2009 – Page 6 of 98 – Concentrate

Beezy’s owner reflects on first year in downtown Ypsilanti

By Newsroom

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December 2, 2009

One year later, one of downtown Ypsilanti's success stories reflects on the ups and downs of helping build Washtenaw County's newest Bohemia.Excerpt:Remember how I told you last year about a great new restaurant in Ypsi called Beezy’s? Well, it’s still here. And the food is still great. And, now that they’ve done what most new restaurants don’t, and reached their first anniversary, I thought that I’d ask Beezy’s owner, Bee Mayhew, a few questions.MARK: So, Bee, it’s been a year. Congratulations on making it this far. As you know, it’s a hurdle that most new restaurants don’t clear, even in areas that aren’t so economically depressed. With that said, how do you account for your success here in Ypsi?BEE: Thanks Mark!Well, I don’t know that there’s any accounting for it [ask my accountant, ha!] other than a lot of really really hard work. It sounds trite, and I think everybody who runs a small business works very hard, but it’s true. Some, okay, most days were/are so immensely grueling. Sure there’s only 12 operating hours a day, 6 days a week but I’m here at around 5:00 AM, and most nights I’m not wrapped up until 9:00 PM. I’m kind of a control freak. And a workaholic. And a little bit anti-social. So long days doing a lot of menial work just feels right. And it’s incredibly cathartic, to a point. It also gave me the opportunity to let my staff learn their roles better and be the personality of the place, so it didn’t all fall on my awkward shoulders.But hard work aside, I have an attitude, mostly a good one, but I’m very aware of my weaknesses. And that I think has been a key to success in Ypsi. I’m fairly certain that Beezy’s could take off anywhere, but I made Ypsi my home with a passion I’ve never felt for the dozens of towns I’ve lived in. Not the kind of passion that drives me to be involved with every organization or committee (though I love to read all the notes) but the kind of passion that belonging and being brings. That’s why I think Ypsi has been such a good fit for me, for Beezy’s. A year later, my own and my business’s weaknesses are exposed, but I’m honest about it. A lot like Ypsi itself. It screams opportunity to me in every cell of my being- not in an opportunistic way, but in a tough love, growing, spiritual kind of way. I put that energy into the food I create- something as simple as a matchstick carrot carries the same weight as picking up litter on the street. Calling someone (usually myself) out on their bullshit and being or doing better every day drives that energy.Read the rest of the story here and another story about how VG Kids is pondering the possibility of moving away from Ypsilanti here.

MASTERMIND: Tony Lupo

By Leia Menlove

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Economic Development

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December 2, 2009

In just a few short years, Tony Lupo, Director of Sales and Marketing for Salon Vox, has become the poster child for youth involvement in Ann Arbor's downtown business and social scenes. And he's gearing up to help the city better understand the needs and desires of young professional talent when planning for its future.

What to do with Washetnaw Ave between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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December 2, 2009

Washtenaw Ave. clearly isn't the prettiest street in Washtnaw County, but some local stakeholders have some ideas on how to change that.Excerpt:Planners have dubbed the five-mile stretch of Washtenaw Avenue from Stadium Boulevard in Ann Arbor to the water tower in Ypsilanti as the Washtenaw Avenue Talent Center. And they have a bold initiative for it over the next 10 to 20 years.Its creators say the plan aims to reduce sprawl and increase density along the route, relying on the rising demand for public transit and pedestrian-friendly connections. Features include reduced building setbacks, mixed-use development and affordable housing that will help Washtenaw County retain talented young residents.Development would concentrate along transit “nodes” on the route.“We’re imagining that there are areas that could definitely support three-story buildings,” said Anya Dale, senior planner in the Washtenaw County Office of Strategic Planning. Read the rest of the story here and an interesting conversation about where the ugly begins on Washtenaw on the MarkMaynard.com blog here.

8 ideas to improve Michigan’s economy surface at U-M conf

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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December 2, 2009

More and more ideas on how to reinvent Michigan's economy are coming from the University of Michigan.Excerpt:How can Michigan grow its economy?A Kalamazoo economist counted the ways -- eight of them -- Friday at the University of Michigan's 37th Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics.Timothy J. Bartik, senior economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, outlined four strategies for cutting marginal business costs and four strategies for improving workers' skills at the event, which features national and state economic forecasts as well as other economic presentations.Bartik said it's more important to cut marginal business taxes -- the cost of adding a new plant or a new job -- rather than business taxes overall."The problem with cutting taxes across the board is the revenue hit is so much more than incentives, and so you have to cut public spending, which causes the economy to shrink," Bartik said. "Also, businesses value things like roads, schools, libraries and universities."Read the rest of the story here.

U-M students do more than just drink beer, they make it

By Newsroom

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Healthy Communities

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December 2, 2009

Could micro-brew start-ups be the next big industry to come from the University of Michigan?Excerpt:The conversation in Arbor Brewing Company last Sunday was far from the norm. Words like “estery,” “diacetyl” and “phenolic” were tossed around with ease. Patrons traded stories describing gruesome scenes — “It looked like we had sacrificed a goat” — and violent explosions — “The best is when you have fruit in it and it blows up and hits your ceiling.”It wasn’t a meeting of Mad Scientists Anonymous — not officially, at least. ABC’s Tap Room served as the setting for The Michigan Daily’s first home brewing competition, in which students submitted their own beer to be judged by a panel of local experts: Matt Greff, owner of ABC, Ron Jeffries, owner of Jolly Pumpkin, and Alex Petit, a member of the Ann Arbor Brewers Guild.The contest featured 25 entries and 17 styles. To accommodate the diverse field of entries, traditional categories were consolidated into three broad groups: Light/Amber, Strong/Spiced and Dark. Judging criteria included overall quality and adherence to style as established by the Beer Judge Certification Program.The Daily held this contest to create a forum for what seems to be a growing number of students who are taking up brewing as a hobby. Entries varied widely in style, inventiveness and quality, but all confirmed a trend of college students who are forsaking the “dirty thirty” of cheap macro-brew to try to make something worth drinking.“I think there’s a big surge of people enjoying and appreciating craft beer, which tends to lead people to make their own,” said Engineering graduate student Ian Stines, a member of the Ann Arbor Brewers Guild whose “Obama Victory Porter” won Best of Show.Read the rest of the story here.

