Saline Inn owners Frank Daidone and Nick Kirkopoulos reopened their E. Michigan Ave. restaurant on October 7, ten months after it was shut down by a kitchen fire.

Daidone and Kirkopoulos, each wearing a white chef’s jacket, sat down in one of the twenty brand-new booths two weeks after reopening. The longtime colleagues finish each other’s sentences in the half-hour between the lunch and dinner rush, the only time they get to eat before closing at 9 p.m.

“I got the call from the alarm company,” says Daidone, describing the night of the fire last December. “‘You’re nuts!’ I told the guy who called. Everything was fine when we closed. I thought the guy calling was crazy.”

Once Daidone realized the alarm was real, he drove back to Saline from his home in Clinton; Kirkopoulos came in from Livonia. “We were here until two-thirty in the morning,” says Kirkopoulos.

“We first opened the Saline Inn back in 1995,” said Daidone, a Michigan native. Kirkopoulos moved to Michigan from Greece in 1980, and his English is peppered with the beautiful rolled r’s of his native language. The two met when they worked in a restaurant in Redford Township and decided to go into business together. “This space was different places that didn’t stay in business before we bought it,” says Daidone.

But the Saline Inn took hold–and after the fire, the community rallied around to help its staff. Neighboring businesses “put out canisters and took collections to give our staff to help them through the holidays,” Kirkopoulos says.

“We are blessed to have such a welcoming, supportive community,” echoes Daidone. The refrain sounded not unlike a Greek chorus, as each shared again and again their gratitude.

“People were supportive every day, sometimes stopping by just to say they can’t wait until we reopen,” says Daidone. “It took a lot longer than we expected.

“The insurance investigation took time, and we’re still waiting for the final cause [of the fire]; then the architecture drawings, then getting the permits, then you have to have all the kitchen equipment custom made for the space,” says Daidone. “We thought we could reopen back in July or August, but it takes as long as it takes.”

Nearly all of their original staff has returned. The owners kept most other things the same, too: “We took a few things off the menu, but we offer them as specials, like the liver and onions,” says Kirkopoulos. “And we’ve added specials like a California chicken salad with grapes, pecans, and celery.” One of the waitstaff came up with that recipe.

Saline Inn, 434 E. Michigan Ave., Saline, 429-2004. Daily 6 a.m.-9 p.m.

Once the Stony Lake Brewing Co. sign went up in early October, folks began circling the place like hawks. “We’ve had to park in the back. Otherwise, people stop to talk,” laughs owner Jerry Tubbs. He and his wife, Heidi, aren’t complaining, though. The encouragement and excited anticipation from nearby business owners have been wonderful. That and lots of hard work and help from friends and family kept them optimistic as they dealt with delays in opening their microbrewery.

Barring any setbacks after the final building inspection, Stony Lake should open before the end of the year. Tubbs has been hiring part-time staff. “We’ve got some new smart young people to offset a dumb old guy,” he jokes.

In an October interview, the couple was relieved and grateful that the end is in sight. “I can’t imagine how we would have done it without the help of my sons and some good friends,” says Tubbs. One of the projects that took far more time than expected was the construction of a new firewall enclosing the brewing area. Tubbs also widened the opening between the main room and the front room. “It lets in a lot more light and really opens up the place,” he says.

The first batch of brews is ready to go. Ten taps dispense beer and two others cider. The Tubbses donate the spent barley grains to WLS Organic Acres in Saline, a certified organic farm. “Once we open, we expect to brew three days a week, and that will make two to three hundred pounds of spent grain,” explains Tubbs. “Even after it’s used, the spent barley is great for the farm, because it’s still high in fat and protein.” Tubbs points out that WLS owners Bill and Leslie Sievert lavish them with goat cheese and fresh produce in return, so it’s a win-win.

Stony Lake Brewing Co., 447 E. Michigan, Saline, 316-7919. Planned hours: Tues. & Wed. 3-10 p.m., Thurs. 3-11 p.m., Fri. 3-midnight, Sat. noon-midnight, Sun. 1-8 p.m. Closed Mon. stonylakebrewing.com

At press time, the Salvation Army was set to open a new retail shop in the space last occupied by ACO Hardware, which closed in summer 2014.

“We plan to open on November 21,” says Salvation Army manager Stefan Klages. In October, a giant banner in the window read, “Now Accepting Donations 9 a.m.-5 p.m.” Klages has already hired a handful of staff and is looking to hire a total of about two dozen full- and part-time workers.

It’s a homecoming for Klages, who graduated from Saline High School in 2007 before joining the Navy. After that, he landed at the Ann Arbor Salvation Army store, where he worked his way up to assistant manager.

The Saline store joins a host of other nearby resale and secondhand shops. “We’re up for the competition,” says Klages with a smile. “We stock 2,200 pieces of new clothes every day and another 1,000 household items every day.”

The Salvation Army, 423 E. Michigan Ave., Saline, 429-9838. Mon.-Thurs. 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Closed Sun. but donations accepted 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Anthony Toarmina is twenty-six and his fiancee, Stephanie Schultz, is twenty-four, but both have already spent many summers working at Mickey’s Dairy Twist. Now they own it.

“We just finished our first season as owners,” says Schultz.

The couple bought Mickey’s, a Saline institution since 1995, from Anthony’s parents, Pete and Laurie Toarmina.

The Toarminas, co-owners–with two of Pete’s sisters and their husbands–of Saline’s Mangiamo Italian Grill & Bar, explained the changes in their eateries at a table in the downtown restaurant.

When Mangiamo first opened in 2011, it included a newly built ice cream parlor, Mickey’s Downtown, which served Laurie Toarmina’s homemade ice creams from Mickey’s Dairy Twist. Eventually, Pete and Laurie decided to focus on the restaurant.

“We needed more dining space for the restaurant,” Pete says. “If we took out the ice cream parlor, we’d get that space and a lot of light.” The construction was completed a year ago and added room for about thirty-two more diners. “Now it’s where people prefer to sit, by the windows,” says Pete.

What about Mickey’s Dairy Twist?

“Well, I pulled out a gun,” Pete jokes, suggesting that he forced his son to buy the business. “No, that’s not what happened,” he says, as he looks affectionately across the table at his son. “Even though Anthony is young, he knows the business, probably better than I do. Now he and Stephanie can make it their own.”

Open from mid-March to mid-October, Mickey’s Dairy Twist uses Laurie’s secret recipes for its ice cream. Along with the nearly two dozen recipes, Laurie gave the young couple her advice: “Don’t skimp on the nuts. It’s not worth the savings.” She learned that lesson years ago from a batch of cheap pecans.

“I updated the cash registers already,” says Anthony, explaining that they now use iPads loaded with ShopKeep, a point-of-sale system. “We plan to have a greater social media presence, too.” Stephanie is eager to find ways that they can help the community and donate unsold ice cream. “We’re also getting involved with other west-end businesses to revitalize our end of town,” says Anthony.

Meanwhile, they’re busy scouring all the equipment and getting everything spick and span for the next ice cream season. “Hopefully we won’t have to shovel two feet of snow off the walk next March, like we did last time,” says Stephanie.

Mickey’s Dairy Twist, 751 W. Michigan Ave., Saline, 429-4450