Grosse Pointe

Giuseppe’s International Oils & Vinegars opens Grosse Pointe store

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May 8, 2014

Stainless steel dispensers, ceramic decanters, and glass bottles make up much of the decor of Giuseppe's International Oils & Vinegars, but it's what's inside the containers that is the lifeblood of the business that has opened a second location in metro Detroit. The first store, at Partridge Creek Mall in Clinton Township, has found enough success selling olive oils, aged vinegars and accessories that the owners decided to open a store in Grosse Pointe this week. The newest Giuseppe's is located in the Village business district at 16841 Kercheval Avenue, on the second floor of the Dawood Building. The second floor retail location is a rarity for the Village, but may become more common as rules on building uses ease up and become more welcoming to businesses. Besides its olive oils in flavored, regional, organic and specialty varieties dispensed from stainless steel canisters, and its vinegars imported from Modena, Italy that come in dark and white balsamic and wine varieties, Giuseppe's sells herbs and spices, olive oil skin products, handmade ceramic decanters and dishes, and other home products. Giuseppe's also works with chefs who visit the store to share food and recipes that use oils, vinegars and other spices, including many that focus on health benefits. Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Grosse Pointe Chamber of Commerce

The Rendezvous With Tea opens in Grosse Pointe Woods

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Community Development

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April 17, 2014

Jars and jars of tea leaves and all sorts of tea accoutrements make up the aromatic and colorful decor and merchandise at The Rendezvous With Tea in Grosse Pointe Woods. The store opened several weeks ago on busy Mack Avenue near Vernier (8 Mile Raod) and is seeing locals and destination shoppers looking for a taste of teas from around the world and closer to home. The tea-loving owner, Naszreen Gibson, sells nearly 200 varieties of loose teas mostly from Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Indonesia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and the Far East and more then 50 flavors of tea bags in sachets, pyramids and cloth bags. Tea pots and tea ware made of porcelain, cast iron, stainless steal and ceramic are also available. One thing not for sale is the owner's signed copy of the New Tea Lovers' Treasury. Author and tea authority James Norwood Pratt visited The Rendezvous With Tea recently and says the shop is "a dream come true brought to Grosse Pointe Woods by a tea visionary to challenge and inspire any seeker of excellence. Be wise and stay healthy: Let Naszreen make you love tea too." Source: Naszreen Gibson, owner, The Rendezvous With Tea Writer: Kim North Shine

Kercheval Dance studio to open in Grosse Pointe’s Village

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Arts & Culture

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April 10, 2014

East siders will have a new dance studio to add to their repertoire when Kercheval Dance opens in Grosse Pointe's Village business district this summer. Tracy Halso Gap and her husband, Adam Gap, will own and operate the business, which is being renovated inside a space in the block-long building that previously housed a Borders bookstore and an Ace Hardware. Their 3,500-square-foot space will come with two studios -- one with a stage, high ceilings (The husband-wife dance partners know the pitfalls of dance spaces with low ones). The studio will also be built with special shock-absorbing, bone-protecting sprung floors like the ones used on Dancing With the Stars, professional lighting and sound systems, and a large lobby. Kercheval Dance will be next door to the offices of St. John Health System, which leased the space for the studio and has plans to bring in other tenants. The studio faces a public parking lot behind the building, which fronts Kercheval Avenue. Its entrance is on the alley for easy drop-off and pick-up, and, if needed, convenient access to nearby businesses, says Tracy Halso Gap. The couple bring with them years of experience in performance dance, dance instruction and competition dance coaching. They've lived and worked in cities around the country. After graduating from Oklahoma City University, which specializes in dance and musical theater majors, Gap, a Grosse Pointe native and University Liggett graduate, "bounced around like a gypsy," including years spent in New York studying dance and auditioning. That was followed by work as a dancer at theme parks in Virginia, where she and her husband were dance partners, and in Pennsylvania and at Disney World before moving to Boston. There they led a master's program and directed a competition dance team. Adam Gap also danced for Royal Caribbean International, the Bellagio in Las Vegas and the American Spirit Dance Company. During their time in Boston, he received his business degree. "After living in so many places we really found out what we wanted to do. It really gave us a taste of what's out there. And we both knew we have a mutual love for children and dance," she says. They also have a love for Grosse Pointe, she says, and after they moved back from Boston last summer, they started looking for a studio location. "There were a lot of times we contemplated starting a dance school out there. It could be great. Boston is a big supporter of the arts," she says. "But the feel of the community in Grosse Pointe is so special and unique… Parents really research what their kids are involved in, and they want high quality. We hope we produce a high quality dance education and a fun place to study for children and the parents as well." The Gaps will lead classes in ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical and contemporary dance to students as young as age two. Adults will be offered the same courses plus fitness fusion, a workout for dancers or non-dancers, and ballroom dance. Advanced ballerinas will find pointe classes, and there will be special classes in tumbling and stretching and leaps and turns to build on gymnastics' influence on dance. Initially, the Gaps will teach all classes. As enrollment builds they will hire other instructors and expand courses. She says their dance school will be set apart by the quality of the studio construction and its performance space as well as its syllabus-guided instruction that lets students and parents track progress, milestones, set goals, etc. "We want children to develop and learn and grow with us," she says. "We are just so excited to be here, in the Village and to be a part of bringing back this part of the Village that has been open and empty for so long. We are so grateful for this opportunity." Check out this video of O'Mara Sprung Floors, the Flint company that's building the studio floors, and this one of the Gaps dancing. Source: Tracy Halso Gap Writer: Kim North Shine

