The Antiquarian
Antiquarian Book ShopFor Intelligent PeopleBy Risk or AppointmentI’m not certain I meet the sign’s description, but I take the risk and enter the warehouse behind 1924 Packard, by Morgan & York’s back...
Read More2015 September
A Season at the Food Hub
Having spent the last twenty-two years building a successful organic farm in Chelsea, Richard Andres and Deb Lentz are tackling their next big project: building a second, even bigger enterprise just north of Ann Arbor along...
Read MoreFootball Dramas
In 2014, the biggest drama of Michigan football wasn’t on the field: as the U-M struggled through its sixth dreadful season in the past seven, the fans went missing.With the price of games increasing in inverse ratio to...
Read MoreBrad Phillips
If all the musicians that Brad Phillips has accompanied on stage, recorded with in the studio, or produced albums for in the past decade show up for his show at the Ark on September 29, there won’t be any room for the rest...
Read MoreHouses of Hospitality
When state police evicted the residents of the Wagner Rd. homeless encampment known as “Camp Take Notice” in 2012, Peggy Lynch says opening her home to the campers felt like the “authentically Christian”...
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The Making of Foundry Lofts
Rising fourteen stories above the corner of E. Huron and Division, the Foundry Lofts swarm with cranes, trucks, and workers. Though tenants signed leases that were supposed to start this month, construction delays have pushed...
Read MoreIn the Works: Washtenaw Commons
“Duane Renken owned the whole block for a very long time,” says Ingrid Sheldon, president of the nonprofit Ann Arbor Thrift Shop. The Thrift Shop is on that block, a well-trafficked but dreary stretch of cinder-block...
Read MoreChia Shiang’s Big Improvements
“We’re not closed. We’re just getting more improved,” says Catherine Lee, manager of Chia Shiang. In late July, they were technically closed and had been for three weeks, which prompted a reader to ask if...
Read MoreMakeover on Main
Two couples with longtime downtown Chelsea business ties have each purchased half of the former Chelsea Village Hardware building–vacant since the store closed in January 2013–and are renovating their spaces...
Read MoreRight & Left
On an otherwise barren stage, the willowy limbs of Li Nan and Gu Jiani roll weightless through space, pausing in weary contemplation as various complexities of their partnership arise. Right & Left, choreographed by Gu, is...
Read MoreSaline’s Salt Springs
Saline residents Ron Schofield Jr., Mark Zadvinskis, and Ed Brosius joined forces to open the city’s first microbrewery July 31. The instantly popular Salt Springs Brewery combines a microbrewery with a full service...
Read MoreMacheko Grill
Having worked in restaurants for years, I knew why Macheko Grill’s entire crew was sitting down at the end of the night to a staff dinner of Jet’s pizza. No matter how wonderful the food, or enthusiastic the crew at...
Read MoreLocally Sourced
“I’m here for help. They give produce, every Tuesday and Thursday. So many people come here from other countries,” said an elderly gentleman from Jordan at the Salvation Army’s Tuesday morning food bank...
Read MoreCommunity theater
When Forrest Hejkal started the Carriage House Theatre four years ago, he searched for a venue that would be “interesting and a draw in its own right.” With hammer, nails, and imagination, the recent Rudolf Steiner...
Read MoreStrawberry Alarm Clock
After six months of controversy, on July 27 the Dexter City Council approved plans for Jack Savas’s coffeehouse, the Strawberry Alarm Clock Cafe, on Broad St. near the railroad tracks. “We’ll break ground...
Read MoreCreative Reuse
When Joe Lambert bought the elegant Second Empire Peter Brehm home in 2013, he could see traces of its many former uses. That it started as a family home was obvious, because the basic layout–living room, dining room,...
Read MoreLibrary Books
Q. If all of the checked-out books were returned to the library, would they fit? If not, how much additional shelf space would be needed?A. It is common for public libraries to plan for between one-half and one-third of their...
Read MoreChasing Butterflies
In the summer of 1975, my wife, Nancy, and I enrolled in a U-M adult education course, “The Natural History of Butterflies.” I had just begun my academic career as an assistant professor of surgery, and the class...
Read MoreWorld of Beer is Now Dick Tyler’s Tavern
Returning students will find a different bar at the corner of Forest and South U where World of Beer used to be. Chad Wilson and Steve Rossi moved their WOB franchise to Canton–all WOBs are adding kitchens and full menus,...
Read MoreA Second Songbird Cafe Opens
“I was looking for a second place, something smaller, where we could edit down our menu,” says Jenny Song, explaining why she opened her second Songbird Cafe in the former Great Lakes Coffee on Jackson. Her first one...
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