Illustration by Tabi Walters
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.
Things were moving smoothly until about 2 p.m. when Main Street Area Association (MSAA) officials approached Tabe, letting them know they weren’t authorized to have a tent in the street to serve food. Permits needed to be submitted, paperwork filled out, and they would have had to register with MSAA ahead of time. At first the Tabe staffers were confused and asked if they could do the paperwork then, but the officials stated that it all had to have been done ahead of time.
The staffers quickly ushered the officials to the sidewalk, out of earshot, to negotiate a resolution. They ended up moving their sushi table off the street, onto the sidewalk just outside their front door. From there, visitors could still purchase sample boxes and eat in the restaurant’s outdoor seating area.
Taste of Ann Arbor continued without further incident. When asked, the Tabe staffers said they weren’t aware of the event ahead of time but were excited to join in something local, just outside their front door. Though they weren’t able to fully participate this year, manager Mike Yu says they are excited to join future Ann Arbor events—next time, being sure to fill out the paperwork in advance.
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