Royal Oak

Smoky bars are nothing new in SE Michigan but ones that smell like apple and peach?

Hookah culture is becoming more and more popular with young Metro Detroiters, and Dearborn, with its large Middle Eastern population, is ground zero. (more >)

A Secondhand Economy

By: Daniel Johnson, 12/4/2008

Barter is back, resale has embraced upscale, and salvage goes green as Metro Detroit tightens its belt and widens its consumer options. Local businesses are successfully leveraging the Internet and up-to-the-minute trends to revive old tyme economic practices. (more >)

Metro Detroit's Seven Day Weekend

By: Ryan Allen, 12/4/2008

Thursday is the new Friday. Or was that Tuesday? In Metro Detroit it doesn't really matter. Great local music can be had every night of the week. From punk to pop, electronica to jazz, hip-hop to hard rock, Metromode offers up seven nights of tried and true sonic scenes. (more >)

Blog/Chris Ramos & Jennifer Harlan

Chris Ramos decided to buy a bus. He wanted to get people from the suburbs into Detroit. Then he got the idea to run the bus on biodiesel; might as well help save the planet, right? So he quit his job, hired Jennifer Harlan and started The Night Move. It wasn't as simple as it sounds. Chris and Jennifer will be blogging about starting a business in a recession, the obstacles they face and what they've learned so far. (more >)

Video/International Bancard Corporation

For eight years Royal Oak's IBC has been a stealth company, pulling in customers and profits with its old school ideas about servicing clients. Now the e-commerce and credit card processing firm is ready to step into the sunlight and school other companies about the power of topnotch customer service. (more >)