Chelsea
Crafting a Life in Chelsea
In September of 2025, Michelle Balhorn read on Facebook that Sandra VanBurkleo was closing up shop at Artisan Knitworks and that all yarn and fabrics were 30 percent off. As a lover of knitting and crocheting, Michelle immediately ran down to the store with her ten-year-old son and started piling yarn into her arms. Seeing his mother with her arms full, her son said, “Stop buying the yarn, and just ask if you can buy the store.”
This content is for subscribers only.
Subscribe Now
Subscribe Now
Already a member? Log in here
Think Globally, Drink Locally
For this article, the tasting team included myself (favorites: beer, cider, wine, and whiskey), my partner (same, with an addition of gin), and our good friends who are more sophisticated than us (especially when it comes to wines and whiskeys). And of course, where allowed, our dog, who drinks none of these things and whose tastes are only sophisticated when it comes to choosing new favorite places and friends.
Read MoreDragonfly Earth Essentials
Tucked away downtown, Dragonfly Earth Essentials is a one-stop shop for ethically sourced stones, aromatherapy, sage bundles, and other necessities for metaphysical well-being. “I’m that person at work—people come to me and go, ‘This is what’s wrong with me. What potions do I need?’” says owner Jenny Olejnik, a Chelsea resident and former engineer.
Read MoreMotley Crepe Co.
The griddle is now operational in a big, airy space formerly occupied by Seitz’s Tavern, with Motley Crepe Co. opening in the last moments of September.
Read More
Concrete Chelsea Boardshop
When they heard about the coming of Holmes Family Park—with its brand-new skate park—Fred Rose and his son Christian knew what they had to do.
Read More
JDs Stage Bistro
You’d be forgiven for thinking JDs Stage Bistro has always been there.
Nestled into three levels of a historic building downtown, this passion project of Chelsea’s native son Jeff Daniels (who also founded the Purple Rose Theatre) feels right. It fits Chelsea’s vibe so perfectly that if a place like this didn’t already exist here, you’d expect the ancestral spirits of the town would magically conjure it into place, like Brigadoon.
Read More
A Life in Theater in Southeast Michigan
For John Bernos, the dream of a career on the stage started here in Ann Arbor. At Pioneer High, sports were his passion—until he discovered the Pioneer Theatre Guild. His focus intensified when he won FutureStars, a singing competition between students from Ann Arbor’s public high schools.
Read More
The List Is a Launchpad
The List, a local giveaway and discovery email list, features a different Washtenaw County small business every week, alongside an interview, a giveaway, and a weekend events roundup. Since launching on February 3, 2025, they’ve profiled more than seventy businesses and racked up 332 email subscribers and 1,888 followers across Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. The service is free for featured businesses and subscribers.
Read More
Residents Fight the Power—and Win
Activist campaign prompts Consumers Energy to abandon plans for a gas-fired plant in Lima Twp.
Read More
Murder Most Charming
Murder is not often described as charming, but Purple Rose Theatre’s latest production manages to...
Read More
State Budget Slashes Great Start Collaboratives
Washtenaw County will continue to offer services, but others weren’t so lucky.
Read More
Where the Car Is King
I’ve never been much interested in the inner workings of a car dealership, and since watching the Purple Rose Theatre’s latest play, The Classic King, I can’t say that has changed. The comedy, which runs until March 15, follows four car salesmen on a mission to save their failing dealership. Directed by Jeff Daniels, the show is a world premiere and the first professionally produced play by Richard Johnson. Johnson began playwriting after retiring from a career as an automotive journalist, including serving as editor of Automotive News.
Read More
Rode To Hell
It was a bright autumn morning for the more than 100,000 people driving to the Big House for the University of Michigan’s October 4 homecoming game against Wisconsin. Some sixteen miles west, about 250 others gathered at Chelsea Community Fairgrounds for a very different athletic contest: the annual Rode To Hell gravel bike race.
Read More
Newspaper Rescue
Ann Arbor businessman Nagabhushanam “Bobbi” Peddi has purchased the Sun Times News, a weekly paper covering Dexter, Chelsea, Milan, and Saline.
Read More
Trade Off
On November 4, voters decide whether to raise property taxes by 1 mill for the next decade. The money raised—$25 million the first year—would support CTE programs like this one. Administrators can talk ad nauseam about the power of giving young people a variety of opportunities for instruction in specific career fields, but it’s student testimonials that have been front and center in the campaign to push through the millage. Yet the debate over the ballot question isn’t so much about support for or opposition to CTE as it is whether a new tax ought to pay for it.
Read More
From Confinement to Connection
Something was off about Kevin. He was affectionate and cheerful like most toddlers, his mother Kerry Kafafian recalls, but “he was doing a movement which we later understood to be a seizure.” A pediatric neurologist determined that he had Lennox–Gastaut syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy that causes severe cognitive impairment.
Read MoreCD Top Shelf Expands to Chelsea
In September, hockey dad and entrepreneur Matthew Kavanaugh opened CD Top Shelf bar and grill in Arctic Breakaway’s former space upstairs in Chelsea’s ice arena. Kavanaugh says the restaurant will “focus on fresh,” and include pizzas, plus chopped sandwiches and salads.
Read MoreIn Chelsea, the Joy of Books and Painting
“It was completely bonkers!” recalls Michelle Tuplin, owner of Serendipity Books, about how her store’s April move from Middle St. to Main went viral.
Read More
The Coulsons Open Main Street Provisions
On a September weekday at lunchtime, husband-and-wife chefs Phil and Vanessa Coulson work side-by-side near the front windows of Main Street Provisions. Open since February, the shop offers artisan cheeses, meats, and gourmet food items in the Sylvan Building, next door to Agricole Farm Stop.
Read More