Entrepreneurship

City Bark in Grosse Pointe wants to be farmer’s market of pet stores

By Newsroom

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October 23, 2014

Jamie Judson has tapped into her love of animals and her hometown of Grosse Pointe by opening a new pet store in the Village shopping district on Kercheval Avenue. City Bark opened Oct. 10 at 17027 Kercheval in a 1,600-square-foot space advertised with a stylized metallic sign that is easily one of the most creative and eye-catching in the area. Judson says the best way to describe her vision for City Bark is a farmer's market of pet shops, where the selection is always fresh and changing. It is the opposite of big chains and more comfortable than high-end boutiques. "The difference between City Bark and other pet stores is comparing the situation to a grocery store and a farmer’s market. You go to the grocery store, list in hand, knowing what you’re going to buy. You know what products are there and where to find them. It’s the same thing with a generic pet store. You are going there for something specific. But when you go to a farmer’s market, you go to explore. You go because the items are always changing. It’s about the experience, and that’s exactly what we aim for with City Bark." Judson, 25, works full-time for a digital marketing company in Ferndale and part-time at the store, which also supports the Grosse Pointe Animal Adoption Society. Judson volunteers there and is fostering a St. Bernard mix. She also owns a German shepherd and a 24-year-old cockatoo that she adopted in the summer. The dogs and the bird, Cleo, are regulars at the store, and shoppers are invited to bring their pets along. City Bark sells accessories for pets and pet lovers: collars, leashes, toys, fashion accessories, and home décor. Pet food and pet treats are also sold, as are pet beds and clothing for people. "All of our products are unique, and the majority of them cannot be found at any big-box pet store," Judson says. "I had always talked about opening up a pet boutique with my family since I love animals so much and I am always looking for new, fun items for my dogs. This summer the pieces fell into place and we moved forward with City Bark." Having a shop in the Village makes becoming a business owner all the more sweet. "Just like most Grosse Pointers, the Village is part of my every day life. It's great to be able to bring something I'm so passionate about to a place I have such fond memories of." Source: Jamie Judson, owner, City Bark Writer: Kim North Shine

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DIY drives Adore Eclectic Interiors home consignment store

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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October 16, 2014

An interior decorator who made a business out of re-using what's already in clients' homes and complementing it with affordable accessories has opened her own home consignment store in Grosse Pointe Woods. Marleen Prater, owner of Remixed Rooms, decided to go into retail after a decade as an interior decorator and striking out too often on quality, affordable home goods stores. Adore Eclectic Interiors opened Monday at 20725 Mack Avenue in Grosse Pointe Woods, and "we had a very good opening day. Things are flying out the door," says Prater. Besides selling home furnishings and accessories from the shop, she staffs painters, furniture re-purposers to change or customize pieces and experienced designers to lead classes for customers who want to make the changes themselves. "Number one, we want very unique, cool pieces," she says. "So many times people are re-decorating or moving and things just don't fit. We are here for them when they need a place for those nice things, and we're here for customers who need that special piece or that new arrangement that can change the look and feel of their home. Number two, we want it to be very affordable." She and the women she works with envision Adore as a place to get advice, talk about their homes, what's good and what's bad about them, how they can make their homes what they want them to be, and to learn how to make the changes they want. "We see it as an experience. We have fresh coffee, homemade cookies and lots to talk about," says Prater. Source: Marleen Prater, owner, Adore Eclectic Interiors Writer: Kim North Shine

Spice Merchants brings world flavors to downtown Northville shop

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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October 16, 2014

A downtown Northville storefront is now home to a purveyor of spices, teas and oils from around the world Spice Merchants of Northville opened about a month ago at 110 N. Center St. after completing renovations of the shop that is part of a 100-year old building. It's the latest franchise of the Saugatuck-based company that started in 2003 and has 17 stores in eight states, eight of them in Michigan. The shop has a spice for every occasion. Football games? Spices for chili. Halloween? Pumpkin spices. Healthy dinner idea? Roasted vegetables with rosemary olive oil. Spice Merchants of Northville is lined with stacked-high canisters of fresh teas and spices. Another part of the store is stocked with stainless steel dispensers filled with flavored and unflavored olive oils. Spices are imported and also made by the owners, Chris and Christine Raymond, as are hot sauces. The shop, like other specialty food stores, thrives on browsing, sampling and educating about how to cook with the ingredients or use them for health benefits. Source: Spice Merchants of Northville Writer: Kim North Shine

