says. Items for sale range from $5 to $1,200–and include pottery, sculptures, and paintings. If you ask, you can also check out Mackie’s own paintings. They’re not on display, but customers can see them “in the back room.”
Chelsea Underground Art Gallery, 105 1/2 S. Main (downstairs), 277-8747, Tues.-Sat. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. (open later Thurs. during summer festivals). Closed Sun. and Mon. chelseaunderground.com
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Village Motors at 1185 S. Main is now Golling Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram. President Bill Golling–who also owns dealerships in Bloomfield Hills and Lake Orion–purchased the facility in April and offers 180 new and seventy-five used cars on site. But Golling has bigger plans in the works. Next February he plans to open a second dealership in the former Chelsea Chevrolet Buick up the road at 1500 S. Main.
“It’s a 14,000-square-foot facility that we’ll also be revamping to house 500 new cars and certified service,” says general manager Marcus Nichols. Nichols says the current location will then offer used cars and a body shop.
Golling Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, 1185 S. Main, 475-8661, Mon. and Thurs. 8 a.m.-8 p.m., Tues., Wed., Fri. 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Closed Sun. gollingchelsea.com
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Plaid Melon Cafe owner Dave Gallinat has expanded his hours–and his menu–less than a year after opening in the Clocktower Complex. “We’re going to try it through the summer,” he says. People were asking for dinner hours, and with Chelsea’s busy roster of summertime events, he figured the time was right to do it. The Angry German–a burger with sauerkraut, mayo, bacon, and Gruyere on grilled rye–and the Red Rocket–a sourdough sandwich with sauteed arugula and red pepper–are among the additions to his eclectic menu.
Plaid Melon Cafe, 312 N. Main (Clocktower Complex), 475-1457, Mon.-Wed. 7 a.m.-4 p.m., Thurs.-Sat. 7 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun. 9 a.m.-2 p.m. plaidmelon.com
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At the end of March, Cellular & More Verizon Wireless opened in its new location in the Wags to Wiskers building on S. Main. “We’ve at least doubled our space,” says manager Erik Fetters of the store with bright-red awnings. “Business was growing, and we’ve added more employees and more products” since leaving the strip mall across the road. In addition to a full selection of Verizon smartphones and tablets, Fetters says the store now carries an array of Comtronics products, including burglar alarms, surveillance cameras that can be monitored with a smartphone, and automated lighting systems for homes. Other additions include fitness watches, Bluetooth speakers, and Comcast Xfinity services for TV, home phone, and Internet.
Cellular & More Verizon Wireless, 1192 S. Main, 475-8455, Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m., cellularandmore.com
