Entrepreneurship

Coverage of those starting up businesses and community resources to help them thrive.

Beezy’s Cafe to expand downtown Ypsilanti operations into dinnertime

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October 8, 2014

People just can't get enough of Beezy's Cafe in downtown Ypsilanti. The nearly six-year-old restaurant has both customers who want access to their meals a later hours, and employees looking for a new challenge. To accommodate both, owner Bee Roll has decided to expand her hours on Fridays and Saturdays and add a dinner menu. "The Beezy's focus of simple, honest food remains the cornerstone of the menu philosophy," says Roll. "Big bonus for a lot of folks will be the ability to get breakfast for dinner too. We currently only serve breakfast entrees until 2 pm daily. On Friday and Saturday, breakfast will be nonstop. Late risers, rejoice!" For those without a hankering for breakfast at dinnertime, the new hours will include such hearty dinner dishes as pot pies, tuna noodle casserole and lasagna. Despite new hours and new foods, however, the cafe will remain the same physically, retaining its cozy, eclectic seating arrangement and self-service areas. "It's intentionally designed for people to literally bump into each and promote interaction and conversation, community," Roll says. There are more growth opportunities for Beezy's on the horizon as well. Roll hopes to soon launch a "plate club," in which customers would have their own vintage plate that lives at the restaurant, and she also plans to expand both her catering services and retail offerings. Source: Bee Roll, Beezy's Cafe Writer: Natalie Burg

Latest in Entrepreneurship

Pot and Box: Small seeds for a bigger future

By Patrick Dunn

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Community Development

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October 1, 2014

The challenges to establishing a new business are myriad. And as Lisa Waud, owner of Pot and Box, discovered, Ann Arbor's ever-inflating real estate is no small part of that challenge. For her, success has meant finding just the right size, the right location and the right relationships.

Brookie’s Cafe serves up affordable food in Ypsilanti

By Natalie Burg

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Arts & Culture

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October 1, 2014

College students don't always have a lot of spare money sitting around for food, but that won't be a problem at the new Brookie's Cafe on Washtenaw Ave. near Eastern's campus. "What I'm trying to do is target the college students who want pretty decent food for pretty good prices," says manager Echo DaShuane. Students and Ypsilanti residents alike will find chicken, chili dogs, burger, cupcakes, cookies and more at the cafe, which opened last week in a storefront that sits about 13 diners and offers takeout. What foods and events Brookie's Cafe offers could evolve as well, as DaShuane says she's open to new ideas. "I'm making a suggestion box because a lot of college students have been coming in with suggestions," she says. "It s a fun, friendly atmosphere here." Brookie's Cafe currently operates with a staff of six. DaShuane says the business is looking to hire additional staff and grow along with their clientele. Source: Echo DaShuane, Brookie's Cafe Writer: Natalie Burg

The Espresso Bar to grow into new home above Literati Bookstore

By Natalie Burg

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Arts & Culture

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October 1, 2014

When The Espresso Bar first started, it was intended to fill a few months of Sanford Bledsoe's time before leaving town for a job in Houston. The pop-up cafe below The Bar at 327 Braun Court quickly became a neighborhood favorite, and Bledsoe decided to devote himself to the growing business. That growth will soon continue in a new space when The Espresso Bar moves to the new third floor of Literati Bookstore. Bledsoe had been acquainted with Literati owners Hilary and Mike Gustafson for some time. When their desire for a larger events space aligned with Bledsoe's thoughts on expanding and The Bar at Braun Court wanting to do more with with first floor, the idea of moving The Espresso Bar to an events/cafe/retail space above Literati was a win for everyone. "We've been talking with Literati for several months, and now we're moving forward and getting all our ducks in a row so we can move as quickly as possible," says Bledsoe. "We thought this was a great opportunity for everybody." To prepare for the move, he recently hired one new employee, and intends to hire about three additional workers in the future. Though opening will be dependent on many factors including the time needed for the build-out, Bledsoe hopes to be open before Thanksgiving. Though in a new location, Bledsoe says his focus will always remain on serving excellent coffee and espresso drinks to customers with uniquely personal service. "It frustrates me about the coffee shop industry is we treat our customers like they're spending three dollars," he says. "I think it's important to make people feel like they're spending a million dollars."? Source: Sanford Bledsoe, The Espresso Bar Writer: Natalie Burg

Chelsea gets new breakfast/lunch joint, Plaid Melon Cafe

By Natalie Burg

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Arts & Culture

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October 1, 2014

Dave Gallinat has possessed two things for a long time: a desire to open his own restaurant and "plaidmelon" as an online nickname. Beginning on Sept. 17, those two facts took on a new meaning with the opening of Plaid Melon Cafe in Chelsea. "My wife worked in Chelsea for a number of years, so we were hanging around here a lot," says Gallinat, a resident of Manchester. "I saw a need for a breakfast place downtown - both breakfast and lunch, and I like Chelsea." When he saw a 2,200 square foot storefront become available on Main St., he knew it was the right place to realize his dream. Plaid Melon Cafe focuses on quality ingredients, unique menu item and food made carefully and to order. "If you order the omelet, we're cracking the eggs," Gallinat says. "Our bread is coming from Stone Hearth down in Brooklyn, and there's no junk in it. I'm trying use good stuff. It takes a bit longer, but my omelets are a bit fluffier." Gallinat operates the restaurant with a staff of six, and, with his son helping out and wife in charge of his graphic design and website, is building Plaid Melon Cafe to be a family business. ? Source: Dave Gallinat, Plaid Melon Writer: Natalie Burg

