Briarwood Mall Shuffle
Native 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.
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Tim Hortons Returns to Ann Arbor–Saline Rd.
Tim 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 MorePackard Gets a New Coffee Shop
“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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Two Vietnamese Spots on E. Liberty
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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Slows Bar BQ Comes to A2
“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.
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HERD Mentality
“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 MoreOctober 2025 Ann Arbor Home Sales
A 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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A Riad on S. Main
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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Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow
“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 MoreHaifa Falafel Expands
Ali 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 MoreAnother Brother
In 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 MoreA+ Wagyu BBQ
Following 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 MoreNew Locations for Ross and Burlington
Two discount retailers have opened on the east side, the second area location for each.
Read MoreSit, Stay, Spa
Woof 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 MoreFor Sale: Lamp Post Plaza
Lamp 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 MoreMarketplace Closings | November 2025
Pinball 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.
Read MoreSeptember 2025 Ann Arbor Home Sales
Our eagle-eyed real estate consultant, Sue Maguire, noticed quite a few properties on the market for longer than usual. Her hunch was correct; her research found the total number of days on market (DOM) in the AAPS area from list to under contract in September 2025 was thirty-six, up from twenty-four in September 2024.
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The School of Yoga’s Uncertain Future
There’s a secret room in the basement of the Ann Arbor School of Yoga (AASY). Below the studio space, behind the changing areas, there’s a room where three huge shelves groan under the weight of Blakeney’s collection of yoga books. Her students are allowed to read the books, but not take them home, so many of them peruse the private library before and after class.
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Cluster Museum Is Coming Out Swinging
A former ballet studio on N. Main is ready for a star turn in a new artistic direction. Cluster Museum, a new collaborative of local artists, hosts a small commercial gallery with art supplies for sale in the front section. Behind the wide viewing window is an ample floor for contemporary thematic exhibits, workshops, and author readings.
Read MoreMisfit Society Coffee Club
It’s not just residents of the new Verve luxury student apartments who take advantage of its lounge-like lobby and coffee stand, Misfit Society Coffee Club.
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