Small Business

Buy Michigan Now readies for annual market in Northville

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February 6, 2014

A festival that comes to Northville each August may look like any summertime fair, but behind the temporary town of tents, banners, bands and children's play areas is a successful effort to build up fledgling Michigan-made businesses. For five years the Buy Michigan Now festival has shut down Main & Center streets and opened 2 1/2 blocks of downtown to small- and medium-sized Michigan businesses looking for exposure for their goods and services. Dozens and dozens of times over the years, says Buy Michigan Now founder Lisa Diggs, the vendor-customer connection made at the fair propels entrepreneurial ideas into commercial reality. "We've had businesses that grew out of the event in a great way, where they've gone on to get on store shelves. Others have opened their own shops or offices. We're sort of a little breeding ground for that kind of success," says Diggs. This year, as in past years, about 100 vendors will bring all sorts of products, such as foods, patio furniture, smartphone repair services, to the festival. Small businesses in downtown Northville are also part of the event, which draws large crowds with its carefully-screened vendors, a beer and wine garden where Michigan crafters sell their liquid handiwork, live entertainment and a kids' play area spread across the festival area. The 2014 festival is Aug. 1, 2 and 3, and applications for vendors are now being taken online here. "It's a campaign and a festival with a cause," says Diggs, an entrepreneur herself. Through Buy Michigan Now and her consulting work as owner of The Catalyst Co., she promotes businesses in a number of ways throughout the year, including providing publicity and media exposure that is normally too costly for a start-up. The first year of the Buy Michigan Now campaign was in 2007 and came with heavy involvement from the state of Michigan and Gov. Jennifer Granholm. It was a weeklong event with numerous celebrations and promotion. It formed at a time when Michigan's economy was tanking and when the mindset of buying local was taking shape. "We're literally about getting more people to sit up and take notice of where their product or service comes from. The idea when we started was to have a day for people to think about how to buy only Michigan products, make a meal only from Michigan. Then we realized we needed much more than a day." Source: Lisa Diggs, founder Buy Michigan Now Writer: Kim North Shine

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Metro Work Space adds co-working office in downtown Farmington

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Arts & Culture

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January 30, 2014

In a sign that co-working is more than a passing trend, Metro Work Space is opening a second location in downtown Farmington next week. The furniture and supplies are being moved into the 100-year-old, historic building with wood floors, high tin ceilings and "overall charm" this week, says Todd Luhtanen, who owns and operates Metro Work Space with wife Bev Luhtanan. The 2,500-square-foot office at 33316 Grand River is in the heart of downtown Farmington and offers a different feel and will serve a different clientele than the original Metro Work Space at 8 Mile and Merriman in Livonia, he says. "We see the demand, but we also different markets. The Livonia office is ideal for people who are meeting across metro Detroit. It's close to highways, central," he says. "Downtown Farmington is completely different. It's a downtown community with all the things happening, people working, restaurants, stores. "In Farmington we're really targeting people who are already in Farmington and want an office," he says. "There really isn't anything affordable." Both offices provide a workspace, wi-fi, equipment, supplies and services for the cost of a membership that also brings with it access to networking and business management that will schedule conference rooms and meet other needs, even coffee. "Some people are seeing it as a cheap alternative when they first sign up," he says, "but once they see it and work here they realize there's additional value." Metro Work Space is one of about 10 co-working spaces in metro Detroit and Ann Arbor. Their clients are the growing number of mobile and at-home workers, whether employed by a company or self-employed. According to DeskMag, co-working has increased 117 percent globally in the last year, and Luhtnanen cites Michigan's strong entrepreneurial culture as a reason for co-working to grow. Nearly 20 percent of graduates from Wayne State and Michigan State universities and the University of Michigan have started started their own businesses. "We're really excited about our own growth, plus the overall growth in co-working," he says. Co-working is still in its infancy in the Midwest, while out west or on the East Coast it's a given way to work. "People here are [finally] seeing the value of a co-working space. We're here in michigan as opposed to silicon valley or somewhere out west where people really get the co-working. "People are seeing they can get the feeling of a coffee shop, the getting out into the community, the being around human beings, but without all the negatives of a coffee shop." Source: Todd Luhtanen, founder and owner, Metro Work Space Writer: Kim North Shine

