Tanya Muzumdar

CityFARM plots out urban gardens in Washtenaw County, Detroit

CityFARM, an Ann Arbor-based provider of urban farms and gardening services, continues to expand the fresh food supply in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and Plymouth, and is plotting out its impact on the city of Detroit. The company has installed two new gardens there and is digging deeper into the city. Since its inception in January, CityFARM has amassed 30 garden installations, some of which are up to five beds in size, according to Lauren Maloney, business director. Maloney has partnered with real estate developer Stewart Beal in the venture. All gardening clients have been residential thus far, Maloney says, but "I think as it gets more popular, we will see more commercial spaces with gardens." She anticipates having 50 clients by year-end. Urban packages include the design, installation, and materials to grow a season's worth of produce in a yard. "All of the gardens I've been back to are just huge and bountiful..." Maloney says, adding, "I just went to a client last week and she had green beans and cucumbers and eggplant and basil and cherry tomatoes already, and right now, kale, and just everything bursting out of the box. She was really happy." With each bed purchase, cityFARM installs a matching one in its donation garden at 103 N. Adams St. in Ypsilanti and then donates the produce crop to Food Gatherers. In its first year alone, the garden is already 1,500 square feet. So what happens if space runs out? "Luckily [Beal] owns a lot of properties, including open space and lots of apartments with yards and things, so we will be able to expand in Ypsi. We'll just have to move maybe down the street a few houses," Maloney says. Source:  Lauren Maloney, business director of cityFARM Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

Zingerman’s renovates Dexter’s Hoey Farm, opened for school tours and catering

The distance between farm and table is being measured in feet rather than miles, with Zingerman's Roadhouse chef Alex Young's recent purchase of the Hoey Farm property on Island Lake Road in Dexter Township. The 27-acre property at 8540 Island Lake Road adjoins Young's Cornman Farms, a sustainably raised livestock and vegetable supplier to Zingerman's Roadhouse. Over 27 types of vegetables comprising over 130 varieties are grown at Cornman Farms. Young's new farm purchase accompanies his recent participation in the James Beard Foundation Food Activist Boot Camp, whose goal is to "try to effect more positive change in terms of agriculture in this country." Hoey Farm will be used for school tours, as a catering destination, and for livestock raising. "We have a small dairy goat herd," Young says. "We're going to be milking goats there as well. And we're going to grow some pigs. A small herd of pigs, a medium-sized herd of goats, and then a handful of cattle." On the near-term horizon is a major restoration of an 1854 farmhouse on the property, a couple of barns, and a smokehouse. "They haven't received any love or care in 20 years, probably," he notes. One building will be converted into a dairy parlor, another is to be a shelter for school tours and a place to eat. Cornman Farms currently has five people on staff. "We'll probably be nearly double that next year," Young says. He plans to open the property to the public in the spring of 2013. "My work through Cornman Farms has been very rewarding, and being able to share it with kids and make great food for the restaurant is fun." Source: Alex Young, chef, Zingerman's Roadhouse Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

No Thai! restaurant to move to Ann Arbor high rise, add up to 10 jobs

Come autumn, No Thai! restaurant will be moving to a fresher spot on South University Avenue in Ann Arbor - the ground level of the 14-story Landmark high rise apartment building at S. University and S. Forest avenues. Construction is still in progress. "It was kind of a logical move to move to that new building," No Thai! owner Jeff Cho says. "Everything will be new and nicer, and it's in the same exact area." The move across the street, which Cho hopes will happen in November, equates to a more than doubling in floorspace. The new configuration will have at least 40 seats, he says; the current location at 1317 S. University seats 22. Cho is working with the architects on a "clean, modern, and comfortable space" possibly with eco-friendly options such as LED lights. The larger location means a small chipping away at Ann Arbor's unemployment rate. Upon opening, "hopefully we should be hiring anywhere from 5-10 more employees," he says. Source: Jeff Cho, owner of No Thai! Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

