16 Hands fills Mathilde’s spot
“I promise I won’t move again,” says Jill Damon of 16 Hands, who has moved into what used to be Mathilde’s Imports. When she moved from Main St. to Kerrytown three years ago, she shared a second floor...
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New owners at Raja Rani
Jay Singh confirmed that his lease expired at Raja Rani, and, while the restaurant will continue as Raja Rani, it will be run by Taste of India Suvai on State St. (The arrangement was also confirmed by the person who answered...
Read MoreA Board Shop’s Slow Launch
David Greenwald, manager of the Launch Board Shop on Jackson Rd., isn’t a naturally doleful personality, but looking out at the Jackson resurfacing he loses a little of his bounce. “It’s a great place,...
Read MoreA new taqueria at Stone Plaza
Chela’s on Stone School Road has been replaced by the equally authentic taqueria El Ranchito. Owner Guillermo “Willie” Lopez is from the Monterrey area of Mexico. He also owns Willie’s Painting Service,...
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A Bar That Isn’t
“Traverse City is happening for about four months a year,” says Kate Nordby, meaning it is not happening for about eight. Hence, VinBar, a collaboration among Good Harbor, L. Mawby, and Black Star Farms, three...
Read MoreNew Life at Packard and State
Nick Costos, who opened Mr. Greek’s Coney in 1995 on State Street and operated it for eleven years, boasts that he knows the secret to running a successful restaurant in this restaurant-saturated town. Get out your...
Read MoreKalkaska Convention and Visitors Bureau
Only 73 clever Fake Adders spotted last month’s Fake Ad for the Kalkaska Convention and Visitors Bureau on page 90 of the November Observer. The previous winner’s name, “Karl,” was hidden in the text,...
Read MoreTamaki Retools as Taste Kitchen
Dan Van is the chef who opened Tamaki on East Liberty last December. He says it was partly the brutal winter that did it in before it ever really got going. His cafeteria-line sushi and rice bowls tailored to a student budget...
Read MoreA Designer’s Odyssey
For over a decade, the Pangborn Collection had a high-profile shop at Detroit Metro Airport. Many airport shops had been unhappy that heightened post-9/11 security took effect just as the McNamara Terminal opened at DTW in early...
Read MoreA New Porsche/Audi Showroom
At the other end of town, the other place dealing in fine German engineering–Germain, formerly Howard Cooper, is getting a new building to split off Audi and Porsche from VW. General manager JP Lammers says the large...
Read MoreSuburban’s Growing Car Collection
Dave Fischer collects auto dealerships like baseball cards. He has over 100–the Suburban Collection is one of the largest privately held dealerships in the country. With his recent acquisition of BMW of Ann Arbor and...
Read MorePlaid Melon Cafe Opens
In September, Manchester resident Dave Gallinat opened the Plaid Melon Cafe in Chelsea’s Clocktower Complex–offering breakfast, lunch, specialty coffees, and desserts. Although he took over the lease from Gourmet...
Read MoreLost in Briarwood
“How do I get to JC Penney?” is not an unusual question at Briarwood–but until recently, is was rare to hear it at Sears at the opposite end of the million-square-foot mall. But Sears staff have been fielding...
Read MoreCarrigan Cafe
“This is a new place to call home,” says Karen Carrigan, sitting with husband Jason in their Carrigan Cafe four days after the grand opening. Brian and Lori Sun used to own the space, formerly called My Favorite...
Read MoreWhat’s the Null?
There’s a big, new pub in Dexter–the Null Tap House–in a place you wouldn’t expect to find one–the industrial park off Dan Hoey Road.In addition to its out-of-the-way location, Null has an...
Read MoreAnother Plum Market
A second Plum Market will be going into the former Cleary College building on Plymouth Rd. Plans submitted to the city in late September call for a 5,000-square-foot addition to the 20,000-square-foot building. Plum also...
Read MoreA Bike Shop’s Bitter Blow
On September 29, Dennis Pontius, owner of Two Wheel Tango, “found out that we might be losing our relationship with Specialized,” the only brand of bike Pontius carried at all three stores–two in Ann Arbor, one...
Read MoreThe United Nations of Main St.
Inty Muenala, owner of the recently opened Native Kichwa Arts on Main St., might not be the greatest speaker of English–it’s his third language after Kichwa and Spanish–but he can speak “artist”...
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