New and larger Park Grill fires up in Grosse Pointe Park

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Arts & Culture

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March 27, 2014

A look at Park Grill's Facebook page makes it clear that its absence hasn't gone unnoticed, and since the Grosse Pointe Park Mediterranean eatery reopened Monday, posts of gratitude keep coming. The family- and friend-run spot in the burgeoning Park business district re-opened this week after an eight-month renovation that enlarged the space and overhauled the aesthetics. The eatery also added to the menu, created an extensive beer list with four on tap, and a specialty cocktail menu with an endless Bloody Mary bar come summer. "The response has been overwhelmingly positive, and we are excited to see so many loyal customers and new faces come through our doors during our first couple days," says general manager Brian Czerny. Park Grill is located in a prominent corner spot at 15102 Kercheval Avenue and is one of several new developments joining solidly established businesses in the stretch of blocks with mostly 1920s-era architecture. The renovated space is nearly twice the size of the old one and will have an outdoor patio. Park Grill, which is owned by the Kokoshi family, Albanian immigrants who turn out some their favorite recipes, can now seat 62 inside, 17 at an L-shaped bar, and 20-25 outdoors. To keep up with demand, the restaurant has added staff and is still looking for more. Source: Brian Czerny, general manager, Park Grill Writer: Kim North Shine

Grosse Pointes get new breakfast & lunch option at Jagged Fork

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Arts & Culture

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March 13, 2014

After a major makeover, a former Biggby's coffee shop in Grosse Pointe Farms has reopened as a breakfast, lunch and brunch spot that's attracting east siders with its offbeat menu and fresh, cozy dining room. The Jagged Fork opened March 3 on busy Mack Avenue, and after a slow build-up the restaurant was packed by the weekend with customers "who have been so wonderful, so supportive," says The Jagged Fork co-owner Francesco Adamopoulos. "We're anticipating we'll have big crowds this week. So far I've loved the community. The reception has been nothing but warm. I swear after I talk to people, and I'm thinking about them after they leave, I just feel so good about them. They are just so salt of the earth." Adamopoulos, who was born into the restaurant business as one of three children of Greek parents who spent every summer in Greece for years running a banquet hall, is a partner in the restaurant with his brother, Stavros Adamopoulos, and a business partner, Tom Teknos. The Jagged Fork is their third restaurant venture; the first being Zoe's House of Pancakes, which is in West Bloomfield and owned by Stavros, and the second, The Hudson Cafe in Detroit. The parents have owned The Hercules Family Restaurant in Farmington Hills since the mid-1980s, after having a restaurant and store in South Africa in the 1970s. The Jagged Fork's menu borrows from its partner restaurants' menus -- including a Latin-influenced breakfast such as huevos rancheros, a popular turkey burger, and homemade corned beef and hash. Adamopoulos and his chefs make the salsa verde and salsa ranchero in house. The creative menu offers four different kinds of eggs benedict, a long list of unusual and classic omelets, skillet breakfast dishes, sweet and savory crepes, pancakes, waffles, and sandwiches and salads for lunch. "We've always done chores for the restaurants: peeled potatoes, unloaded fish, set and bused tables. We were born into it." The owners' decision to move into the vacant Biggby's brings back to life a block at 18480 Mack Avenue. It was quieted at the end of 2012 when the Michigan-based coffee shop failed to reach a lease agreement. The Biggby has since reopened at a new location on Mack Avenue in Grosse Pointe Woods. Adamopoulos says the location "kind of found us" when the realtor who leased them The Hudson Cafe spot told them about a "great spot in Grosse Pointe" as the owners were contemplating whether to open their next restaurant in Grosse Pointe or Troy. While all is going well so far, it's stressful being just 27 years old and responsible for the restaurant's success and the financial well-being of a dozen employees. "When you open a new business you're stressed out, you're scared. There's a lot on the line. I'm a young guy. It's crazy doing something so big at this age," he says. "But the customers really make it fun. When you have customers like we've had this week, it's so much fun to come to work. I've been overwhelmed by the show of enthusiasm." Source: Francesco Adamopoulos, owner, The Jagged Fork Writer: Kim North Shine

