The 8,000-square-foot space recently vacated by Fashion Bug in the Commons and Sauk Trail didn’t stay empty for long. “It’s perfect for what we’re doing, which is really a ministry,” says Lou Velker, manager of the Nu2U Resale Store. All proceeds from the store will go directly to the Washtenaw Christian Academy to support scholarships and programming at the pre-K–12 school.

In August, Velker, the store’s only paid staff member, was busy getting the word out about Nu2U and recruiting volunteers to staff it. As he took time out from phone calls and hunting for more clothing racks, two WCA parents laughed and chatted while sifting through an enormous pile of donated clothes, discussing ways to best display them. “We want it to look orderly, clean, and really nice,” says Velker.

Lou Velker has an easy way about him, laughing and reminiscing about growing up in Ann Arbor, his brief stint in the early 1980s as a city council member there, and his longing for the way AM radio used to be, when it wasn’t all talk.

“I used to co-own WCM. We played contemporary Christian music. 990 on the AM dial,” he recalls with a smile. “I did a little bit of everything at the station.” He even deejayed, but sales and raising money have always been his strong suit. He and his business partner sold WCM to Tom Monaghan back in 1999. Now AM 990 is WDEO, home to Ave Maria Radio with its twenty-four-hour Catholic programming.

After twenty-five years in radio, Velker decided to devote his time to the Washtenaw Christian Academy, formerly the Saline Christian School. As its development director for nine years, he was instrumental in raising $3 million dollars for the school building that opened in 2005 on Moon Road, just down the street and around the corner from his new resale store. All three of Velker’s now-grown children are WCA graduates, and he can’t say enough good things about the small, nondenominational school. “If we can raise the kind of money they’re raising up in Kalamazoo at their secondhand store, we could offset the cost of tuition for a lot of families who’d like their kids to go to Washtenaw Christian,” he says, referring to Second Impressions in Kalamazoo, one of close to twenty resale stores around the state whose proceeds support Christian schools.

The store sells clothes, books, electronics, housewares, toys, jewelry, furniture, and holiday items. All donations are tax deductible, but Nu2U does not accept mattresses, computers, dishwashers, car seats, upright pianos, metal desks, or tools. Velker plans to recruit volunteers among the school’s students, alums, retirees, and parents, then have them ask other folks from their churches. “Word will get around,” he says with a smile.

Nu2U Resale Store, 1311 E. Michigan. 316–2342. Mon.– Fri. 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Closed Sun.

The Saline Pharmacy opened its doors earlier this summer in the space formally occupied by the Medicine Shoppe. Owner and pharmacist Ziad Ghamraoui (pronounced Zee-add Gam-rou-ee) asks folks to call him Zee. It’s easier that way. Ghamraoui started off studying medicine but found he had a passion for business, too. He eventually decided that becoming a pharmacist offered the perfect balance between providing health care and working in a business setting. (The hours are a lot better than being a doctor, too.

For years, he worked at chains like CVS but always dreamed of opening his own pharmacy, one that offered an old-fashioned, small-town feel. “I want to get to know my community and listen to what they need,” he says. Most of his business is filling prescriptions, but he welcomes suggestions for over-the-counter products, promising to get them in stock by the next business day.

What customers won’t find are non-health care related items like those prominently featured in the aisles of big-box pharmacies. “I don’t want to be the kind of drugstore that sells alcohol and cigarettes up front and Antabuse and nicotine patches in the back,” Ghamraoui says.

Saline Pharmacy, 75 E. Bennett. 316– 2162. Mon.–Fri. 9 a.m.–6 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.–2 p.m. Closed Sun.

Oxygen Plus Medical Equipment & Supplies moved a little closer to downtown, from 401 N. Ann Arbor to 98 N. Ann Arbor, filling the space formerly occupied by Town & Country Bikes. The store carries a variety of durable medical equipment, from diabetic supplies to scooters, wheelchairs, nebulizers, and compression stockings.

Oxygen Plus Medical Equipment & Supplies. 98 N. Ann Arbor. 429–7444. Mon.–Fri. 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

Closings

The Calico Cat must have had its ninth life. Back in 2008, after thirty years as a downtown fixture, owners Marcia and James Duncan announced its closure. Swayed by the pleading of loyal customers, the Duncans subsequently changed their minds, and the store sprang back to life for another few years.

Now the phone is disconnected, and the owners could not be reached. A sign in the window reads “All fixtures for sale.” A peek through the glass reveals a darkened, cleaned-out space with just a few remaining boxes and no signs of life.

Olde Tyme Pizza didn’t last a year. “We just couldn’t compete with the five-dollar pizza,” explains Laura Semanske. Semanske had helped out at her son’s pizza parlor in the Parkside Plaza strip mall before it closed earlier this summer. As an independent family-owned business that used expensive local ingredients, Semanske says, they couldn’t stay afloat. Her son will stick to his other job as an organic farmer. “You win some, lose some,” says Semanske, who plans to enjoy her retirement and her family.