Marcia’s Munchies brings home Good Food show award

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Arts & Culture

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January 30, 2014

Marcia Nodel took her Birmingham-based Marcia's Munchies pickles to the Good Food show in San Francisco two weeks ago and came back with an award that is already putting her "sweet & sassy" creation in more metro Detroit markets. She was one of five Michigan craft food makers to win the award that recognizes products that have a good taste and potential to do social good. Nodel has been in business only about a year, but has jarred pickles and jams and made her special caramel crunch popcorn for about 30 years. Nodel's popcorn is already a staple at markets such as Hiller's, Papa Joe's, Market Square and several others, but the process to certify the pickles took much longer. With certification and the award, she expects to hire help to keep up with demand. "I know that doors open faster when you go in and say I just won this award," she says. She gets help in promotion and sales and business planning from "business-minded, energetic" daughter-in-law Michal Nodel, who moved from New York with Marcia's son about a year ago. Besides seeing an increase in sales Nodel hopes to watch metro Detroiters come to care more about eating "clean food" and to think about how food production affects the environment and quality of life. "After going out to San Francisco you see how whole cities are adopting this theory. I don't think one business at the show gave out a plastic bag. It's all about how to eat food, package food, make food that is good for people and good for the community," she says. "The Good Food people vet you extensively on how you make your product, what's used in your product, where you buy the ingredients. My food has always been preservative free. I don't like anything artificial." Source: Marcia Nodel, founder, Marcia's Munchies Writer: Kim North Shine

Alpine Chocolat Haus sets up shop in downtown Plymouth

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Community Development

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January 23, 2014

For years customers, whether northern Michigan residents or travelers, have been sweet on Alpine Chocolat Haus, making it an institution. After nearly 20 years in business, the chocolate-maker is opening a store downstate in downtown Plymouth. The candy and ice cream store owned and founded by "der Chocolatmeister" Bruce Brown is known for handmade truffles, chocolate potato chips, caramel corn and apples and more. Brown's fourth store, and first in metro Detroit, opened last month at 322 S. Main Street on the city square, across from Kellogg Park. Alpine Chocolat Hauses are also located in Gaylord, where the first store opened in 1985, and in Boyne City and Sault Ste. Marie. The Plymouth store is designed and furnished to encourage customers to linger there and to be a part of the city planners' intention to stroll and stay downtown by giving them shops, a park, and events such as the Plymouth Ice Festival. Source: Michael Fernandez, managing member, Alpine Chocolat Haus, and Plymouth Downtown Development Authority Writer: Kim North Shine

GearBox Rx opens in Rochester to serve Crossfit athletes

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Arts & Culture

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January 23, 2014

GearBox RX, a soon-to-open store in downtown Rochester, wants to make it easier to buy Crossfit gear -- shoes, clothing, food, supplements, etc. -- by stocking only products that are tested and trusted and used by the owners themselves. The owners, three casual CrossFit enthusiasts, know the frustration of ordering CrossFit supplies online and winding up with things that don't work or are no good. Figuring there are other CrossFitters in the same situation, they decided to open GearBox RX at 416 S. Main Street. Opening day is Jan. 24. The owners are not "professional athletes or boutique wannabes," they say on their website "About Us" page. "GearBox Rx mission is to be a community house for all things CrossFit and functional fitness. We are a retail store that sells shoes, clothing, accessories and nutrition to functional fitness athletes," according to the website. "We are also a place where that community can gather and talk shop, watch competitions or just share and learn about stuff that's important to us." They chose Rochester because of its midway location for much of metro Detroit, its proximity to more than 40 CrossFit boxes, and hundreds of miles of running and biking trails and parks. The store has a mini box where gear can be tried before you buy, and a market where natual and paleo products are sold. Source: Rochester Downtown Development Authority and GearBox RX Writer: Kim North Shine

How do you build an innovative, entrepreneurial community?