Grosse Pointe Park to build second city-run movie theater

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Arts & Culture

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March 6, 2014

The city of Grosse Pointe Park, in cooperation with a nonprofit community foundation, will build a second movie theater at the city park. This theater will be added to the existing movie theater, which shows first-run films and is a draw for all five communities in the Pointes. Construction on the second screen, which will seat 60-65 people, will begin this spring. It is seen as one more way to satisfy locals used to two resident-only city parks that include a free ice rink and warming house, a splash pad and pool, fitness center, gyms and putting green -- amenities not often often found in other cities. The Grosse Pointe Park Community Foundation is raising about $300,000 of the $450,000 cost to enlarge the theater. Tax dollars will cover $75,000 and profits from the theater, which charges less than commercial theaters, will cover the rest. Source: City of Grosse Pointe Park and Grosse Pointe Park Community Foundation Writer: Kim North Shine

Medical, retail next chapter for former Borders bookstore in Grosse Pointe

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Community Development

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February 27, 2014

Work will start this spring on turning a roughly 20,000-square-foot former Borders bookstore in Grosse Pointe into a medical office and retail spaces. The St. John Health System medical office will occupy one end of a nearly block-long building that's been vacant for many months since Ace Hardware, next door to the already-closed Borders, relocated to Mack Avenue. The other end of the building, which fronts Kercheval Avenue in Grosse Pointe's Village business district, is likely to be occupied by a Calico Corners fabric and home store, if city approvals go through. In the nearly three years since Borders closed and the year since Ace left, the property manager has said other retailers, including another hardware store and a national chain, would move in. That never materialized. The big empty building became a further headache when city officials and St. John reps couldn't agree on re-development plans. In the end, St. John agreed to build medical offices on the back side of the building, which is connected to a city parking lot, and to rent space to three or four retailers on the front side of the building on Kercheval. Peter Dame, Grosse Pointe city manager, says no retailers for the St. John's space have been named, but the proposed Calico Corners at the opposite end of the building would fill about 3,000 square feet. The rest of the space between the closed Ace and Borders will be divided into multiple retail outlets. He says that work will begin soon. The St. John medical and retail project should be completed this summer, Dame says. Source: Peter Dame, Grosse Pointe city manager Writer: Kim North Shine