Joe’s Hamburgers moves to larger space in downtown Wyandotte

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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October 16, 2014

An entrepreneur's dream to open a hamburger joint like the one his grandfather took him to as a child is now a thriving business in Wyandotte. Jeremy Sladovnik's Joe's Hamburgers opened five years ago in a tight spot on Elm Street, just off downtown Wyandotte's main drag. Several weeks ago, Joe's moved to the main street, Biddle Avenue, and took on a larger spot and added a bar. His old spot was reborn as The Little Pierogi and Crepe Kitchen and is run by one of his former employees. The new Joe's Hamburger at 3041 Biddle Avenue is double the size of the old place, and has rich wood booths instead of tables and chairs. It also has a bar and is making community events a bigger part of the business plan. It still serves a simple menu of sliders, poutine, pierogi, grilled cheeses, soups and milkshakes, malts and sundaes. This week a Saturday brunch is planned as is a craft beer party with Shorts Brewing out of Bellaire, Michigan. Source: Joe's Hamburgers Writer: Kim North Shine

OpEd: Why DDAs should back business development

By Annette Knowles

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Economic Development

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October 9, 2014

Downtown development authorities are commonly known for placemaking projects – capital improvements and programming intended to turn downtowns into gathering spaces. But critics claim such projects aren't translating into sales for local businesses. As such, Annette Knowles, executive director of the Farmington DDA, says business development should be high-priority on the DDA's list.

Little Pierogi & Crepe Kitchen opens in downtown Wyandotte

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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October 9, 2014

After five years of learning the ins and outs of pierogi making, 20-year-old Drew Geer has taken over her former boss's hamburger stand, which also sold homemade pierogi, and opened The Little Pierogi and Crepe Kitchen in downtown Wyandotte. Drew Geer started working at Joe's Hamburgers when she was 15, and on the job she learned how to make the Polish staple from recipes passed down by her boss's Polish family. When her boss Jeremy Sladovnik, owner of Joe's Hamburgers, decided to move his restaurant to a bigger space on Biddle Avenue in downtown Wyandotote and add a bar, his old space, the one where Geer grew up learning the food business, opened up. On Oct. 1, Geer opened Little Pierogi & Crepe Kitchen at 125 Elm. "At the time I was going to Wayne County to learn to be an EMT," Geer says, "but it just wasn't what I wanted to do." After a week of running her own business and spending the days selling out of pierogi, experimenting with new and different flavors and learning about restaurant staffing and such, she says, "I am loving it." She says a Facebook page she launched the day of her opening "went viral. I never imagined it would spread so fast and bring in so many people," she says. "We are selling out every day," she says. Favorite pierogi are traditionals such as potato and onion, farmer's cheese and sauerkraut. More unusual varieties are hitting too: homemade mac & cheese, cherry cheesecake and apple pie. Favorite crepes are spinach, feta, and vinaigrette and mulberry, a mix of strawberry, blueberry and cream cheese. Geer plans to keep the 14 or so flavors a mix of traditional and "crazier" on the menu at all times. An Oreo cream pierogi and breakfast crepes are in development. She runs the cozy, 850-square-foot spot with seats for 16 from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. A cheerful yellow and white awning and pressed tin tiles decorate the eatery. The menu is on a chalkboard. Source: Drew Geer, owner, Little Pierogi & Crepe Kitchen Writer: Kim North Shine

La Strovia Health Food Cafe opens in downtown Plymouth

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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October 9, 2014

