Small Business

Plymouth adds a vintage designer boutique to downtown

By Newsroom

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June 14, 2012

The streets of downtown Plymouth take Daniela Kokalevski back to her homeland of Macedonia. For Kokalevski, who has a background in banking and a love of fashion, it was those features that made her decide the downtown, known for its charm and foot traffic, was the perfect place to open a boutique. Dazzling Daniela has a vintage bent and offers dresses, from casual to formal, most if not all the styles picked up on buying trips to Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York. Besides selling head-to-toe fashion, Kokalevski and her staff will fit all their customers. "We're getting great word of mouth, and social media is bringing people in," says Daniela, whose shop had a ribbon cutting with the Plymouth Community Chamber of Commerce earlier this month. "I love doing it in a place that makes me feel like I'm in Macedonia." Source: Daniela Kokalevski, owner Dazzling Daniela Writer: Kim North Shine

Latest in Small Business

Birmingham Welcomes Its Lego Robot Masters

By Kim North Shine

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General

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June 7, 2012

Anyone with kids knows that Legos are more than just a toy, they are a multi-colored, foot-impaling lifestyle... and the addiction of many a child. Meet Jonathan and Sarah Jacobs, the ultimate pushers. Realizing that kids need a makerspace of their own, the couple opened Birmingham's Robot Garage, a Lego and handmade robotics wonderland.

Creativibe goes for downtown vibe with new office in Plymouth

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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May 17, 2012

When Brett Wilson decided on a location for the offices of his company, Creativibe, he chose it based on place, rather than being nearest his biggest client or close to company peers. The place, a downtown Plymouth spot, overlooking Kellogg Park and within walking distance from his home, fit with what his company does for clients such as Henry Ford and University of Michigan health systems, Service Brands International, State of Michigan and Credit Suisse and others. "For me it's not the foot traffic that important to the business. It's a good physical presence," he says. "It's centrally located in the heart of downtown Plymouth and in a beautiful historic building." The building at 338 Main St. was built in the 1890s, "had a nice floor plan" and is located above the martini bar, 336 Main. Creativibe started in 2006 and provides clients with web design services, identity branding and marketing strategies. "We're here partly for the presence and also for the branding…People see the logo. There are a lot of business people here in Plymouth and in the surrounding area, people from big business," Wilson says. "They're here with their families. They're out walking around. They may develop that brand recognition." Source: Brett Wilson, principal, Creativibe Writer: Kim North Shine

Market is one of several new restaurants on the horizon for dwtn Birmingham

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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May 10, 2012

Managers of downtown Birmingham's Luxe Bar & Grill, which has forged itself as a comfy, but high-end, go-to spot for outstanding burgers, are moving on to another culinary endeavor in town. Market, a Mediterranean-style bistro with a wood-fired oven and outdoor seating, could open by August, says John Heiney, executive director of the city's Principal Shopping District. Market will be located at 474 N. Old Woodward, across from Booth Park, at the former Root & Sprout. Joe and Kristin Bongiovanni will own and operate the establishment, which is one of several to receive a liquor license under a loosened state law that doles out more licenses to cities trying to promote business start-ups and expansions. The owners of Market and Luxe are also behind the restaurant chain, Salvatore Scallopini. Heiney says visitors to downtown Birmingham will find several new restaurants this spring and summer, including many with outdoor seating and new concepts. Source: John Heiney, executive director, Birmingham Principal Shopping Distrcit Writer: Kim North Shine

Thai food mixes it up in Wyandotte

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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May 10, 2012

Growing up, Sam Yang didn't often eat food like the dishes he and his family prepare for customers at his restaurants - Bangkok Crossing in downtown Detroit and the newer Coastal Thai in downtown Wyandotte. His daughter, Susan Yang, says her father wasn't privileged enough to sup on such exotic entrees, but "he grew up learning how to cook. It was a poor country. He ate different things, but learned about Thai cooking." The Yang family's latest venture to share his experience and the taste of Thai is in a spot on Sycamore Street in Downtown Wyandotte. Susan Yang says "business is steady. It's going pretty well." The family chose the new location "because Wyandotte didn't have any Thai restaurants and we heard people wanted something different." While Bangkok Crossing on Woodward near Campus Martius in downtown Detroit draws a lunch crowd of office workers, Coastal Thai gets a dinner crowd of mostly locals. The restaurant has created full-time employment for six, including chef, servers and owners. Source: Susan Yang, manager, Coastal Thai, Wyandotte Writer: Kim North Shine

Rochester company’s expansion profiled in NY Times article

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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May 10, 2012

A recent NY Times article about how small businesses found success through expansion during the recession uses Rochester-based Bandals as an example for how it's done. Excerpt: "Lots of people advise staying aggressive during a difficult economy, but spending money when times are tough can be scary. This small-business guide looks at how Bandals and two other companies managed to do it. CONSIDER NEW MARKETS When Mr. Sesti decided to focus on increasing revenue, his first thought was to find ways to balance the seasonality of Bandals, which sell best in warm months." Read the rest of the story here.

