Featuring candy, chips, cookies, drinks, and frozen treats from forty different countries, Exotic Snack Guys “became famous from TikTok,” according to Felisha Madison, manager of their Briarwood Mall outpost.
Read MoreBori 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 MoreObservant Marketplace Changes readers have surely detected the recent emergence of a few local trends: Yemeni coffeehouses, chicken chains, and mushroom shops.
Mush Love, which opened in October, is the fifth business we’ve noted this year offering dried mushrooms and various preparations for use cases ranging from psychedelic exploration to alternatives to Big Pharma. They’re also available from delivery services and at other stores that have added such product lines since the city essentially decriminalized entheogenic plants and fungi in 2020.
Read MoreNative clothing and gift store NTVES and its adjacent INTY.M Gallery got bumped from Briarwood Mall in September, but the Muenala family says they’ll be back in time for holiday shopping.
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.
“I’m so glad you asked about HERD,” Ann Arbor’s Home Energy Rating Disclosure Ordinance, says Julie Roth, energy manager for the city’s Office of Sustainability and Innovations. “It’s safe to say that Ann Arbor has one of the most robust residential consumer protection programs in the country.”
Read MoreA star builder sells his prototype for $1.25M: In 2004, up-and-coming developer-architect Tom Fitzsimmons bought a pre-WWII house at 637 N. Fourth Ave. for $299,000 and demolished it. In its place he put up a two-unit two-story Colonial-style duplex with ground-floor parking and garage elevators to each spacious, full-floor condo.
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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 MoreTwo discount retailers have opened on the east side, the second area location for each.
Read MoreWoof Gang Bakery & Grooming opened October 23 in the former Sport Clips spot on Ann Arbor–Saline Rd. in front of Meijer. It’s the second of what will be at least six Michigan locations for franchisees Victoria and Cameron MacKellar of Northville, where their first dog boutique and spa opened last December.
Read MoreLamp Post Plaza owner Ron Marten has heard the rumors too. Although the sixty-three-year-old shopping center on E. Stadium is being sold, “it is not getting bulldozed,” he tells the Observer.
Read MorePinball Pete’s will close its South U. arcade in late November, as construction remains ongoing at its next home in the Carver-Gunn Building at 500 E. Liberty.
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