2022 May Archives - Ann Arbor Observer

Mary Frances Kinley

Apr 25, 2022 | Memorials / Obituaries |

Mary Frances Kinley (also known as Murph by William, family, and friends) passed away peacefully...

James “Jim” Perry

Apr 25, 2022 | Memorials / Obituaries |

James “Jim” Perry of Ann Arbor, Michigan, passed away peacefully and surrounded by the love of his...

James Willis (“Jim”) Toy

Apr 25, 2022 | Memorials / Obituaries |

James Willis (“Jim”) Toy, pioneering Transgender/Bisexual/Lesbian/Gay rights and social justice...

Mature IT

Apr 25, 2022 | Fake Ad and I Spy |

We received 197 entries correctly identifying the Fake Ad for Mature IT on page 32 of the April issue.

“The gingerbread trim is … gone,” says Pamela Kittel about April’s feature, the house at 604 E. Washington—one of four demolished “to allow developers to put up another monstrosity,” says Dan Romanchik, or as Lelia Raley coins it, “the latest Megalopolith Brat Castle.”

Closings: May 2022

Apr 25, 2022 | Community, Marketplace |

Washtenaw Ave. has bid farewell to two chain spots, one venerable and one relatively new. Denny’s closed in late March, a representative of the restaurant told MLive. The all-day diner, known for its Grand Slam breakfasts,...

A Slimmer Slurping Turtle Returns

Apr 25, 2022 | Community, Dine, Marketplace |

When Slurping Turtle closed last September for its first major renovation since opening in 2014, it estimated the overhaul would take six to seven weeks. (Observer, November 2021.) Instead, it took the Liberty St. restaurant...

Koney, Again

Apr 25, 2022 | Community, Dine, Marketplace |

Last May, Marwan Al-Rabie opened the Alpha Diner on Jackson Rd. in Scio Township. It was his long-sought successor to the Alpha Koney Island in the Oak Valley Centre, which he’d operated for seventeen of the restaurant’s thirty...

Enlightened Soul Expands into Retail

Apr 25, 2022 | Community, Marketplace |

“Are you ready for Moldovite?” asks a sign at Enlightened Soul Center & Shop. Found in the Czech Republic and “thought to be the product of an ancient meteorite impact,” the stones are “said to have a transformative effect...

No, Not Those Cookies

Apr 25, 2022 | Community, Marketplace |

As the Observer went to press, a double billboard on I-94 still announced cryptically, “Cookies / Coming Soon.” By then, though, anyone hoping for a Mrs. Field’s competitor knew better: the previous weekend, Ann Arbor’s newest...

From Engineering to Chicken Wings

Apr 25, 2022 | Community, Dine, Marketplace |

Working as an engineer in his hometown of Troy, Steve Nardone was a frequent customer at its...

Real Irish Takes a Breather

Apr 25, 2022 | Community, Marketplace |

Stuart Marley sounds delighted that Redden is taking over the digs his Real Irish shop had occupied since 2018. The change gives Marley an opportunity to take a break from the retail operation to focus on his web business,...

Chris Redden’s Skateboard Dream Fulfilled

Apr 25, 2022 | Community, Marketplace |

Christopher Redden’s Olympia Skate Shop in Ypsilanti has drawn customers from across the state and...

Playing with the Brain Plasticity Ukulele Collective

Apr 25, 2022 | Community, My Town |

As I walked the streets of Ann Arbor after moving to town twelve years ago, I breathed in all the...

Question Corner

Apr 25, 2022 | Community |

Q: Large cities with busy pedestrian populations frequently utilize a stoplight system at busy intersections when there is a period where all traffic is stopped and all pedestrian crossings signal “walk.” Then traffic flows...