A Coffee Hobbyist Goes Pro
“I’m passionate about teaching and learning, and I want to share the journey that I’ve had through coffee,” says Mike Bawden. He’s turned what had been a hobby into a new career with Curious Coffee.
Read MoreDine
New Owners at Wicked Mary’s
For half a century, a small standalone building on Packard has served southeast-siders as a takeout joint for chicken and seafood.
Read MoreThe Korean Fried Chicken Boom Continues
Korean cuisine is surging in popularity, with no fewer than four new restaurants added to the city’s mix since 2022. The latest is Bonchon, a fast-casual fried chicken franchise that opened in January in Woodland Plaza.
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Echelon’s Elemental Experience
Echelon Kitchen + Bar, the latest addition to downtown’s fine dining scene, took over two years from lease to launch. Its managing director calls that “a blessing in disguise.”
Read MoreHometown Pizza Opens on Jackson Rd.
A former golf pro and his partner have teamed to bring Hometown Pizza to Scio Twp. Later this year, the shop will include Under Par Simulators, allowing golfers to get in their swings in a realistic indoor environment.
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Restaurants & Dining
Get out, and dine in! Break the winter chill with multicourse fine dining, quick lunches, or tasty to-gos. Enjoy all the creative and delicious culinary delights Ann Arbor has to offer this February. Click to read online Click...
Read MoreA Tale of Two Chicken Chains
The Southern hospitality of Slim Chickens now extends to Scio Township, where the fast-casual chain recently opened its first stand-alone restaurant in Michigan.
Read MoreDoubling Up
Avalon Cafe and Kitchen has moved a block west, joining forces with another Mission Restaurant Group restaurant, the Pretzel Bell.
Read MoreYemeni Coffee in Maple Village
“In other areas of the world, if you get Yemeni coffee beans, they’re called the gold mine of coffee beans, because they have lower acidity,” says manager Ghaith Balbeisi. “It’s a healthier coffee. It’s a better quality product as well.”
Read MoreFrom Thailand to Arbor Square Plaza
Ubol Saenthippkayap grew up cooking in her family’s business in northern Thailand. She’s now fulfilled a dream by opening her own restaurant, Bangkok Chinatown Cuisine, in the Arbor Square Plaza at Carpenter and Ellsworth. Named for the popular tourist district in the Thai capital, it features her authentic Thai recipes as well as spicier takes on Chinese dumplings, soups, and entrees.
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Red Lotus is Danny Van’s Passion Project
After establishing Taste Kitchen as a mainstay of Ann Arbor’s fine dining scene, owner/chef Danny Van has branched out with a passion project: Red Lotus, dedicated to plant-based cuisine. Van went vegan for about a year a few decades ago, but he found it professionally incompatible with his career ambitions and the need to taste his meat and seafood dishes.
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Vinyl & Wine
A new wine bar and listening room centered around vinyl records—and two neighboring buildings dedicated for private events—are the latest evolution for York Food & Drink.
Read MoreIsalita Closes
Adam Baru closed Isalita Cantina Mexicana as of December 23 after twelve years next to his destination Italian restaurant Mani Osteria & Bar. He’s planning to remake the space as Mani Next Door to accommodate family-style meals, larger parties, and private events, aiming to open in time for U-M’s graduation.
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The Flight of Siam Square
Sirintip “Beau” Pramnoi wanted to move Siam Square out of the troubled Victory Inn from the time she bought the longtime Thai restaurant six years ago. She twice replaced rotten flooring due to a leaky roof the landlord wouldn’t fix. The bathroom in the hotel lobby was a refuge for homeless people. To-go orders awaiting pickup would disappear.
Read MorePlates of Joyy Seeks Support
In October we reported the launch of The Plates of Joyy, twenty-one-year-old Leslie Tejada’s cupcake and dessert counter storefront in Briarwood Mall’s dining pavilion. “I just feel like once people give me a chance, they won’t ever give up on me,” the Dominican Republic native and Lincoln High grad said at the time. However, her one-year lease allows the mall the option to bump her for another tenant, so—after investing about $5,000 in building it out—her last day in that space will be January 1.
Read MoreMike Carlson Adds Another Culver’s
Culver’s, which Fodor’s Travel recently ranked as “the most delicious fast food pit stop in America,” has opened in the former TGI Fridays on Lohr Rd. in Pittsfield Twp.
Read MoreMiny’s Mexican Restaurant Opens in Lower Town.
Miny Morales has earned the luxury of stepping back somewhat from the day-to-day demands of running a restaurant. Her three grown sons—Fernando, Rodolfo, and Rudy Gonzalez—are carrying on what she’s built. All three work full-time at Miny’s Mexican Restaurant, which, after seven years in Ypsilanti, recently opened a second takeout location in Ann Arbor’s Lower Town.
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A New York Homage on Carpenter Rd.
New York City serves as the theme for the new Brothers Street Food near Target on Carpenter Rd. Eyad and his younger brother Ahmed heard through a friend that Pita Express was for sale, so they made the deal last spring, moved to Michigan, and remodeled it themselves. (Pita Express is planning to reopen in Briarwood Mall.)
Read MoreOn First St., a New LGBTQ+ Bar
“There is this concept in our country, but also the world, that the people who are experiencing any form of hardship are the ones who have to do the work to end that hardship,” says Saharsh Hajela, co-owner of Uplift, a new bar dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community. “But we don’t talk about the rest. We don’t talk about the recovery; we don’t talk about the joy. That’s something that I really want people to do here, is to come here and smile and laugh, and the things that might stress you outside these doors are not necessarily the things that can touch you here.”
Read MoreSiam Square Takes VKitchen’s Spot
Taking VKitchen’s place in the Colonnade will be the Thai restaurant Siam Square, which suddenly lost its longtime home in the Victory Inn and Suites on Washtenaw in September when the hotel was condemned.
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