As the student high-rise building boom thunders on, four businesses were displaced in recent weeks from the northeast corner of South University and Church St. Only one of them is reopening elsewhere.
The longest-tenured of the casualties is Oasis Mediterranean Grill, serving up falafel and shawarma since 1986. Nizar El-Awar, who emigrated from Lebanon, opened across the street as a “hole in the wall” with just three stools for customers. He later added Rendezvous Café next door, which eventually became an upstairs hookah lounge, and South U Pizza. He focused on Oasis when the Vic Village South project prompted his move in 2020 into the former China Gate restaurant space.
Oasis was also a reliable vendor at the Ann Arbor Art Fairs and Summer Festival for several decades, but after some tough years since the pandemic, El-Awar is opting to retire.
The single-story building to be demolished also hosted the original Sweeting bubble-tea shop and Jimmy John’s subs. No successor sites have been announced, but Sweeting remains in Briarwood Mall, and Jimmy John’s has six other locations in town.
Related: Bubble Tea at the Big Mall
Oasis Is Back
The South U survivor is street-wear and footwear boutique Motivation. Mike Moeller is moving his seventeen-year-old brand into bigger digs one block east in the Landmark Apartments building. He says he’ll be hosting pop-ups nearby until officially reopening with all-new fixtures in late May or early June.
A nineteen-story apartment building is planned for the site, which also includes lots which were once home to the S3 Safe Sex Store and Middle Earth. The 183-unit, 625-bed Chapter Ann Arbor is scheduled to open for the fall 2027 term.
Motivation, 1300 South University, ste. 5. (734) 769–2260. mtvtn.com
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