Love of Mediterranean eats stokes expansion of Park Grill

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Arts & Culture

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February 6, 2014

Adi Kokoshi and his family have cooked their way out of the original spot where they started the Park Grill Mediterranean in Grosse Pointe Park in 2009 and into a restaurant that's nearly twice the size, has an expanded menu and for the first time a liquor license and large outdoor seating area. It could all bring more success to the Albanian immigrants who have found so many takers of their favorite dishes. Renovations started in July on an expansion into a neighboring storefront, taking it from 1,000 to 1,800 square feet with seating for 62 instead of 40. A 17-foot L-shaped bar will seat 17 and an outdoor seating area will have room for 20-25. Opening day could come in late February or early March, says Park Grill general manager Brian Czerny. The Grill takes up a corner location in the buzzing business district called The Park. It's where 1920s- and 1930s-era facades house long-established businesses such as the Rustic Cabins bar, Antonio's Restaurant, a dry cleaner, a pet store, a hardware store, a party store and offices that are now part of a mini development boom that's added The Red Crown restaurant, Atwater Brewery, which will open in April, the Cabbage Patch Cafe and a soon-to-be announced taco bar, to the mix of businesses. The menu that locals love, one influenced by cooking from Albania, Greece and the Balkans, will remain but with additions, says Czerny. New entrees and steak and fish dishes will be served, and a "unique appetizer menu" will be available during meal service and also late into the night, he says. There will be four draft beers on tap, 22 bottled beers and a specialty cocktail menu. In the spring, "an endless mimosa and bloody Mary bar" will go with brunch and lunch, Czerny says. "We hope to create a warm, relaxed, neighborhood-type atmosphere that works for just about everybody, whether it be lunch during the week, dinner with the family, date night with a spouse, or just hanging out with friends," Czerny says. Source: Brian Czerny, general manager, Park Grill LLC Writer: Kim North Shine

Which Wich sandwich stores coming to Grosse Pointe, Southfield

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Arts & Culture

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January 16, 2014

A pair of longtime Grosse Pointe friends are channeling love of the city - and their desire to be business owners - into a new sandwich store in Grosse Pointe's Village business district. Which Wich Superior Sandwiches, a franchise started in Dallas by a Michigan native, is moving into a 1,650-square-foot space at 17045 Kercheval Avenue. Sweet Little Sheila's bakery and creperie previously occupied the spot. It relocated into a smaller store down the street. Grosse Pointe Park natives Michael Berschback and Nabil Shurafa plan to open two Which Wiches, one in Grosse Pointe and the other in Southfield. They have been friends since first grade and love the place where they grew up. The Village was their stomping grounds, their destination when they wanted to add to their baseball card collections. So it was especially exciting when an executive from Which Wich visited the Village and "fell in love with the territory," Berschback says. Renovations on the Grosse Pointe store are starting this week and opening day is expected in mid- to late March, Berschback says. There will be space for 43 seats. Which Wich in Southfield will open by summer possibly as part of the second phase of City Center, which is under construction. Berschback and Shurafa decided to become business partners when Shurafa was talking over the holidays about leaving his job with a hedge fund and moving back to metro Detroit from Princeton, New Jersey. "He was thinking about Dunkin' Donuts," says Berschback. "About a week after he and I talked I went to a Which Wich in Petoskey and was blown away. The ordering was so unique, the quality of the food so good. I called him right then, from the parking lot and said, 'This is what we need to do.' " In Grosse Pointe, where the Village is chock full of coffee shops and bagel stores and a busy Panera bakery, Berschback sees a ready market for a new and different kind of sandwich shop with its fun vibe, promotion of the color yellow and great food. Which Wich's concept is based on the fun and the different. It uses an ordering system where customers are given a paper bag and red Sharpie to order a sandwich -- either a recommendation to build upon or a create-your-own. The sandwich is served in the same bag, which can be also be drawn on and displayed on the community wall, or used during special promotions for something like letters and pictures for the military. Which Wich "also makes a fantastic milkshake," he says, a good offering for the locals who still lament the closing of a Burger & Shake restaurant in the same spot. The two expect Southfield and metro Detroiters to welcome Which Wich as have other cities have. Which Wich's first store opened in Dallas in 2003. The chain has grown to 250 stores in 37 states. The Grosse Pointe store will be the first in metro Detroit and the second in Michigan. Southfield will make it three. "He sees a lot of prospects in Michigan," Berschback says of his partner, Surafa. "He could start a business anywhere, but he wanted to bring it back to Michigan." Source: Michael Berschback, co-owner, Grosse Pointe Which Wich Writer: Kim North Shine

Grosse Pointe businesses swap shops and find success

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Community Development

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January 16, 2014

Place matteres, whether it's a clothing store of downtown neighborhood or an entire community. Here's a lesson every level can learn from: be flexible and find the right fit. A pair of neighboring businesses in Grosse Pointe discovered that their retail spaces were the wrong size, so they traded addresses. The result has been better business for both. Excerpt: "The Grosse Pointe neighbors are just one example of a number of Metro Detroit businesses that needed to upsize or downsize in 2013. From downtown Detroit to Ferndale, shop owners are realizing how important space, or lack thereof, is to their success and failure, analysts say." Read the rest here.