New Ann Arbor grocery to offer European and Asian foods, sandwiches, and more

Sage’s Grocery promises European and Asian goods and prepared food, as well as community connection, when it opens this winter at the corner of Main and Madison streets in Ann Arbor.

“I am just really looking forward to the face-to-face interaction with customers and my employees, and caring for people through food,” says owner Brian Lee. “I think these sorts of businesses make a neighborhood special. They make a neighborhood the kind of place you want to live in.”

Before foraying into the food industry Lee was an industrial designer in Chicago, where his extended family resides. His wife, Allison, has relatives in Ann Arbor, and last September they moved from California to Michigan to be closer to relatives. They also have two sons: Oliver, 1; and Sage, 3. 

“That’s where the name Sage’s Grocery comes from,” Lee says. “It’s just an empty storefront right now. But still, when we pass it, he’s like, ‘That’s my grocery store.'”

Brian and Allison Lee met in Chicago and moved to Los Angeles together. Upon a move to the San Francisco Bay Area, Brian Lee realized he wanted to start a food business. He comes from a family of cooks and artists, and says “variety and exciting flavors” have always been something they “seek out and try to create.” 

“We’re looking to create a really interesting prepared food experience for our customers that is a reflection of the foods that I love,” Lee says. “I’m Korean-Italian, and it’ll be not necessarily just those things, but a mix of European- and Asian-influenced food.”

Lee says Sage’s customers can expect “destination-worthy” sandwiches and baked goods, great coffee and espresso, fresh produce, and pantry essentials. Wine, craft beers, and specialty grocery items sourced from top-notch local and out-of-state vendors will also be on offer. 

The concept stems from experiences Lee enjoyed in earlier years. Throughout childhood and young adulthood, he says he lived near “interesting, smaller” neighborhood grocery shops that he “always adored.” In Chicago, he lived near a little Mexican grocery and taqueria. In Los Angeles, there were frequent trips to an “awesome Indian restaurant-slash-grocery.” In the Bay Area, there was a “little more gourmet grocery.” 

“All these places just, I think, got in my brain and serve as great inspiration,” Lee says. “You can kind of see how they create their own communities, and creating community is definitely a big part of the reason for doing this.”

A handful of seats at a window-side bar will be available for patrons year-round, and, in the warmer months, meals can be enjoyed at outside cafe tables. Speaking to the menu, Lee says he believes that “people don’t just want sandwiches. They need sandwiches.” And at Sage’s, he says the sandwiches will feature “punchy, bright flavors combined with savory, well-developed flavors with a mix of soft, comforting textures mixed with a good crunch.” Ingredients like fried onions, pickles, pickled onions, and high-quality greens will be in every sandwich.

“Basically, deliciousness is really the most important thing,” Lee says. 

He adds that he wants to be adaptable to customers’ preferences, so he’s looking forward to seeing what people like the most and making adjustments. Lee has been learning the industry through working at Zingerman’s Deli and says it’s been “a great first step on the journey of becoming an Ann Arborite.”

“[Zingerman’s tries] to live by their mission values. … It’s just cool to see how much an organization can live on through its people,” he says. “I hope to have an organization that is part of Ann Arbor for a long time to come, in the same way.”