Ann Arbor continues to build on its reputation as a technologically advanced city, this time taking the No. 6 spot as a top digital city in the U.S. That puts it in line with the likes of Pueblo, Colo.; High Point, N.C. and ahead of Berkeley, Calif. Check out the rankings here.
If all goes according to plan a new Saline restaurant, Mangiamo's, translated as "Let's eat!" will open by the end of the year.Co-owner Laurie Toarmina says her family is doing some final cleaning out and finishing of the inside before it opens sometime in the next month or so. The outside of the 120-year-old building, the former Kelly's restaurant on West Michigan Avenue, needed only some paint; the new owners installed all new equipment in the kitchen and added a wall to make part of the interior an ice cream parlor."There's been a lot of work done," she says. "There's been a lot of cleaning. It's been closed for a long time."Other improvements included a remodeling and re-tiling of the bathrooms, and work in the basement. They also added a staircase to the second floor.Laurie, husband Peter, brother-in-law Louis Toarmina, and sisters and husbands Dr. Rose and Ron Tolson and Mary and Len Sheko, are all pitching in to make the project happen. "We are plugging away, doing most of the work ourselves," Toarmina says.The family is trying to buy items for their restaurant that are made in the United States, and some are taking longer to get than foreign products.Their main project over the next few weeks is to experiment with the menu and have everything nailed down before the opening. A soft opening is planned for year-end, with a celebration sometime in January.Toarmina appreciates the calls they've gotten from future customers, and how patient they have been. "We just want to make sure everything's perfect," she says. "It really looks like a restaurant in here."The Mangiamo's building had been vacant for more than five years, and the 10,000-square-foot second floor even longer. The family would like to see that space renovated into offices or loft apartments. The former Kelly's is actually a combination of two 100-year-old structures that originally served as dry goods stores, traces of which are still visible on the exterior. The family has preserved this heritage as well as other historical aspects of the building.Source: Laurie Toarmina, co-owner of Mangiamo'sWriter: Kristin Lukowski
Pulled pork, beef brisket, and other items of meaty barbecue deliciousness will be on the menu in downtown Ypsilanti, hopefully by the first part of next year.The goal is to have Red Rock Downtown Barbecue open by spring, ideally St. Patrick's Day, says co-owner Shawn Cool. The building is the former T.C. Speakeasy's, at 207 W. Michigan Ave. The restaurant will serve local and Michigan-made products as well as quality food.Next up is getting the building ready for demolition and heating, electric, plumbing, and other technical aspects. "Everything's been good so far," Cool says. "We've uncovered a lot of walls and the ceiling, and everything looks like it's in decent shape."Cool and his father and business co-owner, John, have worked on this project for the last 20 months; the property's foreclosure status made it a bit more challenging. They were able to close with the bank early last month, but slowing down the process, for good reason, was Shawn Cool's wedding a few weeks ago. However, "We're finally in here and ready to go," he says.Red Rock Downtown Barbecue will take shape in a 150-year-old historic building that has seen several additions over the years. The Cools hope to strip it down to its bare bones and build to make it better suited for a barbecue restaurant. Cool would like to keep a live music aspect to the venue.The building formerly housed a bar, a shoe store, and perhaps even a funeral home.The Cools believe barbecue is the right food genre to bring to downtown Ypsilanti. John Cool is retired from the meat industry and will bring that expertise to the business. "We're doing it together," Shawn Cool says. "From here on out, I'll be out here every day until I get things going."Source: Shawn Cool, co-owner of the Red Rock Downtown BarbecueWriter: Kristin Lukowski
Solar panels atop the Ypsilanti Food Co-op are 99 percent installed, says Dave Strenski of Solar Ypsi, and he's already got his sights set on his next renewable energy project.The 30 solar panels are on and functioning, he explains, but the bakery inadvertently gave them the wrong meters, so they can't track the actual energy input online yet. "We've been making electricity for probably two weeks," he says. "It is up and running."In his final report to the state for the grant, the total price came in at less than $45,000, working out to about $7.50 per watt, a pretty reasonably priced solar installation, he says.Now, Strenski, who started the grass roots Solar Ypsi and was the force behind the solar projects on the co-op, its bakery, and the city hall, would like to see solar panels at Adams Elementary School, which is in a prime location -- a large roof, with a road and then a park to the south, which would create virtually no shade over any solar panels. He's now looking for grants for such a project, such as through the Michigan Renewable Schools Program.Part of the reason for putting the generation of energy online is so people can compare solar sites; in a recent comparison of the main co-op roof to the Ypsilanti City Hall, he found that city hall is a more efficient site because of its height and lack of shading. The co-op building is a bit shorter, and does get some tree shade in the afternoon. He figures that city hall is about a third more efficient than the co-op in terms of energy generated.Trimming branches is an option, but the system can also be made more efficient with a new converter and perhaps more panels, Strenski explains. He's also applied for DTE Energy's SolarCurrents program, in which the utility buys back power generated.Quite a few people from around Michigan check out the site to watch how much power is being generated through the day, and Strenski says the occasional person from Russia, China, or India also views the page. All his drawings, parts lists, costs, and everything else is on the site, should people want to duplicate a system to make their own."We're educating people throughout the state," he says.Source: Dave Strenski, volunteer with Solar YpsiWriter: Kristin Lukowski
