The Georgetown Kroger, the last store standing at the decrepit Georgetown Mall on Packard, is scheduled to close September 12. One veteran cashier chokes up as she says: “It’s been my home for thirty-some years....
Read MoreLast spring, Alain Benighil–whose tiny Tienda la Libertad was wedged between Faz’s Hello Pizza and Chan Garden and sold mainly packaged, nonperishable Latino food–took a deep breath and bought the...
Read MoreA walk down Main Street on a Friday or Saturday night is proof that despite financial fears, Ann Arborites and weekend visitors are still going out to dinner. And at the Earle on West Washington, booked tables and a bustling...
Read MoreA few years back, my mother mailed my wife, son, and me a gift for Hanukkah. It was the dead of winter, snow on the ground, so it made absolute sense to receive from her a three-pronged, battery-operated, rotating marshmallow...
Read MoreIs it a sign of the times when a vintage bike repair shop replaces an auto detailing business? That’s what happened at Broadway and Moore, where Michael Firn and Joe Bollinger opened Sic Transit Cycles to refurbish and...
Read More
Last month’s Fake Ad referred to the Fifth Forum theater, a real place that was once a downtown home for art movies; its former building is now the Fifth Quarter nightclub. “The fake ad for August is at the top of...
Read More“They say old watchmakers never die, they just get run down,” says Campus Jewelers owner Lee Pickett. A trim and tireless sixty-two, Pickett is anything but run down. But after repairing watches for more than four...
Read MoreMichael Rockette was just twenty when he bought Bagel Fragel two years ago. In early July he took another big step, moving two doors down in Plymouth View Center, doubling his space and boosting seating capacity from seven to...
Read MoreAndy Gulvezan’s long-running game of musical bar stools continued in July when he reopened the former Monkey Bar and Grill on Main Street as the Full Moon Restaurant and Saloon. It’s been the Full Moon at least twice...
Read MoreCarl Luckenbach is one of the best known and busiest local architects. In recent years, his firm designed three new Ann Arbor District Library branches, the South Forest parking structure, and the planned underground parking...
Read MoreThe Corner Brewery, the three-year-old Ypsilanti offspring of Arbor Brewing Company, is a place I wanted to like. Arbor Brewing’s owners, Matt and Rene Greff, were among the pioneers of the local food movement when they...
Read MoreGladys Ponce opened Burrito Borimex on South State in early July. No one needs to have “burrito” translated, and “mex” is obvious–but what’s a “Bori”?Ponce, who was born in...
Read MoreBeWon Korean Cuisine is not new, but it’s new to me. So nondescript is its setting in a strip mall alongside Busch’s on Green Road that it feels like a real discovery. The room is pleasant, with comfortable tables,...
Read MoreWe received 192 entries correctly identifying the Fake Ad for a Hungarian restaurant, Bewrobra, on p. 77 of the July Observer. “Bewrobra” is, of course, our magic word, “Arborweb,” spelled backward, a...
Read MoreYou’ve got to hand it to Dixboro. It’s managed to hold on to its identity since 1824 despite being denied the trappings of officialdom—city hall, zip code, mayor. Captain Dix’s little borough is still a...
Read MoreNear the corner of Main and Washington, two bicycle-riding “viral marketers” were handing out hats promoting AnnArbor.com. The freebies failed to impress a passerby, who saw the schwag and snorted, “They took...
Read MoreThe “Pita Bite coming soon” sign that appeared in the window of 207 North Main shortly after the latest tenant went out of business made a pretty bold claim: “The Best Food in Town.” In early June,...
Read MoreTaste Our Goods, a new lunch counter inside Bob Sparrow’s butcher and grocery store in Kerrytown, is a collaboration between Sparrow and two recent U-M graduates, Suzanne Lipton and Nora Feldhusen (center and left in...
Read MoreEarly in June two indoor gardening supply stores opened within days of each other.Joe Collins, who owns a similar business in Toledo, swears his decision to open Hot Hydro has nothing to do with Michigan’s legalizing...
Read MoreWhen Joel Hakken and his wife, Wendy, went bicycling together, she used to complain that he rode too fast. So he figured a tandem bike would solve the problem. The two sets of pedals are synchronized, so both riders have to...
Read More