Chelsea police department gets set for move to new headquarters

Superior Dam improvements, signs aid navigation on Huron River Water Trail

NeoPapalis restaurant to open in Ann Arbor highrise, add up to 45 jobs

Arbor Brewing Company to put solar on display tonight

It's not just beer as usual at Arbor Brewing Company tonight. The brewery will be hosting a ribbon cutting for its newly implemented solar thermal and solar photovoltaic (PV) system. Photo boards showing the system's components will be on display. The $95,000 cost was offset by a $20,000 grant from the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority's Energy Conservation grant program, various tax credits, and incentives from DTE. The system has a 2.4 kW solar photovoltaic array (visible from the roof of the parking structure across the street), 300 solar thermal collector tubes, and a high-efficiency tankless water heater system. Other savings will be realized from CFL and LED lighting and the installation of low-flow sprayers and occupancy sensors. It is expected that gas and electricity usage will decline by up to 40% and 15%, respectively. The project cost will be recouped in five years, according to Rene Greff, co-owner of Arbor Brewing Company. A $250,000 project showcasing solar-thermal, photovoltaic, and geo-thermal technologies as well as new windows, awnings and energy-efficient chiller equipment is still underway at Corner Brewery, Arbor Brewing Co.'s sister brewery in Ypsilanti. A ribbon cutting is scheduled for August 29. To the best of his knowledge, says Jarett Diamond, the company's sustainability director. "This is the largest installation of a solar panel array for a craft brewery east of Colorado." New Belgium and Sierra Nevada also have large solar arrays, but those breweries make hundreds of thousands of barrels every year, whereas Corner Brewery does under 10,000, Diamond says. "Relative to the next step up, this is very significant for the size of the brewery we're looking at." Energy stats and savings will be available at a later date on Arbor Brewing's website, Diamond says. "The idea being this will validate our projections and demonstrate to the public at large that renewable energy is feasible, cost effective, and can work well in Michigan." Source: Rene Greff, co-owner, Arbor Brewing Co.; Jarett Diamond, sustainability director, Arbor Brewing Co. Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

Ann Arbor plugs into 18 new electric car charging stations

The electric tide is coming to Ann Arbor, and the city's downtown development authority wants to embrace it. Last week the city held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for 18 new electric vehicle charging stations placed in six city parking structures:  Fourth and William, Maynard, Ann and Ashley, Forest Avenue, and Fourth and Catherine, as well as the soon-to-open Library Lane facility. The Ann Arbor DDA has found the usage to be higher than expected at the stations, some of which have been in place for the last month, according to Dave Konkle, the DDA's energy programs director. On average, three cars a day plug in to the 220-volt, 30-amp type 2 chargers at each station. "They can charge five times faster than the ones you plug into your own house," he says. The stations offer free plug-ins, although normal parking fees apply. The average charge uses about 80 cents' worth of electricity, says Konkle. The outlets were funded through a $110,000 U.S. Dept. of Energy's Clean Cities Recovery Act grant passed through the Clean Energy Coalition. Konkle says within the next two months the DDA will be adding a link to its website showing the locations of the chargers and whether they are in use at that moment. A mobile phone app with this real-time availability information will follow. With the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf out in circulation, and the new Ford Focus and Prius plug-in hybrid following at their heels, "Our logic was that this is certainly something that is coming and Ann Arbor needs to be ready for it," Konkle says. Drivers can "take their electric cars and, without worrying, they can come to downtown Ann Arbor and park and plug them in and go to the restaurants or the music venues or whatever they want." Source: Dave Konkle, energy programs director, Ann Arbor DDA Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

Jake’s BBQ heats up Dexter’s dining options

Those not wanting to wheel out the grill this summer can drop in to Jake's BBQ, Dexter's new restaurant devoted to all things cookout. The restaurant space, which opened earlier in June at 8050 Main St., formerly housed owner Bart Aniolczyk's Jake's Place, a venue for Polish cuisine takeout. The European concept didn't pan out, Aniolczyk says, but his luck has turned for the better with the new barbecue menu. He's in the process of adding more smokers to meet the demand for, among other things, pulled pork and other artisanal comfort foods. While Jake's BBQ's primary business is take-out, the revamped interior now seats 10 and has 12 outdoor seats. Aniolczyk will add umbrellas and bring the outdoor seating up to 20. He cites Dexter's "family feel" as reason for keeping his eatery there. He has added two jobs, with more planned, but there is no firm count yet. "I'm sure I'll have to add more people as I go," he says. Source:  Bart Aniolczyk, owner, Jake's BBQ Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

Adventures in Pizza Making

Ever wanted to spin pizza dough on your fists like a New York pizzeria pro? At Zingerman's Bakehouse aspiring pizzaiolos and deep dish devotees come from as far away as the coasts to learn how to properly knead, shape, and cook their pies. Concentrate's Tanya Muzumdar offers a first hand account of the growing popularity of culinary tourism.