A Creative Compact
In Ann Arbor’s own Toy Story, the toys have saved the day.When Rider’s Hobby Shop sales were not keeping up with the increasing rent on Carpenter Road, owner Brent Martin thought he’d be closing the store...
Read MoreOct 8, 2011 | Marketplace |
In Ann Arbor’s own Toy Story, the toys have saved the day.When Rider’s Hobby Shop sales were not keeping up with the increasing rent on Carpenter Road, owner Brent Martin thought he’d be closing the store...
Read MoreOct 4, 2011 | Marketplace |
Ken Magee used to be a DEA agent tracking down drug cartels in Bogota. These days, he’s on the hunt for less dangerous prey. Magee is an avid collector of vintage Michigan sports memorabilia, with a special fondness for...
Read MoreSep 24, 2011 | Marketplace |
White House Black Market is Briarwood’s newest women’s clothing store. Its name derives from the store’s gradually expanding color palette. Originally two Baltimore chains of boutiques that had even more...
Read MoreSep 24, 2011 | Marketplace |
Squares, also open for less than a year, announced a temporary closing at the beginning of summer. By July, Bluestone Realty was posting a For Lease sign in the window on E. Liberty. “I feel bad for them. They lost half a...
Read MoreSep 21, 2011 | Marketplace |
Iorio’s Gelateria, on the first floor of the Maynard House apartment building, is owned by brother and sister Nick and Mary Lemmer, twenty and twenty-three, respectively. If you think that sounds young, they’ve...
Read MoreSep 21, 2011 | Marketplace |
In early August the last traces of Naser Derneika’s Gyro Palace at the Colonnade were being cleared away to make room for Ali Hijazi’s latest Zamaan Cafe. (Hijazi has closed a location on Packard, but still has his...
Read MoreSep 19, 2011 | Marketplace |
“I thought the menu was just wrong,” says Jim Leonardo.”In Europe, there is a rich tradition of wine pairing,” says Leonardo, the new chef at Vinology. On Main Street in Ann Arbor, however, it’s...
Read MoreSep 18, 2011 | Marketplace |
Back in the 1980s, Da Yoopers had a backwoods hit with “Second Week of Deer Camp,” a song about the beer-drinking proclivities of Upper Peninsula hunters. It turns out the song didn’t inspire the name of Hannah...
Read MoreSep 16, 2011 | Marketplace |
Avtomobile, a tiny new shop on East Liberty underneath the Bead Gallery, is hard to characterize, but it’s not hard to say. It’s pronounced–pronovnced?–“automobile.” Maris Turner, one-half of...
Read MoreSep 16, 2011 | Marketplace |
The marketing genius who invented the Blue Apple concept for the Mobil station and convenience store at Packard and Platt was the owner’s eighth-grade niece, Kavya. Owner Dave Davuluri says he wanted a name that would...
Read MoreSep 15, 2011 | Marketplace |
At the moment, the south end of Stone Plaza, at the corner of Ellsworth and Stone School Rd., is a little short on eateries, but the situation is soon to be rectified. The north end of the center is anchored by the large...
Read MoreSep 15, 2011 | Marketplace |
I don’t think any resident would say that Ann Arbor suffers from a dearth of restaurants, but how many really please on all levels? The number is small, but with the opening of Mani Osteria, it has grown. This is not to...
Read MoreSep 13, 2011 | Marketplace |
Several local flower shops have closed in the last few years, but Lily’s Garden is thriving. The three-woman partnership of Harriet Held, Genevieve Stoyak, and Amanda Steele has moved into the house next door to...
Read MoreSep 13, 2011 | Marketplace |
Big Boy was thinking big when the company opened @burger, their first foray into the “fast casual” gourmet burger business, in McKinley Towne Centre last summer. They didn’t even last a year–@burger...
Read MoreSep 10, 2011 | Event Reviews, Marketplace |
From the wordless image of a black bird out front to the cozy circular booths in the back, the new Ravens Club on Main conjures the vibe of a speakeasy from a century gone by–though these days in Michigan, the only...
Read MoreSep 9, 2011 | Marketplace |
“Ann Arbor eats corn and tomatoes,” says Hollis Smith, an amused smile playing on his face. “Greens don’t sell too much over here. They sell in Ypsi.” Was that a wink? Is Smith perhaps suggesting...
Read MoreSep 8, 2011 | Marketplace |
Hours after Borders Inc. made it official–the business is dead, the liquidators are coming–things seemed almost normal at the downtown Borders, “Store Number One.” A light crowd milled about the new...
Read MoreSep 8, 2011 | Marketplace |
White and bright, with counter service and a concise menu, Seoul Street appears to be a fast food restaurant. So what’s with the sign on the counter that says, “Chicken is made fresh every time so it will take a...
Read MoreAug 30, 2011 | Marketplace |
The 8,000-square-foot space recently vacated by Fashion Bug in the Commons and Sauk Trail didn’t stay empty for long. “It’s perfect for what we’re doing, which is really a ministry,” says Lou...
Read MoreAug 27, 2011 | Marketplace |
Ionnia, the small gift shop in Nickels Arcade specializing in high quality Turkish gift items–ceramics, glass, wooden boxes, and jewelry–is closing for the happiest of reasons. Owner Ilkim Erturk had a baby and wants...
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