Peaceable Kingdom to Hidden King
With a custodial sentiment for a 163-year-old building in the heart of downtown, the son of the...
Read More
Marketplace
Tastee’s Burgers Arrives
A halal burger joint is finding traction next to the Shell gas station at the busy corner of W. Eisenhower and Ann Arbor–Saline Rd. Taystee’s Burgers opened in January, joining locations in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights. Since...
Read MoreAli Hijazi’s New Fusion
“The concept is working faster than what I anticipated,” enthuses longtime restaurateur Ali Hijazi of the reopening of the Colonnade location of Zamaan Cafe under the full-time care of Iranian-born partner and chef Arash Sharifi...
Read More
New Dorms at Last
In February 2022, the regents voted to build a 1,200-bed dorm on North Campus. Less than ten...
Read MoreFast-casual Greek at Pittsfield’s Uptown
The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill, a growing fast-casual chain, is making its local entrance in a corner retail space fronting Pittsfield’s upscale Uptown Ann Arbor apartment community. May 1 is its “pretty firm” opening date,...
Read More
From Grabbagreen to the Misfit Society Coffee Club
Misfit Society Coffee Club opened in March at the base of the Six11 student high-rise on E....
Read More
A Fire Closes Lai Lai
A January 16 kitchen fire has closed longtime Chinese restaurant Lai Lai in Arbor Square Plaza at Carpenter and Ellsworth, but the owner aims to reopen there with community support. No one was hurt in the blaze, but the damage...
Read MoreRoot is Closed
Root, the underground cocktail bar at 201 S. First St., closed rather suddenly at the end of January, though ownership intends to reopen in some form. Its Facebook post of January 28 reads in part, “This will be the final night...
Read More
Brews and Cookies
Carlson, Greg Lobdell, and Chet Czaplicka founded Grizzly Peak, Blue Tractor, Jolly Pumpkin, and...
Read MoreA Second Sweetgreen
Less than two months after opening on S. State St. downtown, the salad chain Sweetgreen celebrated the launch of its second location on March 21 in the Arbor Hills shopping center. The fast-casual concept prioritizes fresh and...
Read MoreBurlington is Back
The Maple Village shopping center on the city’s west side now hosts a new off-price retail chain to replace the defunct Stein Mart, which closed in 2020. Burlington Stores will mark its Ann Arbor reappearance—there was one in...
Read MoreTesla Opens, Silently
Tesla, the automotive company known for, among other things, disrupting the industry’s dealership model by selling directly to consumers, opened its Ann Arbor retail showroom in recent weeks, as quietly as its electric motors....
Read More
Upstairs on State, a Space for Black Women
Sheena McCullers steered her husband Kyle toward U-M for his doctoral program in business, passing...
Read More
The Importance of Latitude
Latitude, a fast-casual eatery fusing Indian and Mexican flavors, has launched in the busy...
Read More
Preserving Scio
“When I decided to move to America, my dream was to own a farm that would hand-raise free-range,...
Read More
Rise and Fall
It was the billion-dollar company that most Ann Arborites had never heard of. With offices on...
Read MoreMisty’s Handmade Boutique & Crystals Brings Regional-Maker Consignment to N. Zeeb
A new consignment shop, Misty Handmade Boutique & Crystals, opened in January in the Zeeb Rd. plaza shared with Metzger’s and Grand Traverse Pie Company. Wares from more than fifty-five local and regional makers are like...
Read MoreFat Daddy’s Hot Chicken & Waffles Brings Nashville-style Comfort Food to A2
Fat Daddy’s Hot Chicken & Waffles brought its over-the-top Nashville-style comfort food to Ann Arbor in October, and it’s already the top-grossing of its three locations. The playful, youth-oriented brand is the brainchild...
Read MoreSweetgreen Opens on S. State
Students lined up in advance on opening day at Sweetgreen, a fast-casual restaurant chain focused on salads. Corporate spokesperson Grace Demeritt thinks it’s a sign of the brand’s surging popularity—and also possibly the impact...
Read More