The owners of downtown Plymouth's newest breakfast and lunch spot are setting out to show that healthy, organic food does not equal bland or mean sacrifice. Bill Fryer and son Steve, along with Chef Ryan McKeon, are already seeing their La Strovia Health Food Cafe catch on with locals who are coming for omelets, crepes, salads, wraps and more. The food served at La Strovia is made with fresh ingredients and comes from local companies as much as possible. There are vegan and vegetarian items and a juice and smoothie bar. La Strovia opened in mid-September at 581 Forest Ave. "The hope is to teach consumers that a healthy meal can be just as delicious as traditional meals served by everyday restaurants and grills," says Fryer. La Strovia, which comes from a Polish expression for To Your Health, has a busy grab-and-go case as well as a dining room and juice bar. The cafe is folding in other healthy approaches by hosting yoga weekly and offering meal specials on yoga nights. Source: Bill Fryer, co-owner, La Strovia Health Food Cafe Writer: Kim North Shine

Steeped-in-Detroit Eli Tea expands with tea bar in Birmingham

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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October 9, 2014

After a year of planting the seeds for a Detroit-based tea company that could lead Detroit -- and America -- to carve out its own distinctive tea culture, the founder of Eli Tea is opening the start-up's first tea bar in downtown Birmingham. The 25-year-old company founder, Elias Majid, started Eli Tea with the help of a grant and advice from Wayne State University's Blackstone Launchpad. Eli Tea incubated and grew from Eastern Market Corp.'s Detroit Kitchen Connect, which pairs food start-ups with commercial kitchen space. "I wanted to open up my own store to further the tea culture," he says. "Detroit is behind on the tea trend. There are tea shops on every corner in Chicago, D.C., Boston. "It's a good market to be in for me…It attracts a health-conscious crowd, cultural creatives and everyone who wants something that's good for you and tastes good too." The company philosophy is based on selling only natural teas, blended on site and never using syrups or artificial flavors. During his start-up phase, Eli Teas moved into 20 metro Detroit shops and restaurants while Majid scouted a location of what he hopes will be the first of many Eli Tea's tea bars. Majid picked a former Cold Stone Creamery on Woodward Avenue in downtown Birmingham for the first location and he expects to be fully open by Nov. 1. "My competitors try to make English tea rooms or Chinese tea rooms," he says. "I really want to make an American tea room. I don't think that's been done yet." He is transforming the 1000-square-foot space at 108 S. Old Woodward into a "sophisticated tea bar with an homage to Michigan, but without trying too hard," he says. There will be a countertop made of pennies, a birch-tree stenciled wall, carved copper ceiling tiles and a tea wall featuring containers of loose leaf teas. The new store goes hand in hand with an overall expansion of Eli Tea products from 30 to 80. "I'm trying to move past the doily culture," he says. "I want to see education, interaction with customers, and see people appreciating and loving tea the way I do." Owning a tea company, "is no one's dream as a kid," he says, but he realized while studying and working with plants in a lab that a career in something like tea "was a way for me to interface with the public about plants and health…I'm going from laboratory to retail, and I'm able to give that unique point of view to the customers." Source: Elias Majid, founder, Eli Tea Writer: Kim North Shine

Stealth innovation: How a Troy company is reinventing vending machine technology

By Jon Zemke

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Arts & Culture

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October 2, 2014

In 2009, Troy-based 365 Retail Markets generated $42K in revenue. This year it's projected to make $15 million. Read how one of Michigan's most under-the-radar tech companies is reinventing the vending machine experience and reaping big business in the process.

Gourmet food-truck bandwagon rolls in Metro Detroit

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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October 2, 2014

From gourmet chicken fingers served in a waffle cone to "umami-bomb" BBQ brisket in Ferndale, metro Detroit is catching up to the rest of the nation's cities in terms of gourmet options on wheels. Excerpt: "We know, we know. Food trucks are so 2012, right? Tell that to the intrepid souls who decided this year to put meals on wheels, hoping against hope that mobile cuisine hasn't yet jumped the Detroit shark. Based on the entries we've encountered, there's no danger in that happening. After all, the trucks might be new, but the chefs behind them are, for the most part, veterans who understand the power of a good business plan and a full stomach. Conveniently, although the calendar says that it's officially autumn, the climate has remained cooperative for those who like to dine al fresco. Whatever the weather, here are five new food trucks and trailers that you won't want to miss." More here.