Education

Belgian beer abbey & groovy ’70s-themed bar coming to Royal Oak

The owners of Bastone Brewery and its offshoot restaurants and bars at the corner of Fifth and Main Streets in Royal Oak are changing up, opening a new restaurant, adding a patio and reworking the nightclub -- all part of focusing on their success with Euro-inspired eats and Belgian craft beer. The first to change will be Cafe Habana, a 40-seat Cuban spot connected to Bastone. It will become Monk: A Belgian Beer Abbey. The club, Commune, downstairs will be reworked into Craft and focus on fresh-made, home-spun spirits. Bastone, the mostly Belgian-flavored restaurant with favorites such as mussels and frites washed down with house-made Belgian suds, will grow in size, adding a space with high top tables and TVs. It will be more of a true bar space, with spots for a quick meal and a waiting area for tables. A lounge, extra tables and a private room will be added above the bar and an extra seating area will be added to the first floor. Outside on the sidewalk along Fifth Street, 36 seats will be added. Vinotecca, the intimate wine bar also connected to Bastone, will remain the same. "With a concept like ours where we have moveable parts, we can keep it fresh, change it up," says David Ritchie, operating partner. "People have asked if sales were good. They don't believe sales were good if we're closing Cafe Habana. For us, this suits us so we streamline and focus on our core business, the European aspect of what we do. And we have a beer guy right here who's won many awards." The changes will happen in phases, but quickly, and lead to at least five new full-time jobs, Ritchie says. All parts of the latest iteration are expected to be complete by mid-May and open slowly and completely by June 1 so that kinks can be worked out, he says. Café Habana has already closed and is under construction. As Monk, it will have about five more tables and open by about April 15, Ritchie says. It'll be almost nine years to the day since Union Brewery LLC, which operates all the establishments, opened, he says. Next will come Bastone, and the transition from Commune to Craft will start after that and be complete by the middle to the end of May. The club first opened nine years ago as Cinq. With nightclubs, it's probably wise to change it up at least every five years, he says. "We want to move away from the mass market drinks and serve craft cocktails," Ritchie says. We'll use fresh ingredients, make our own infusions and syrups. It flows right into the craft beer." Craft will have a retro look, decorated with big stereo speakers and other details that "give you the feeling you're hanging out in your friend's basement." Writer: Kim North Shine Source: David Ritchie, operating partner, Union Brewery LLC

More mead to flow in Ferndale with opening of Schramm’s Mead

Mead may be the next frontier in the world of craft -- craft beer, craft food, craft wine -- and Ferndale will soon be home to two meaderies. The latest, Schramm's Mead, is under construction at 327 W. 9 Mile and will open in May. It's just a couple of miles from B. Nektar Meadery, which opened a production facility and tasting room several weeks ago. Schramm's is owned by Ken Schramm, a connoisseur of mead and go-to guy in honey wine circles that are buzzing as mead finds its niche. Schramm authored The Compleat Meadmaker, the Bible for mead-makers, and founded The Mazer Cup international mead competition. His meads, often fruity or spiced, will be produced and sold at the new store in downtown Ferndale. There will be a tasting room and food menu. Schramm and his family will run the business and hire several employees. During a presentation before the Ferndale City Council, when Schramm requested a small winery license, he said he and his family are carrying on a family tradition that goes back to ancestors who came here from Germany, fought for the union in the Civil War, and are still in possession of family farms that go back 100 years in their family. "The Schramm family has a 160-year history of providing food and drink to metro Detroiters," Schramm says, pointing out that his mother came from Ferndale. "We are thrilled at the opportunity to do business in Ferndale." Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Ken Schramm, founder, Schramm's Mead

M-1 Studios adds production space in Ferndale

M-1 Studios has expanded into a studio in Ferndale as its business of video production, editing services and documentary filmmaking continues to grow. The four-year-old company is hiring employees and adding space to keep up with the growth, says Mike Madigan, director of business operations. The new space at 362 Hilton Road in Ferndale gives M-1 more studio and production room -- and business opportunities. Commercials, including iMercials and social media video productions, are expected to be in high demand. In-studio and on-location interviews can be done here, with the use of green screen technology. The editors, producers, screenwriters and video techs also work on animated productions, voiceovers and narrations, and filming training videos, documentaries. Other services, including DVD covers and labels and VHS to DVD transfers, are available as well. Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Mike Madigan, operations manager, M-1 Studios

Tokyo Sushi now rolling in Ferndale

A metro Detroit sushi chain has added a sixth location, this one in Ferndale. Toyko Sushi opened several weeks ago on Woodward Heights in place of Pete's Place, a closing that brought disappointment to the neighborhood customers and fans. Tokyo Sushi's latest location is a dine-in or carry-out and also caters. Chef owner, Chris Sayanthone, serves Japanese, Thai and sushi. While the opening is not in downtown Ferndale, it is one of several businesses locating on the periphery of downtown, including several that are converting light manufacturing facilities into retail businesses. Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Chris Hughes, Ferndale Downtown Development Authority

