In late October Juliana Jong had set a mid-November opening date for her Which Wich franchise in Briarwood. Next to Freshii and a few steps away from California Pizza Kitchen and Chipotle, the new shop joins a mini food court of “fast casual” eateries (industry speak for “slightly slower than fast food, with vegetables”). Jong sweeps her arm around in a 360: “There’s a lot of food here, but not sandwiches.” Jong thought Which Wich would be a good fit–she says the sandwich market is veering upscale these days, toward “people who don’t mind paying a few dollars extra for quality.” Which Wich has a gimmick–customers write their own order by checking off boxes on the same brown paper bag the sandwich is served in. If nothing else, it’s an ingenious way to save paper.
This is the second Which Wich franchise to open in Ann Arbor–the other opened on Liberty and Fifth last year; Jong says its owner, Alex Zaki, “is a good friend of mine.” The nine Which Wiches in Michigan were all being groomed to open at roughly the same time, so the franchise owners are a close-knit cohort. Petoskey and Grosse Pointe are some of the other high-income zip codes around the state where Which Wich judged people might shell out a for a sandwich that’s a cut above Jimmy John’s and Subway.
Jong has also owned the Mrs. Fields cookie franchise in the center court of Briarwood since 2001, and she quickly puts in a plug for her cookies, especially Debra’s Special (oatmeal, walnuts, and raisins). She also says their custom-decorated “cakes” can be ordered on a few hours’ notice. They’re really soft pizza-sized cookies.
High-energy Jong seems to know everyone at Briarwood: “Yes, Zales is open, let me take you over to the GM right now. His name is Shawn.” Heels snapping, she swiftly brokers an introduction to the sales staff of the newly opened fine jewelry store facing the center court. It turned out to be Shawn St. Andre’s day off, so we reached him by phone.
Zales and the nearby Kay (as well as he-went-to-Jared! and about fifteen other brands) are subsidiaries of the giant Signet Jewelers, so there’s some overlap in their merchandise, such as this season’s heavily advertised “Ever Us” ring. Why did Briarwood even need a Zales (in addition to Kay, there’s also Diamond Factory and Gold ‘n’ Gems to choose from)? St. Andre says,”We’re known for more blingy things. We’ve got a six-carat piece here now with over fifty stones, for $10,000.” He adds that you can get it for $8,000. Busy this time of year? “I should bring a cot in here.” He’ll have a short respite after the holidays before the Valentine’s Day traffic ramps up.
The third new business slated to open at Briarwood this season, Sozo Japanese Grill down by Tricho Salon (Penney’s wing), is on hold. Lisa Wondrash, city of Ann Arbor communications director, explains that the original plans had to be scrapped when an adjacent new tenant decided to remove a bathroom: “The building code requires a bathroom within 300 feet of a business for customers and employees.” Sozo and its neighbor have decided to share a bathroom, but revising the plans delayed Sozo’s scheduled fall opening.
Which Wich, 852 Briarwood Cir., 707-0307, whichwich.com. Zales, 816 Briarwood Cir., 619-7779. Zales.com. Briarwood mall. Holiday hours: Dec. 9-15, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; Dec. 16-22, 9 a.m.-10 p.m.; Dec. 23, 8 a.m.-10 p.m.; Dec. 24, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.