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Community Development

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January 16, 2014

Anchor institutions are good. A well-developed community of small startups with young entrepreneurs is also good. A healthy mix of both seems to be best. But the devil is the details. Excerpt: "The study essentially argues that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to creating an innovative tech economy. Though civic boosters love to tout single-solution policies — by focusing on attracting one major tech firm, or by bolstering their start-up ecology — a mix of both approaches may be far more effective and prudent." Read the rest here.

Freakin’ Unbelievable Burgers opens in Farmington Hills

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Arts & Culture

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January 16, 2014

Flint-based Freakin' Unbelievable Burgers has plans to take a bite out of the metro Detroit burger business with a new location in Farmington Hills. It's the second location for the company, Spartan Pastabilities LLC, which opened the first Freakin' Unbelievable in May 2012. It quickly made plans to expand and franchise its "burger customization" concept in upscale casual settings. The Farmington Hills outlet of Freakin' Unbelievable Burgers opened last week at 29206 Orchard Lake Road. The second location cost about $1 million to renovate and will create 10 full-time and 20 part-time jobs. The new store is designed with digital menu boards so that the always-changing specialty burgers -- Upper Crust Burger, Down Under Burger, Ancho BBQ Burger and many others -- can easily be updated. Burgers also come with gluten-free buns or in vegetarian versions, and regional craft beers will be on tap and sold by the bottle. Create your own burger contests for a placement in the line-up is part of the restaurant's concept as well. The interior is meant to be more inspiring than a typical burger chain. A monochromatic color scheme is mixed with corrugated metal, intricate tile work, pendant lighting and a four-foot chandelier. Company owner Brett Skaggs is optimistic his burger can compete with national biggies, which are located nearby. "We believe our burger is better," he says, "and we believe that locals want to support a company that's based right here in Michigan." Source: Megan Spencer and Brent Skaggs, Freakin' Unbelievable Burgers Writer: Kim North Shine

Longtime Grosse Pointe caterer opens Cabbage Patch Cafe

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Arts & Culture

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January 9, 2014

After plugging away for 14 years as a successful home-based caterer serving residential and corporate clients, Pam Dziedzic decided to go retail. She bought a storefront space on Kercheval Avenue, an eclectic and re-emerging commercial stretch in Grosse Pointe Park, her hometown, and added cafe and bakery to the business plan. She's calling it Cabbage Patch Cafe and after just six months in business - previously operating under the prior owner's name, Fou 'd Amour - she is expanding, doubling the space and channeling her endless energy and enthusiasm into a cafe that's more than a place to have a meal. By spring the cafe, which now has four tables, a bakery display case and a refrigerator/freezer for the prepared take-out meals honed by the previous business and carried on by Dziedzic, will have 10-12 tables and space for 40-50 to eat. "There's so much I want to do," says Dziedzic, a mother of twin high-school students whose passion for cooking and food is contagious. "I want to be be able to rent out the space for birthday parties and showers and do pop-up restaurants with a different theme each month. I want to be known for a place to pick up your prepared dinners, where you can find, heat, and serve healthier options for families, high protein meals for marathon runners and gluten-free meals." She describes the cafe as "fresh, funky, friendly and fun." What excites her almost as much as the food business is being a part of changes in Grosse Pointe Park - and the Pointes in general. Cabbage Patch Cafe - the name derived from a surrounding lower-rent neighborhood where Irish help brought their cultural affection for cabbage to their modest homes while working in more affluent residences in the Pointes - is one of several businesses playing into a larger re-development plan of Kercheval Avenue. The commercial stretch known as The Park borders the city of Detroit, and is a stepchild to the more successful business districts on Kercheval: The Village in the city of Grosse Pointe and The Hill in Grosse Pointe Farms. In The Park, there is Red Crown restaurant that opened in a renovated art deco gas station 10 months ago. Atwater Brewery is opening a brewpub and biergarten in a church a block away from Cabbage Patch, and other plans to bring new businesses and redesign the street to make it more walkable are unfolding. "I feel like this might be perfect timing. This area truly feels more urban and I have something that is part of that urban feel," she says. "It's coming out of the comfort zone for Grosse Pointe, and it's needed here. I really want to try to do something that's different for Grosse Pointe." In the meantime, she's focusing on the mainstay of her business, catering, as she takes on the new job duties that will make her business grow. She has hired a full-time chef, Brittany Swineford, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Chicago and a chef at The Palm in the Windy City. She retained the baker, Brian Rentschler, from the previous business, which was also known for its scones. She and another full-time staffer run the business she's reinventing. "This has really been a natural progression," she says. "It's a big transition, but it's exciting." Source: Pam Dziedzic, caterer and owner, Cabbage Patch Cafe & Catering Writer: Kim North Shine