Dwtn Rochester music academy grows

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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May 10, 2012

Rochester Musician's Academy in downtown Rochester is expanding to keep up with local desire to strum guitar, beat a drum, play a piano, sing a song. Some in the music education industry say TV shows like Glee, American Idol and the numerous, melodious Disney creations, are spurring the interest. Rochester Musician's Academy, formerly J.C.'s Drum Store, moved to its 119 S. Main Street address about five years ago, and since then has added staff and students, up four instructors from one and adding more classes, lesson space and a studio. The remodel is expected to be completed in May. The Academy calls itself the fastest growing music school in Oakland County and credits the growth to the fun classes it offers: Rock Band, Pee Wee Percussion, Steel Band Camp among them. "We strive to be the most complete musical education in the greater Detroit area," onwer Joe Chila says on his website. "Our students come from as far away as Grosse Pointe on the east and Southfield on the west." Source: Rochester Musician's Academy Writer: Kim North Shine

Ferndale casket company is reincarnated as office lofts, studios, and retail spaces

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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May 3, 2012

A former casket-making company in Ferndale has been reincarnated into a urban-loft style office space for entrepreneurs. The development, 360 Hilton, on Hilton near 8 1/2 Mile just off Ferndale's downtown, has been renovated into eight units, four upstairs and four downstairs. The spaces are relatively small, between 1,200 and 2,400 square feet, and ideal for small businesses, one-person operations, says Michael Ziecik, principal of the Forum Group, a Bloomfield Hills firm that is the broker and manager of 360 Hilton. The spaces are intentionally small, ideal for small businesses, entrepreneurs working in a variety of fields. The city has been progressive in changing its zoning to allow for mixed uses such as retail, light industrial and office in the same building, Ziecik says. "Ferndale's a destination today. That wasn't always the case. A big part of that is the city and the chamber working to make Ferndale a friendly place to do business ... They've taken traditional zoning and changed it to allow for creative uses, and we're seeing a lot more traffic," he says. Originally the plan was to attract artists to small studios, but with Russell Industrial Center in Detroit and more recently the opening of Rust Belt Market on Woodward near 9 Mile in Ferndale, the developers marketed to small businesses, says Ziecik. "It's great that Detroit's become a place people want to go, where things are happening," he says. Tenants at 360 Hilton include a t-shirt designer, a fitness trainer, a spa, an internet sales company. Renovations on three of the units are ongoing and the leasing price is meant to offer amenities of a Royal Oak without the pricing of Royal Oak, Ziecik says. The redesign has included new heating and cooling system and open-air windows that open up as well as epoxy floors, exposed ductwork "that give it a edgy urban feel," Ziecik says. Source: Michael Ziecik, principal, Forum Group Commercial Real Estate Writer: Kim North Shine

StartGarden Sows the Seeds of Entrepreneurship

By J. Bennett Rylah

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Entrepreneurship

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May 3, 2012

From ArtPrize to the seed accelerator Momentum to the web business incubator Pomegranate Studios, Grand Rapids-based Rick Devos has created an impressive farm team of entrepreneurial enterprises focused on strengthening Michigan's economic ecosystem. His latest creation, StartGarden, gets both professionals and the public behind projects with the potential to blossom into successful businesses.

What Crepe to bring cool vibe to downtown Grosse Pointe

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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April 26, 2012

A prominent vacant space in Grosse Pointe's Village district is expected to be filled by What Crepe, a Royal Oak restaurant with a funky, urban, upscale vibe. Grosse Pointe City Manager Peter Dame says the restaurant owner has signed a letter of intent with the owner of the building that faces Kercheval Avenue. Dame says the lease is expected to be signed in days. Signs saying "What Crepe is Coming" have gone up in the windows of the space where What Crepe will fire up its pans. The space was previously Burger Pointe, which closed due to personal reasons, and locals are eager for something to move in again. "It's a wonderful place," says Dame, who visited the Royal Oak What Crepe. What Crepe has also opened a Birmingham location. "A restaurant like this brings a whole new feel to Grosse Pointe." It comes as proposals for an Emagine movie theater, which has a theater in Royal Oak and other Detroit suburbs, and a performing arts and banquet center for the Grosse Pointe Theatre are being considered by the city. They would be located, if approved, behind the spot where What Crepe is expected to open. Writer: Kim North Shine Source: Peter Dame, Grosse Pointe City Manager