Ypsilanti parents have new childcare option with Visible Learning Center

By Natalie Burg

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Development News

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October 1, 2014

Visible Learning Center is just a few weeks old, but the family who opened the new Ypsilanti childcare and education facility has decades of experience in the business. Hanan Dari co-owns the center with her father, Hisham Dari who has been in the childcare business for 21 years in Ann Arbor. When it came to opening a facility together, however, Ypsilanti just made sense. "We'd get phone calls from families who needed care, and there is a lot of care available in Ann Arbor," says Hanan Dari. "We wanted to expand in Ypsilanti because there is more need for care there." The 4,500 square foot Visible Learning Center opened on Sept. 15. In addition to childcare, children participate in a creative curriculum and assessments from birth to five years old. The center also offers expanded hours in the evenings to cater to families with non-traditional schedules. "A lot of families need to have evening care to finish their education," Dari says. "Some don't finish their bachelors or masters because they work in the morning and they don't have care at night when they would go to class." Visible Learning Center accepts children from infancy to 12 years old, and has the capacity to care for up to 74 children. Dari says she hopes to continue to grow the facility and perhaps eventually open multiple locations. ? Source: Hanan Dari, Visible Learning Center Writer: Natalie Burg

U-M spinout produces revolutionary battery technology

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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October 1, 2014

U-M tech innovation + entrepreneurial ambition = successful startup. See, math isn't so hard. Excerpt: "Produced by Sakti3, Inc., a self-proclaimed “spinout” company from the University of Michigan, the battery cell has double the energy density of a current lithium ion battery. In more specific terms, the battery produces over 1,100 Watt hours per liter (Wh/l) in volumetric energy density. Typical lithium-ion batteries produce between 250-730 Wh/l." Read the rest here.

Huron River Ventures optimistic about local deal flow

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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October 1, 2014

Huron River Ventures recently announced its investment in Cribspot, leading a $660,000 seed round in the Ann Arbor-based startup. An Ann Arbor-based venture capital firm investing in a Michigan-based startup isn't that unusual. However, it's becoming much more par for the course for Huron River Ventures. The Kerrytown-based venture capital firm has made 12 investments since it launched in 2010, and is on course to make a couple more before the end of the year. "We are almost exclusively looking at Michigan-based companies right now," says Tim Streit, partner of Huron River Ventures. That includes two that are in the final stages of due diligence before a potential investment. Streit says that startups in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem are maturing after several years of development. It means that the team of nearly half a dozen people at Huron River Ventures don’t have to travel far to make investments. "We are seeing an exceptional deal floor out of the state of Michigan right now," Streit says. "We haven't had to look very far out of state to find companies." Cribspot is latest example of it. The 1-year-old startup was launched by University of Michigan students who were looking to make the process of finding off-campus rental housing more efficient. The startup, which also has an office in downtown Detroit, went through the Bizdom program to help it sharpen its business plan. "It's a great example of how the world is shifting," Streit says. Source: Tim Streit, partner with Huron River Ventures Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Longtime barista breaks into entrepreneurship with Carrigan Cafe

By Natalie Burg

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Arts & Culture

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September 24, 2014

When it opens this Friday, Carrigan Cafe will be Saline's newest coffee spot, but it will come with lots of coffee know-how. Karen Carrigan, who will open the cafe with her husband Jason Carrigan brings her experience as a barista at the former Drowsy Parrot Coffee Shop and Brewed Awakenings Cafe, as well as a degree in hospitality. "I've always wanted to do my own business, I just didn't know what," says Carrigan. "Over the years, aging and experiences I've worked in so many different restaurants and kitchens, and coffee is just where I was the happiest. I think it's the interaction with the people." Though Carrigan Cafe isn't yet open in the space formerly occupied by My Favorite Cafe, Carrigan has already had the opportunity to interact with some of the people who could become her future customers. "I was out the past two Saturdays passing out coffee, meeting new faces and seeing some of the faces from my previous work," she says. "It's nice to say 'hey' to them again." Though some of her vendors and offerings will be the same as My Favorite Cafe, Carrigan will serve Coffee Express beans from Plymouth and will use other local vendors such as Ed's Bread, Benny's Bakery. Carrigan Cafe will open with a staff of five. The cafe website will go live soon. Source: Karen Carrigan, Carrigan Cafe Writer: Natalie Burg

Ann Arbor-based musician creates app for bands and fans

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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September 24, 2014

What we at Concentrate love almost as much as a story about a local musician developing technology to help his fellow artists is that this U.K. publication considers Ann Arbor part of Detroit. Yay regionalization! That's the spirit! Excerpt: "The dad-of-two, who now splits his time between visiting his children in Preston and Ann Arbour in Detroit, has performed in front of 25,000 people at Ewood Park after winning the Rock FM Rock Idol competition back in 2002. However, part of the ?reason for him developing the app was to allow musicians to have their music discovered without relying on radio play." Read the rest here.