Chocolate Dripped Strawberries, Salt Caves, and Wellness: Oak Park small businesses have something for everyone this holiday season

As the cold weather sweeps into the metro area, shoppers begin their rush to find that perfect gift and experience for loved ones this year. Shopping locally might just be the key to unlocking that smile for everyone on the list, including the resident grinch. 

Shoppers won’t have to travel far as Oak Park’s development continues to attract new and unique local businesses. In a partnership with Main Street Oakland County, the city is promoting its small businesses with a Shop Small Saturday campaign. This includes a Local Gems promotion where every selfie at a local business enters the shopper into a raffle with prizes up to $1000.

“Oak Park is proud to support small businesses throughout the holiday season and beyond. They offer more than just goods and services; they create jobs, often hiring local residents and contributing directly to the local economy,” says Municipal Services Director Kimberly Marrone. 

Marrone has been with the city since 2014 and helped create the Corridor Improvement Authority in 2016.

“The Corridor Improvement Authority offers a Facade Improvement Grant and numerous other grants through Main Street Oakland County and National Main Street, even assisting with grant writing,” Marrone says. “We help new businesses find the right location and assist them through the planning and zoning process. Oak Park’s Nine Mile Corridor development has transformed a once-declining area into a vibrant commercial hub, offering small businesses a renewed platform for growth.” 

The Nine Mile Redesign, also known as the Nine Mile Corridor, began in 2014. Phase one was completed in 2016 after Oak Park partnered with Ferndale. The award-winning project reshaped the local landscape in the city. The corridor follows the city’s eastern border on Nine Mile Road and creates dedicated bike lanes, walkable paths, and pocket parks. The addition of art installations and the new connector park has attracted residents from all over the state.

“In 2023 alone, at least 17 new businesses opened along the corridor, a testament to the area’s revitalization and its appeal to private investors,” Marrone says.

Dipping into Something Sweet

Located on Coolidge Highway, just outside the Nine Mile Corridor is one of Oak Park’s unique local offerings: Gift Me Chocolate.  

Gift Me Chocolate has been operating in the city for over 10 years. It offers chocolate-dipped strawberries and other sweet treats like cupcakes and specialty cake cups. What started as a hobby has become a local success story for founder and owner Junae Watt.

“I love chocolate. I love strawberries,” Watt says. “In college, I would just make myself strawberries and eat them on my breaks. I ended up creating a whole client base because people were always asking what I was eating. It got to a point where everyone wanted the strawberries. The holidays were coming up, and I had to rent a hotel room just to handle the orders. I had lines out the door.”

As she was finishing college, Watt realized that she could turn her passion into a real business. Her first step was finding the right location. 

“When I saw the building up for lease, and I turned around and I saw all the traffic out there on Coolidge, I thought ‘wow, this could be something great,'” Watt says.

Watt describes herself as more of a foodie than a chef. She cites her willingness to experiment as one of the keys to her success. Relying on her keen taste and connection with her customers, Watt says even though it wasn’t her original plan, Gift Me Chocolate is where she belongs. 

“Opening my own business has taught me that you can do anything,” Watt says. “I never planned to be a chef. Customers come in and they’re happy. I mean, we’re a treat shop after all, so you have people that come in on their bad days because treats are a way to the heart. Just making others’ days makes my day.”

Gift Me Chocolate has just finished its own redesign. Working with the city, Watt has obtained grants and connected with other business specialists through programs like Momentum Marketing with Oakland Thrive.

“I learned a lot from that program and from shadowing other businesses similar to mine,” Watt says. “I decided to downsize the menu and really just highlight our top-selling items and the entertainment portion, which includes our party packages.”

Watt likes the small city feel of Oak Park. The city’s history and other long-term businesses have been an inspiration for her. Although she would like more grant opportunities for older businesses, Watt is happy to have her business located in the city. 

She has plans to expand and hopes one day to reach the same success as larger chains.

“I’m huge on quality and customer service,” Watt says. “I want all my customers to feel welcomed and that it was money well spent. I love my customers because they believe in my vision. The fact that I can create something people love that alone makes me happy.”

Holistic Health Solutions in the Heart of the City

One of the new businesses along the corridor is Rhythm Wellness Center. Opened in the fall of 2024, Rhythm Wellness offers a host of holistic solutions to its customers. From wellness coaching to its own Pink Himalayan salt cave, it is one of the many unique local businesses that the redesign brought to the city.

“When I first visited the building it was a beautiful sunny day in June,” says Owner Versala Parish. “I remember standing outside and noticing the Nine Mile Corridor Improvement project. Families were walking, residents were out with their dogs, a running club passed by and a few bikers rode past. The energy was vibrant, healthy and connected. My vision for a wellness center fit perfectly with the rhythm of the city.”

Originally from Detroit, Parish, a Certified Holistic Health and Bioenergetics Practitioner, was drawn to Oak Park for its growing and diverse community. In a few months, Parish renovated and transformed the former vacant building into a thriving business and a healing space. 

“As a solopreneur, everything falls on me, from vision to completion, and that brings its own set of challenges. It’s truly been a labor of love,” Parish says. “There is this myth that if you ‘build it, they will come,’ but that’s not how it works. There are late nights, learning curves, and constant reinvestment. Small business owners wear every hat, from marketing to maintenance, but when your mission is genuine, it’s all worth it.”

Parish says after the loss of her husband and parents, she started her journey to create a true wellness sanctuary, “A place where people could reconnect to their natural rhythm. Spirit, mind, and body.”

Some of the amenities at Rhythm Wellness Center include a TheraLight 360 red light therapy bed, bioenergetic body scans, a Ceragem massage bed, sound and vibrational therapy, copper basin foot soaks, and a full Pink Himalayan salt cave.

Parish says she offers multiple modalities that are designed to work together, such as her Relax & Restore combos, which pair a salt cave session, red light therapy, or a foot soak.

“Seeing people walk in heavy and leave lighter, that transformation never gets old,” Parish says. “Knowing they’re leaving with more peace than they came in with, that keeps me coming back.”

As her business evolves, Parish is excited about the growth and the continual support she has received from the city.

“Michelle Bishop [Oak Park Corridor Improvement Authority Manager] and Kim Marrone have truly been one of the best parts about owning a business in Oak Park. Their encouragement and follow-through reflect the kind of genuine support this city offers its entrepreneurs,” Parish says.

Visit Oakland County’s Shop Small website to find other local gems and take part in Shop Small Saturdays.