Sep 17, 2010 | Marketplace |
When GM eliminated its Saturn brand last year, Saturn of Ann Arbor owner Mack Johnson found himself stuck with a dealership and no cars. Not a problem–he bought himself another dealership. As of July 1, Jim Bradley Pontiac...
Read MoreSep 15, 2010 | Marketplace |
If you’re named Schayes and you own a restaurant, you’re probably going to be tempted to name something on the menu “Schayes Rebellion.” James Schayes decided to bestow that name on a pizza topped with...
Read MoreSep 13, 2010 | Marketplace |
I admit to a prejudice against campus eateries. Often plagued by uninspired decor and inexperienced, hapless crews, most restaurants targeting Ann Arbor’s students offer boring menus of subpar food. But prejudice can blind...
Read MoreSep 11, 2010 | Marketplace |
Donald Snider has an intriguing resume. He owned five Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises in Illinois and Georgia from 1986 to 1989, sold them to move back home to Detroit to raise his two children as a single parent, and took a...
Read MoreSep 9, 2010 | Marketplace |
Kildon Chon was a sushi chef at Miki for eight years, but, he says, “everyone who works as a chef wants to own a restaurant.” And Kevin Choi, owner of Miki downtown and its more recent spinoff, Miki Campus, was happy...
Read MoreSep 7, 2010 | Marketplace |
Mukesh and Bharti Patel opened Bombay Grocery on Packard eleven years ago, and they’ve had an eye toward expansion for some time. They bought a vacant lot a few doors down in 2007, but then, in a deal too good to pass up,...
Read MoreSep 5, 2010 | Marketplace |
With its large sign at I-94’s State Street exit and full-page ads plastered across prime space like the back of the 2010 Ann Arbor Summer Festival program, Graham’s Restaurant is hankering for attention. Marketing...
Read MoreAug 26, 2010 | Marketplace |
Bill Harris–a regular customer at Chelsea’s Cranesbill Books before it closed last December–has teamed up with former Cranesbill manager Jeremy Montange to open Just Imagine, a toy and book store, in the same...
Read MoreAug 26, 2010 | Marketplace |
When Tracy and Kevin Lambert opened Fancy Stitch, their custom T-shirt and embroidery store on Main Street, they never thought they’d be relocating to new quarters out by the A&W on Dexter-Chelsea Road six months...
Read MoreAug 24, 2010 | Marketplace |
They say cats have nine lives. Maybe that explains why The Calico Cat Book and Gift Shoppe in downtown Saline never really died despite its December 2008 “Retirement Store Closing Sale.” At that time, everything in...
Read MoreAug 20, 2010 | Marketplace |
The Sunshine Fruit Market on Packard closed suddenly in May, but it wasn’t soon enough for the neighbors and landlord. Akram and Hana Rashid, who own the Aladdin Market next door, never really got to know their neighbors....
Read MoreAug 17, 2010 | Marketplace |
Paul Stone and Patrick Krolick never planned on selling pizzas–they wanted to open a sub shop–but Andrew Jenkins talked them into selling both. Jenkins owned DJ’s Pizza on Packard near Platt, a business that...
Read MoreAug 14, 2010 | Marketplace |
A couple of years ago, I was picking up pomegranate syrup at Jerusalem Market on Plymouth Road when I noticed a sign above the halal meat counter that listed cuts of lamb and goat. I had eaten goat before, mostly in Mexico and...
Read MoreAug 11, 2010 | Marketplace |
You can’t keep a good Zamaan down. Not when you’re Ali Hijazi. Lebanese food is his passion, being a good host is second nature, and running a restaurant is his way of winding down from a day job in real...
Read MoreAug 9, 2010 | Marketplace |
In July, out-of-towners set up on local sidewalks to sell $31 coupon books offering discount deals at local restaurants, entertainment venues, and golf courses. Prominently displayed on their tables were “Support Our...
Read MoreAug 8, 2010 | Marketplace |
Americans may think we’re eating a lot of olive oil these days, but Jim Milligan, Fustini’s co-owner, begs to differ: “The U.S. market for olive oil is under-penetrated. Eighty percent of the world’s...
Read MoreAug 6, 2010 | Marketplace |
The allure of open-air dining diminishes when that air fills with exhaust blasts of passing trucks and “whatcha eating there?” stares from pedestrians. Add pesky flies to the mix, and the less romantic among us want...
Read MoreJul 30, 2010 | Marketplace |
Another ethnicity has joined the united nations of Packard/Platt, which includes Bombay Grocery (Indian), Euro Market (Russian), and multiple Middle Eastern shops. Though the name Galleria doesn’t give off much of an...
Read MoreJul 29, 2010 | Marketplace |
The past couple of years at the Chocolate House of Ann Arbor haven’t been all that sweet.For the first six years of its tenure, owner Vicky Ponitz juggled the business while holding down a series of day jobs. When that...
Read MoreJul 27, 2010 | Marketplace |
The smiling face of continuity greeting the regular customers these days at Great Shanghai, previously New Garden Buffet, at Westgate isn’t Chinese, it’s Mexican. Raul Lopez, originally from Chiapas, has worked there...
Read More