Downtown Rochester seeks public input on parking improvements

Downtown Rochester is coming off a complete rebuild of Main Street, and now city planners see this as an ideal time to determine if parking options downtown also need updating. To figure it out, the Rochester City Council and the Rochester Downtown Development Authority have gone the survey route, asking anyone with an opinion on what's needed and what's not when it comes to parking. The survey, which also includes an open-ended question, is getting high responses and also yielding useful information not necessarily related to parking, says Kristi Trevarrow, executive director of the Rochester Downtown Development Authority. "We're getting an insane response, over 100 surveys in the first 40 minutes. We're at almost 800 now," she says. The Main Street makeover, which was completed in November and included a re-do of downtown sidewalks and the addition of amenities to make being in downtown easier and more convenient, took out all parking meters. Before deciding whether to replace those and make any other parking changes, say structures, kiosks, or re-arranged lots, the survey was sent out. The city council, planning commission and the DDA will review the findings April 10. "It's fast. We don't want this to be a long, drawn-out thing…We want it to be a working document," says Trevarrow. The changes will affect not only immediate parking needs, but attempt to plan for the future. The last parking study was done in 2003 and determined that the parking as it was was adequate. "If a big development were to come in, maybe residential with retail or a large company, we want to be prepared," Trevarrow says. "The economy is snapping back. At some point there will be a development. We want to be prepared and have that answer when the time comes." Want to share your thoughts? See the survey here. Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Kristi Trevarrow, executive director, Rochester Downtown Development Authority

TerraYebo creates new fundraising platform for non-profits

A Madison Heights-based start-up believes it has a new way to harness large amounts of new capital for the non-profit world. TerraYebo's MyInchofTheEarth.com is a micro-funding site for nonprofits that enables users to claim any virtual inch of the earth or ocean, share why that place is important, and choose a nonprofit that either supports the preservation of that place or a nonprofit that does good in the world. The idea is to let people's life experiences at different institutions (such as their alma mater) or places (a national park) prompt them to give small amounts to non-profits that fund them. "Our philosophy is a little bit of money from a lot of people can change the direction of the world," says Dan Glisky, president of TerraYebo. "It allows a user to own their own experience and it inspires people to give. When organizers send mail it doesn't really inspire people to give." Organizations that have already signed up for MyInchofTheEarth.com as a fundraising platform include The National Park Foundation, CURE International, VH1 Save the Music, Veterans of Foreign War Foundation and The Pink Fund. "We're solving a major issue for a lot of non-profits in how they get funded," Glisky says. He adds that TerraYebo's platform is "going to allow non-profits to get sustainable funding." The 3-year-old company has recently doubled its staff to four people, including adding Glisky to its executive team. Previously he served as the CEO and co-founder of Digital 10 Media, a digital-out-of-home media company. Glisky will oversee the national rollout of MyInchofTheEarth.com, which is currently going through a soft launch. Source: Dan Glisky, president of TerraYebo Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

‘Ole!’, says downtown Clawson, to new Mojave Cantina

A new Mexican restaurant is opening in downtown Clawson. Mojave Cantina is in the midst of a soft opening, testing its menu of traditional burritos, tacos, quesadillas and its own twist on those Mexican staples, as well as specialties such as a Mojave salad and bacon and tomato guacamole. Margaritas and sangria are on the menu too. It's located at 48 W. 14 Mile and is one of several new businesses that have opened or plan to open in the downtown, which is also taking on changes that will make it more walkable and bicycle friendly. The owners, who renovated the space, are continuing to hire staff, host private events and open the doors for limited hours. Hours will go to full-time within two weeks, says Joan Horton, executive director of the Clawson Downtown Development Authority. Judging by Mojave Cantina's Facebook posts, locals are ready to pull up a chair. The restaurant can seat up to 140 people and will host live music acts and salsa dancing. Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Joan Horton, executive director, Clawson Downtown Development Authority

Getting Michigan cities redevelopment ready

Just over 35 cities and townships in Michigan are joining a new state program that teaches them how to prepare their communities for redevelopment and attract the kind of development they want. Of the cities accepted into the first round of training and certification in the Michigan Economic Development Corporation's Redevelopment Ready Communities program, eight are in metro Detroit. Ann Arbor is also on the list. It, along with Lathrup Village and Novi, will receive a formal Redevelopment Ready Communities evaluation that could lead to certification as a Redevelopment Ready Community. This means they either have outlined or have plans to outline their redevelopment strategies and draw development to fit their community. This designation could also make them eligible for redevelopment grants. Dearborn, Clawson, Farmington Hills, Hamtramck, Wixom, and White Lake Township will receive best practice training and assistance and could move onto the certification process later. They all will learn how to creatively re-use space, support and attract economic innovation, and devise devise plans that bring in redevelopment investment and in turn rebuild thriving communities for employees, residents and recreation. The program was originally launched by the Michigan Suburbs Alliance in 2003, and its success led to the state program. Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Kathy Fagan, spokesperson, Michigan Economic Development Corp.

Public opinion sought on revitalization of Grand River corridor