Marzipops
In a nondescript commercial plaza on Packard east of Carpenter, a storefront window is shaded...
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Marketplace
A Fires Closes Lai Lai
A January 16 kitchen fire has closed longtime Chinese restaurant Lai Lai in Arbor Square Plaza at Carpenter and Ellsworth, but the owner aims to reopen there with community support. No one was hurt in the blaze, but the damage...
Read MoreRoot is Closed
Root, the underground cocktail bar at 201 S. First St., closed rather suddenly at the end of January, though ownership intends to reopen in some form. Its Facebook post of January 28 reads in part, “This will be the final night...
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Brews and Cookies
Carlson, Greg Lobdell, and Chet Czaplicka founded Grizzly Peak, Blue Tractor, Jolly Pumpkin, and...
Read MoreA Second Sweetgreen
Less than two months after opening on S. State St. downtown, the salad chain Sweetgreen celebrated the launch of its second location on March 21 in the Arbor Hills shopping center. The fast-casual concept prioritizes fresh and...
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Burlington is Back
The Maple Village shopping center on the city’s west side now hosts a new off-price retail chain to replace the defunct Stein Mart, which closed in 2020. Burlington Stores will mark its Ann Arbor reappearance—there was one in...
Read MoreTesla Opens, Silently
Tesla, the automotive company known for, among other things, disrupting the industry’s dealership model by selling directly to consumers, opened its Ann Arbor retail showroom in recent weeks, as quietly as its electric motors....
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Upstairs on State, a Space for Black Women
Sheena McCullers steered her husband Kyle toward U-M for his doctoral program in business, passing...
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The Importance of Latitude
Latitude, a fast-casual eatery fusing Indian and Mexican flavors, has launched in the busy...
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Preserving Scio
“When I decided to move to America, my dream was to own a farm that would hand-raise free-range,...
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Rise and Fall
It was the billion-dollar company that most Ann Arborites had never heard of. With offices on...
Read MoreMisty’s Handmade Boutique & Crystals Brings Regional-Maker Consignment to N. Zeeb
A new consignment shop, Misty Handmade Boutique & Crystals, opened in January in the Zeeb Rd. plaza shared with Metzger’s and Grand Traverse Pie Company. Wares from more than fifty-five local and regional makers are like...
Read MoreFat Daddy’s Hot Chicken & Waffles Brings Nashville-style Comfort Food to A2
Fat Daddy’s Hot Chicken & Waffles brought its over-the-top Nashville-style comfort food to Ann Arbor in October, and it’s already the top-grossing of its three locations. The playful, youth-oriented brand is the brainchild...
Read MoreSweetgreen Opens on S. State
Students lined up in advance on opening day at Sweetgreen, a fast-casual restaurant chain focused on salads. Corporate spokesperson Grace Demeritt thinks it’s a sign of the brand’s surging popularity—and also possibly the impact...
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The Return of La-Z-Boy
“This has been a long time coming for La-Z-Boy,” says David Patterson, the company’s market sales...
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Nothing (But) Bundt Cakes
Andrea Jones went from auto parts to all in on cakes. It started in 2016, when she was flying back...
Read MoreAfter the Fire
Madras Masala was in its twentieth year as a full-service Indian restaurant with a popular lunch buffet. Vape City had shared its Maynard St. building for fewer than two years when both businesses went up in smoke the morning of...
Read MoreVerbena Closes After Nine Years on S. State
Verbena, the student-focused women’s clothing boutique at 309 S. State St. since 2014, is expected to close by the end of February. The store was a father-daughter partnership between longtime Ann Arbor businessman Bob Duerksen...
Read MoreDispo opens on Ellsworth
On Ellsworth, the party store near University Townhouses has transitioned from liquor to ganja: After an extensive renovation, it’s now Dispo. Though nine other Michigan locations share the name, Dispo (short for “dispensary”)...
Read MoreSticky Ann Arbor Replaces Huron View
It’s been fourteen years since Michigan voters approved medical marijuana and just three since they opened the door to recreational sales, but already the decades of prohibition are taking on a retrospective glow. Before bud...
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