Toyota looks at moving tech jobs from Calif to Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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December 2, 2009

Toyota's tech center in Ann Arbor looks like a bigger and bigger jobs producer everyday.Excerpt:Toyota Motor Corp. may move some U.S. jobs out of California to cheaper states as declining sales force the world’s biggest carmaker to cut costs and reorganize operations, two people familiar with the plan said.The automaker may shift U.S. product planning, accounting, travel and data services from its sales company near Los Angeles to Kentucky or Michigan, where its North American engineering and assembly units are based, the people said. Details may be decided over the next several months, said the people, who declined to be identified because the plans aren’t public. Read the rest of the story here.

NIGHT & DAY: A Shadow Art Culture

By Jeff Meyers

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Community Development

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December 2, 2009

This week's FilterD is filled with secrets and shadows and... gasp!... puppets. Editor Jeff Meyers points you toward six cultural events worth checking out and chats with Shadow Art Fair co-founder Mark Maynard about Ypsilanti's fringe arts scene.

Washtenaw Comm College plans to build parking deck

By Newsroom

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Development News

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December 2, 2009

Washtenaw Community College is taking a three-pronged approach to solving its parking problem, and the biggest answer could be the college's first parking deck.The college has experienced a huge influx of new students this year, creating a parking shortage during peak hours in the middle of the week. Parking has traditionally been served by surface parking lots. The college's Board of Regents is expected to approve plans for a 600-car parking deck next week."There are several locations on campus that are possible," says Janet Hawkins, director of the public relations and marketing for Washtenaw Community College.The most likely is located south of the College's Campus Green, between the Crane Liberal Arts and Science Building and the Morris Lawrence Building. The $12.5 million project would be three levels high and connected to Parking Lot #7 and #1. Construction could begin as soon as next summer and be finished by fall of 2011.The college is also extending its shuttle service from a large parking lot near Eastern Michigan University's Rynearson Stadium. The new service would be open to staff, students and faculty every 15 minutes between 6:45 a.m. and 6:15 p.m.The college is also offering discounted AATA bus passes. The $10 pass will let students, staff and faculty ride AATA buses any where and any time between January and April.Source: Janet Hawkins, director of the public relations and marketing for Washtenaw Community CollegeWriter: Jon Zemke

New Zingerman’s coffee shop opens by Ann Arbor airport

By Newsroom

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Development News

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December 2, 2009

Getting a cup of Zingerman's coffee is a little bit easier these days now that the acclaimed eatery has a satellite coffee shop on Ann Arbor's south side.Zingerman's Coffee recently opened its processing site in an industrial area on Plaza Drive, in the Airport Plaza Business Park next to the world-famous eatery's bakehouse and creamery. There's a retail component to the site allowing customers to see how the coffee is made and grab a cup of joe in the process. The Zingerman's brand houses a family of businesses that all specialize in high end food --bread, cheese, chocolate, coffee- as well as customer service. The deli in Kerrytown accounts for about one third of the company's business. The rest of their products are made elsewhere in Ann Arbor where there is more room to operate. A common philosophy to these businesses has been that everyday customers can buy what is being made for retail outlets, grocers and restaurants at the site."These are businesses," says Ari Weinzweig, co-founder of Zingerman's. "We want to make it easy for people to buy from us."Another important aspect of the Zingerma's business model is to demonstrate how the company sticks to its local roots and emphasizes the high quality of its products. One of the other ways it does this is by offering site tours. These will soon be available at Zingerman's Coffee's new home.For years Zingerman's has stood its ground at its original location, turning down opportunities to franchise or open new locations outside Washtenaw County. Zingerman's has even looked at the idea of opening a Ypsilanti location, because so many of its employees live in the up and coming community. It has the kind of do-it-yourself culture the founders identify with. Nothing has yet to come from that idea, however. Zingerman's would also like to expand its Kerrytown location.Source: Ari Weinzweig, co-founder of Zingerman'sWriter: Jon Zemke

MDOT replaces U.S. 23 rest area north of Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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December 2, 2009

Ann Arbor's little rest area that could no longer can, now that the state is replacing it.The Michigan Department of Transportation is razing and rebuilding the Northfield Church rest area on U.S. 23 just north of Ann Arbor. The small rest area, which services southbound U.S. 23 traffic, will become bigger and more efficient thanks to an infusion of $2.8 million.The new rest area will be 3,903 square feet and offer dual restroom facilities on both north and south sides of building. There will also be a family restroom and changing station. The parking lot will be able to accomodate 90 cars, 30 trucks/RVs and two bus pull-up parking spots. Picnic tables will also be added.The rest area was originally built in 1967 and was 1,156 square feet. It was expanded in 1984 to 2,025 square feet and able to accommodate 48 cars and 21 trucks/RVs. Construction is expected to wrap up by next June when a short work project that will shut down half of the lanes on U.S. 23 is finished.Source: Kari Arend, spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of TransportationWriter: Jon Zemke