The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition couldn't have come at a better time for Arbor Photonics. The 3-year-old startup plans to use the competition (it's a semi-finalist) as a springboard for its series B round of fundraising in 2011. Winning the $500,000 cash prize for first place would go a long way toward reaching the goal of $3-$5 million."Its good money," says Phillip Amaya, CEO of Arbor Photonics. "It fits in well with our financing plan."The Ann Arbor-based, laser-technology startup has hired six people in the last year, rounding out its staff to 10. The University of Michigan spin-off plans to hire another 5-6 people in 2011 with continued technology commercialization and the start of production.Arbor Photonics got its start when U-M Prof. Almantas Galvanauskas invented a new way to dramatically improve fiber lasers. The optical fiber structure technology called Chirally-Coupled Core Fiber, or 3C fiber, significantly improves the performance of fiber lasers in industrial manufacturing. Amaya expects that technology to begin appearing in more and more factories within the next year."We expect sales to take off in 2012," Amaya says.Source: Phillip Amaya, CEO of Arbor PhotonicsWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
While a number of startups plan to use the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition to start their seed capital drives, Accio Energy, a semi-finalist, plans to use the contest to cap its fundraising efforts.The 2-year-old company has raised $880,000 so far, which has allowed it to hire three people in the last six months. The Ann Arbor-based firm now employs eight people, a couple of independent contractors, and partners with a few local firms. More hires are expected as it wraps up its second round of fundraising and scales up its alternative energy technology."We expect to close on our second round of funding in December," says Jen Baird, CEO of Accio Energy.Accio Energy isn't reinventing the wheel as much as it is reinventing the wind turbine. Its principal aerovoltaic technology harnesses the electrokinetic energy of the wind without any moving turbine blades. Baird says the firm scored a breakthrough in proving the technology this summer and plans to deploy a demonstration project next year.In the meantime, Accio Energy continues to recruit investors, using the Accelerate Michigan competition as its latest stage. It hopes to grab a piece of the $1 million in prizes offered, and some more on the side."The exposure to the investors of this size and scale at a national level is unparalleled," Baird says.Source: Jen Baird, CEO of Accio EnergyWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
The Internet isn't necessarily a level playing ground, especially if you're competing against lightning-fast software programs designed for scalpers to buy a hot item, like Hannah Montana tickets.That sort of situation inspired Are You a Human, a new start-up that is creating software to give people an upper hand over computer programs. The Ann Arbor-based company's software offers simple games that must be completed before a purchase can be made. Think of the old banner ads with the Duck Hunt-style games that are easy for people to play but confounding for computers."Our product is designed to be friendlier for people," says Tyler Paxton, founder of Are You a Human and an MBA student at the University of Michigan. "It engages people."The 3-month-old startup now employs a team of five people in the Tech Arb, and is looking to bring on two more web developers. The newer, bigger team will help commercialize the prototype that recently won Best Pitch at Ann Arbor SPARK's most recent Entrepreneur Boot Camp.Source: Tyler Paxton, founder of Are You a HumanWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
HistoSonics is rounding out its staff and board of directors as the Ann Arbor-based startup begins to head toward clinical trials.The 1-year-old U-M spin-off is developing a medical device that uses tightly focused ultrasound pulses to treat prostate disease in a non-invasive manner with robotic precision. HistoSonics (histo meaning tissue and sonics meaning sound waves) landed $11 million in venture capital last year and has used it to build up its staff from five to 10 people and add a sixth board member, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, former commissioner of the FDA, that will help lead the firm through clinical trials."We'll be shifting into clinical trial phase late next year," says Christine Gibbons, president & COO of HistoSonics. HistoSonics has also spent the last year hitting key product development milestones. Gibbons expects her team to finish up product development over the next few months and begin the company's first pilot study in the summer. The company will probably add a handful of independent contractors at that time.More hires should be made as clinical trials progress, with commercialization of the product by 2014. The company's $11 million in seed capital is also expected to take product development well into the clinical trial phase.Source: Christine Gibbons, president & COO of HistoSonicsWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Writing instruction always came easy for Suzanne Klein, a former elementary school teacher. Her methods were so popular among other teachers, they encouraged her to commercialize them before someone else did. That precipitated WriteSteps four years ago, an educational company that is gearing up to go national in 2011."The need is there for a writing program," says Klein, founder & CEO of WriteSteps. "Writing is the hardest thing for teachers to teach."WriteSteps, which came out on top at the most recent Ann Arbor SPARK Entrepreneur Boot Camp, primarily sells its educational kits in Michigan these days, after getting its start in the Taylor School District. More than 1,000 teachers use the kits today and Klein plans to begin rolling them out to other school districts across North America in 2011. This growth, a 200 percent increase in sales over the last year alone, has allowed WriteSteps to be cash-flow positive and hiring. It has added eight people to its staff, which now stands at 12, over the last year. Klein expects to add another 10-20 positions in 2011 as WriteSteps begins selling its kits across the U.S.Source: Suzanne Klein, founder & CEO of WriteStepsWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
If you know wine, it's probably no surprise to you that Michigan ranks 8th in the nation for wine production. But if
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