It’s been more than six years since Papa Johns closed its last Ann Arbor store. It ranks fourth among pizza chains in U.S. locations, but stores on W. Stadium, E. Huron St., and Plymouth Rd. are all long gone.
Since her last job as a marketing executive a year ago, Joyce Mueller has been working as a part-time team member at Chick-fil-A in Taylor, she says, “because anything I ask my team to do—clean the bathrooms, fry the chicken, clean up, whatever—I want to say I’ve absolutely done that. I know how to do it. I’m not above doing it. I’m good with anything. I like to get my hands dirty.”
Bori Korean Kitchen & Bar General Manager Chyna Blu says the reimagined second-floor space above Jolly Pumpkin provides a “very casual, laid-back atmosphere, but the food that you get feels like it’s fine dining.”
It’s a partnership between Mission Restaurant Group and the family of Korean-born chef James Park of Ann Arbor. Blu, who manages both Bori and Jolly Pumpkin, says Park dreamed of featuring his traditional cuisine in his adopted hometown, and Mission’s Jon Carlson “was someone to help make that dream come true.”
Read MoreThe first tangible sign of the major Arbor South redevelopment is apparent with the recent closure of the Shell gas station at S. State and E. Eisenhower. Its neighboring business, the Mediterranean takeout joint Shawarma Shop, has been invited into a bigger space nearby, the lobby of the 777 Building.
Read MoreTim Hortons is back at Abraham Ajrouch’s property at the corner of Ann Arbor–Saline Rd. and W. Eisenhower that also hosts a Shell gas station, Chillbox convenience and liquor store, and a Taystee’s Burgers outlet.
Read More“There’s a lot of really great staples on Packard in Ann Arbor,” Hailey Polidori Caragay says. “I’m excited to be a part of that.”
She and her husband, Bryan Caragay, both twenty-nine, have bootstrapped Hazel Coffee Co from a pandemic-era espresso machine into a full-fledged coffee shop fronting the new Packard Row Apartments building.
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Twelve years ago, Vietnam native Sonca Luu was a single mother with only $18,000 on hand when she navigated the paperwork for an SBA-backed loan to start BeeQ Salon & Spa on W. Stadium. She now owns three Ann Arbor beauty-related establishments, two restaurants, and a café. The latest additions are Saigon Social House and Block & Brew Cafe, formerly operating as Taste Kitchen and Red Lotus in the Michigan Theater building (Marketplace Changes, August).
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“It’s been a pretty open secret that we wanted to be here,” says Terry Perrone of Slows Bar BQ, a Detroit destination for two decades. For years they’ve catered local events, hosted food truck tailgates, and served lunch weekly at University and Mott Children’s hospitals. Now they have a permanent presence in downtown Ann Arbor.
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Abdu Saad says he designed his first restaurant to resemble a Moroccan riad, a villa alternative to conventional hotels, typically featuring courtyard oases with fountains, greenery, and ornate elegance.
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“I couldn’t have imagined that as a kid, I would have grown up here, and this would have been something my mom created and that I was able to take over. So I’m really proud of that. Not a lot of businesses make it this long.”
Read MoreAli Usman was just twenty-two when he launched the fast-casual eatery Haifa Falafel in 2008. He had wanted to locate in Courtyard Shops near North Campus but was denied because another Middle Eastern restaurant was already there. He ended up in Glencoe Crossing on Washtenaw Ave.
Read MoreIn 2023, Esam Almulaiki brought a taste of New York City to North U with Bodega Bros, a twenty-four-hour deli and grill with an expansive menu. His new outpost at the opposite side of main campus, Halal Bros 2 Go, is much more streamlined.
Read MoreFollowing up on his highly rated Chinese hot pot restaurant Palace Tang, Eric Zhou has opened another cook-at-your-table option nearby, A+ Wagyu BBQ.
Read MoreIt’s not just residents of the new Verve luxury student apartments who take advantage of its lounge-like lobby and coffee stand, Misfit Society Coffee Club.
Read MoreEnchanted Oven has returned to Saline, offering sourdough breads and lunch options in addition to à la carte and custom cakes, cookies, and other sweets.
Read MoreJust east of Dexter, in a bucolic setting known for hosting increasingly popular Fourth of July fireworks shows, Lori and Brian Herron’s vision for Social Vines is bearing fruit.
Read MoreIn September, hockey dad and entrepreneur Matthew Kavanaugh opened CD Top Shelf bar and grill in Arctic Breakaway’s former space upstairs in Chelsea’s ice arena. Kavanaugh says the restaurant will “focus on fresh,” and include pizzas, plus chopped sandwiches and salads.
Read MoreA longtime breakfast and lunch destination is in new hands this year, and “we’ve been super busy since the day we opened,” says Nela Shahinllari. She manages the front of house, while her husband Enzo is the main chef at Dexter Brunch House. Nela, twenty-five, emigrated at age eighteen and soon met fellow Albanian native Enzo, whose family moved here when he was five.
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The collaborative enterprise of the local Tsogyelgar Buddhist community is expanding into a new multifaceted storefront on Zeeb Rd., White Lotus Farms Café.
Read MoreRaising Cane’s Chicken Fingers couldn’t have plucked a more prominent campus perch for its third Michigan store, number 935 overall for the privately held Baton Rouge–based chain.
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