“I spied with my little eye a mural at the entrance to [the] building at 124 W. Summit St.,” writes Isabel McEwen. It’s “in a little garden that backs up to the train tracks on the east border of … Water Hill,” says Dyke McEwen. “I visit friends nearby,” adds Dave Bicknell, “and always look to make sure it’s still there.”
Inspired by a trip to Turkey in 2023, Eddie Alasad of Sterling Heights branched out from several Leo’s Coney Islands he owns to launch Turkish Village Cuisine in Dearborn last year. Now he’s customizing the concept for a college town with an all-day, every-day combination of full-service and fast-casual fare.
Read More
“I always missed Ann Arbor—the slower pace of life, seeing familiar faces around town, being close to my family and friends of fifteen-plus years,” Carter says. She enjoys “going back to all of the wonderful restaurants, shops, museums, libraries, parks, and events that I loved growing up and now getting to share that with my family.”
Read MoreThey allege their parents were coerced with high-pressure sales tactics to purchase wildly overpriced skin care products and devices. One man, who asked not to be identified, said his father, an Ann Arborite with dementia and sciatica, paid them more than $42,000 while walking in the mall for exercise between mid-December and mid-February.
Read More
While the team at Fake Ad Central was collating this month’s responses, the Czar happened to get his water quality report, and did something few people have probably ever done: read it.
Read More
Zibby Oneal, author of several acclaimed young adult novels and a lecturer in English at the University of Michigan, died on January 23, 2025, at her home in Ann Arbor, MI. She was 90 years old.
Read More“It won an award for its unusual design—a concrete slab building, with windowless interior walls [and] indirect natural light,” reader Louisa Griffes wrote in response to Sally Bjork’s 2021 Observer I Spy contest. It “was named Holy Toaster because of its slab-sided design,” added Terri Klein Gordinier.
Read More
Litman brings a blend of humor and scholarship to her new book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes. Pop culture references that include Barbie, Game of Thrones, and Taylor Swift help illustrate her witty analytic history of key SCOTUS rulings.
Read More
Three Pioneer High School moms have joined forces to fund driver’s education classes for thirty-six Pioneer students in the upcoming school year. It’s a pilot project for their new Drive Forward Foundation, which aspires to provide fully funded driver’s education for underserved students throughout Washtenaw County.
Read MoreOffering mostly vintage fashions plucked from estate sales and the like, Torn and Frayed (its name evoking a deep cut from the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main St.) took the spot long occupied by Stadium Pharmacy.
Read MoreThe departure of one longtime merchant from Kerrytown Market & Shops has made room for two newer businesses to grow.
Read MoreFurrokh Khan has closed Once Upon a Grill at 3148 Packard after nine years. Largely a one-person take-out operation, it was known for its authentic kati rolls and biryani dishes.
Read MoreTwo more quick-service eateries have opened in the latest Meijer out-lot building in Scio Twp. Penn Station East Coast Subs and Wing Snob have joined Five Guys (Marketplace Changes, June) and an upcoming UPS Store.
Read MoreWhen a friend texted that her niece had signed up for open mic night at the Ark and invited me along, I said sure. Despite proofing the Observer’s listings for the event for nearly a decade, I had never checked it out, and I thought it could be an interesting way to spend a rainy spring evening.
Read MoreThe algorithm used by the nation’s most popular real estate site is usually in the ballpark of what property is worth—but not always.
Read More
What I have learned from my second summer here is that the city is only quiet if you’re looking in the wrong places. Campus may be quiet, but the city most certainly isn’t.
Read More
One would repeal a 2018 charter amendment that reserves the space above the Library Lane underground parking structure for an urban park and civic-center commons called the Center of the City. The other would transfer the air rights to the Ann Arbor District Library next door for $1. Together, they’d enable construction of a new downtown library in a high-rise spanning both parcels.
Read More
If you were at Taste of Ann Arbor on June 1, then you might have noticed a little shift in participants. For the first half of the event, Tabe, the new Asian fusion eatery on S. Main, had a table out with the rest of the tents, displaying an array of sushi rolls. They weren’t officially part of the event, so they were taking cash payments for sushi sample boxes, instead of the official pink tickets. People lined up to try their beautifully crafted offerings.
Read More
On May 3, then-U-M president Santa Ono beamed as he sat on stage at Michigan Stadium for commencement ceremonies. Next to him was honorary doctorate recipient Derek Jeter, who gave up a Michigan baseball scholarship to play for the New York Yankees, but has remained a true-blue Wolverine. Unbeknownst to Jeter or the audience of parents and graduates, Ono was about to change colors.
Read More
Zingerman’s is one of a growing list of local companies offering their own boutique tours. They range from global cuisine to literary explorations of Paris, up-close explorations of Ireland, and even some led by public media personalities.
Read More