Gluten-free pierogi biz thriving in St. Clair Shores

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Community Development

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January 9, 2014

When Alicia Bemiss' son was diagnosed with diabetes nearly four years ago her focus went to his diet and how to keep him healthy. His dramatic weight loss and change in appearance, which was taking place at the time her parents had died just two weeks apart, was a cause for alarm and the start of a new way of living and eating for her, her husband and two sons and daughter. When she learned that her son's diabetes might be connected to Celiac's Disease - an intolerance of wheat and other gluten-related grains - her way of cooking changed dramatically as she searched for recipes that would keep him happy and healthy at the same time. Her discovery of a tasty gluten-free pierogi for her "pierogi-aholic son", now 16, eventually became the recipe for a business that is growing so fast she can hardly keep up. Her Old World Gluten Free Pierogi is based in St. Clair Shores, and the five frozen varieties - and growing - of pierogi is soon to go into cases at Westborn Market, which gave Old World its Product Placement Award at a Michigan foods exhibition. Currently the pierogi can be ordered online or by phone by individuals, restaurants or stores. The business started in September and was flooded with orders over the holidays. Her commercial kitchen is located on Harper Avenue in St. Clair Shores, not far coincidentally from a booming gluten-free bakery, Ethel's Edibles. "My parents were born in Poland. I grew up very Polish. We loved our pierogi. All my kids loved them," Bemiss says. "Once I started making them we could see how many other people wanted the same thing. It just took off." "Nobody was making pierogi," except a small company called Conte's, she says. "I didn't want to have the empty starches. I wanted it to be healthy." For nine months she worked to come up with a recipe based in garbanzo beans, which are high in protein and a good source of iron. She started selling favorites: potato cheddar cheese, sauerkraut and mushroom, sweet farmers cheese, salmon and cheese and savory sweet potato and making them preservative-free, with butter and cheese with cultured milk so they're virtually lactose free, she says. Demand was so great she was consumed with cooking and is now focusing on the business end as she prepares for wider distribution: UPC codes, ingredient labels and more. "Gluten-free is here to stay," she says. "It is not a fad or a trend. It is a health issue and there is a demand that will not be going away." Source: Alicia Bemiss, owner, Old World Gluten Free Pierogi Writer: Kim North Shine

Plymouth’s Mattress 4 U brings organic to the bedroom

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Community Development

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December 19, 2013

In the 1980s, Mattress 4 U was into the waterbed craze and since then it's followed trends in sleeping, the latest being organic mattresses and a desire by consumers to know what's inside their mattress and what chemicals have been used to treat it. The store started in Greenville in western Michigan and expanded to Plymouth in the summer of 2013, opening a store at 44717 5 Mile Road. It serves mostly Northville and Plymouth and calls itself Michigan's only certified organic mattress retailers. Shoppers can find mattresses made from 100-percent organic cotton, natural rubber latex, renewable products, cruelty-free Eco Wool and with no chemicals. It's a growing business, and unlike waterbeds of the 1980s, may be here to stay, says owner Billy Pennington. Source: Billy Pennington, owner, Mattress 4U Writer: Kim North Shine