“Mt. Whitmore Family Ski Resort”
We received 153 entries correctly identifying the Fake Ad for Mt. Whitmore on page 57 of the November Observer.
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2025 November
The Yellow and Blue
Some years back, I went to the Michigan Union Ticket Office to get tickets for a U-M Men’s Glee Club concert. But when I finally got to the front of a long line, the young clerk politely told me MUTO didn’t sell Glee Club tickets. This surprised me, I told him, because the Glee Club website said this was in fact the only place that sold them. He assured me that no, MUTO did not sell Glee Club tickets. I gently persisted: “Another indicator is the sign behind you that says ‘Glee Club Tickets Sold Here.’” This observation delighted the people in line behind me.
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A Riad on S. Main
Abdu Saad says he designed his first restaurant to resemble a Moroccan riad, a villa alternative to conventional hotels, typically featuring courtyard oases with fountains, greenery, and ornate elegance.
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Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow
“I couldn’t have imagined that as a kid, I would have grown up here, and this would have been something my mom created and that I was able to take over. So I’m really proud of that. Not a lot of businesses make it this long.”
Read MoreHaifa Falafel Expands
Ali Usman was just twenty-two when he launched the fast-casual eatery Haifa Falafel in 2008. He had wanted to locate in Courtyard Shops near North Campus but was denied because another Middle Eastern restaurant was already there. He ended up in Glencoe Crossing on Washtenaw Ave.
Read MoreAnother Brother
In 2023, Esam Almulaiki brought a taste of New York City to North U with Bodega Bros, a twenty-four-hour deli and grill with an expansive menu. His new outpost at the opposite side of main campus, Halal Bros 2 Go, is much more streamlined.
Read MoreA+ Wagyu BBQ
Following up on his highly rated Chinese hot pot restaurant Palace Tang, Eric Zhou has opened another cook-at-your-table option nearby, A+ Wagyu BBQ.
Read MoreNew Locations for Ross and Burlington
Two discount retailers have opened on the east side, the second area location for each.
Read MoreSit, Stay, Spa
Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming opened October 23 in the former Sport Clips spot on Ann Arbor–Saline Rd. in front of Meijer. It’s the second of what will be at least six Michigan locations for franchisees Victoria and Cameron MacKellar of Northville, where their first dog boutique and spa opened last December.
Read MoreFor Sale: Lamp Post Plaza
Lamp Post Plaza owner Ron Marten has heard the rumors too. Although the sixty-three-year-old shopping center on E. Stadium is being sold, “it is not getting bulldozed,” he tells the Observer.
Read MoreMarketplace Closings | November 2025
Pinball Pete’s will close its South U. arcade in late November, as construction remains ongoing at its next home in the Carver-Gunn Building at 500 E. Liberty.
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Don’t Call It a Data Center
In December, U-M announced its plans to partner with the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to create a $1.25 billion “state-of-the-art” computing and AI research facility. Construction is expected to begin in 2027 and wrap up in 2031. The facility is tentatively sited on nearly 150 acres of land on Textile Rd. in Ypsilanti Twp.
Read MoreSeptember 2025 Ann Arbor Home Sales
Our eagle-eyed real estate consultant, Sue Maguire, noticed quite a few properties on the market for longer than usual. Her hunch was correct; her research found the total number of days on market (DOM) in the AAPS area from list to under contract in September 2025 was thirty-six, up from twenty-four in September 2024.
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Pat Deneau
Deneau, who works regular twenty-four hour shifts, finds comfort in his woodchuck friends. “On a day where things aren’t going our way, our station mascots are still out there doing their thing—unbothered by circumstances outside of their control.”
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Sports for Sale
After a landmark July court decision, the NCAA enabled schools to pay their athletes and removed limits on scholarships. Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel decided that every competing athlete would receive a full scholarship, and revenue sharing too, although the bulk of that money goes to men’s football, basketball and hockey.
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Fixing Barton Dam
When I lived in Ann Arbor back in the 1980s, Barton Dam was barely on my radar. The Huron River was scenic enough from the road: a heron or hawk here and there, maybe a deer ambling just off the shoulder. The dam itself, tucked out of sight from Huron River Dr., might as well have been invisible.
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Newspaper Rescue
Ann Arbor businessman Nagabhushanam “Bobbi” Peddi has purchased the Sun Times News, a weekly paper covering Dexter, Chelsea, Milan, and Saline.
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The School of Yoga’s Uncertain Future
There’s a secret room in the basement of the Ann Arbor School of Yoga (AASY). Below the studio space, behind the changing areas, there’s a room where three huge shelves groan under the weight of Blakeney’s collection of yoga books. Her students are allowed to read the books, but not take them home, so many of them peruse the private library before and after class.
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The Observer’s Next Owner
Editor in chief John Hilton and publisher Patricia Garcia, who have owned the Ann Arbor Observer since 1986, were just beginning to think about a succession plan when the pandemic hit. They realized retirement would have to wait.
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Learning Lag
Students in grades 3–7 took the Michigan Student Test of Education Progress (M-STEP) last spring and the results were released on the same late-August day they returned to their classrooms. 56 percent of Ann Arbor’s third graders scored proficient or better, and 61 percent of fourth graders.
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