The Sunshine Fruit Market on Packard closed suddenly in May, but it wasn’t soon enough for the neighbors and landlord. Akram and Hana Rashid, who own the Aladdin Market next door, never really got to know their neighbors. In fact, they say they don’t even know the name of the person who bought the produce market in 2007 (previously under more congenial ownership), but he didn’t blend well with the cozy neighborhood of ethnic groceries.
Janet Seeburger knows his name but doesn’t wish to give it, though she briefly described the circumstances of his departure. Seeburger manages the property for her father, Nabih Mashmi, who owns the building, which also houses Aladdin and a few other businesses.
“They owe me a lot of money, and they left because I evicted them,” she says. The gunshot hole in the front wall was the last straw. Fortunately, she says, she’s already arranged for another produce market to step into the space, possibly as early as September: “I’m really happy to say that. I live a block away. I want a lowcost produce market in my neighborhood.”
Got a retail or restaurant change? Send email to sallymitani@gmail.com or tonymcreynolds@tds.net, or leave voicemail at 769-3175, ext. 309.
This Calls & letters item appeared in the September, 2010, Ann Arbor Observer:
“I’m one of at least fifty people you could interview in our neighborhood who were very, very sad to lose the Sunshine Fruit Market,” southeast side resident Carol Kramer said in a voicemail message. Kramer was responding to our August Marketplace Changes item on the closing of the market, which quoted negative comments made by the store’s landlord and a neighboring business owner. Contrary to those critics, Kramer said, “It was a great place to shop, it was convenient, and the people were extremely friendly. We really, really miss the people and the market.”