Marketplace

The year 2013 has been a lucky one for the arts in Dexter.As its name and elaborate Spencerian logo suggest, D. Fitzgerald’s Fine Jewelry is indeed a purveyor of fine, classic jewelry–those are diamond solitaires...

“They were struggling,” says Ed Shaffran, landlord to Shine, the Fourth Avenue gift shop that closed before Halloween. It had the bad luck to open in the middle of winter, then “just as things were heating up,...

As winter settles in, local brewpubs are rolling out seasonal beers. Mike Maroney at Ann Arbor Brewing Company says that compared to the light and crisp fruit-flavored ales featured in the summertime, winter brews tend to be...

“I always vote for the underdog,” says Catrina Vlisides when asked why she named her new Saline restaurant Detroit Dog Co. She says the name reflects both her passion for Detroit and a desire to raise awareness about...

Jim and Bill Hart, who bought Seyfried Jewelers in 1978 from Ralph Seyfried, are, somewhat reluctantly, going out of business in January. Reza Rahmani wants his building back. Jim says, “He wants to turn the back part into...

Each day legions of students dash back and forth along South U. Some are heading to class. Others seek the warmth of coffee shops, anxious for their next caffeine fix. Still, they all need to eat.In March 2012, Alex Perlman...

Most small businesses struggle to pay the rent. How can Merit–a “cause-based” fashion brand–give 20 percent off the top of every purchase to a scholarship fund and still pay the rent? “We covered...

A year ago, Susan Thomas and Khaled Houamed said they would shortly be opening their El Harissa Market Cafe in Maple-Miller Plaza. Finally, they’ve achieved liftoff: the gelato counter opened in October, followed a few...

Briarwood’s message to Arbor Hills Crossing is a loud and clear “Bring it!” Its new leases in the last year seem to be a point-by-point rebuttal to the fancy new shopping complex. Arbor Hills has lululemon?...

“Thank you for coming out today. We need all the help we can get,” said one cashier fervently, shortly after GFS Marketplace opened. She had clearly been instructed to thank customers for their support and left to...

Arbor Hills Crossing at Washtenaw and Platt shuns the big-mall paradigm of anchor stores flanked by smaller, more transient shops. But Zola Bistro, if not the anchor, is the nerve center for the complex. Smack in the center and...

Elaine Selo says the offer on the three-story building on the corner of Main and Liberty that she and partner Cynthia Shevel own came as a surprise. She had ordered plenty of Christmas stock for her first-floor Selo/Shevel...

“All we have now are frozen clams,” says Oliver Vallier to a customer asking about brine shrimp in the closing days of University Aquarium, the Westgate pet shop specializing in fish. It opened forty-five years ago....

We received 148 entries correctly identifying the Fake Ad for Combat Zone Paintball on page 78 of the November Observer. We loved each and every one, but we had one favorite.The ad’s quote about keeping your friends close...