Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

Buy Local in Ann Arbor: Kerrytown Area

Posted by Juliew on 13. December 2007

Don’t think you can do anything with paper? Hollandar’s has classes to help. Buy a sheet or two of their breathtaking hand-created papers and then walk down to Treasure Mart to find frames to put them in. Inexpensive, but a lot of wow!

True to its name, Found is always different, but always fun. V2V (formerly Vintage to Vogue) is a hip clothing and home furnishings store in the former Kitchenport space.

Kerrytown is really an epicenter of great food. From the high-end Eve to quick take-out at Kosmo. The Aut Bar, everyday wines and everyday cook (new classes have been announced), Monahan’s Fish Market, Sparrow Meats & Produce, Tracklements, and Zingermans are all fabulous. Of course, there is the Farmer’s Market on Wednesdays through Christmas and Saturdays all year and the People’s Food Co-op.

Check out the Kerrytown Concert House on Fourth Avenue. Common Language Bookstore and Motte & Bailey Booksellers are very different, but both carry books you won’t find in a mall bookstore, Fourth Avenue Birkenstock, Fourth Avenue Sleep Shop and Bellanina Day Spa will do what they can to relax and comfort you or your favorite friend. Dogma Catmantoo has everything for a special pet. You can stuff a cupcake in a stocking with Cake Nouveau’s not-so-messy Cuppy Cards. Around the corner, Vicki Honeyman’s Heavenly Metal is a great place to get jewelry, bags, and even a haircut. If you are looking for something interesting for kids or parents, a membership to the Hands-on Museum is a perfect gift, and their museum store has all the cool presents for kids and adults too. Where else can you get Giant Microbes (we have the flu, but I’m looking at yeast now for my cooking friends, and that stomach ache is cute!), a Slinky, and Power Putty Slime in one spot?

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Buy Local in Ann Arbor: Midnight Madness

Posted by Juliew on 8. December 2007

Go downtown. Enjoy the entertainment. Eat a nice dinner. People watch. Donate to Galens. Walk a lot. Buy stuff on sale. Ashley Street, Main Street, Liberty (don’t forget places like the Bead Gallery on Liberty), State Street, South University (Middle Earth has the best store windows in town), and the Kerrytown Area (remember the stores on 4th near the co-op and Heavenly Metal around the corner on ann St.) are all participating.

Today, Friday, December 7 all day until late (different stores have different closing hours, but all will be staying open until at least 9:00pm, some until midnight).

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Buy Local in Ann Arbor: South Main Street

Posted by Juliew on 7. December 2007

Sometimes, being slightly off the beaten path is a good thing. Walk a few blocks south (downhill) of the “traditional” end of the Main Street retail district to find these interesting local businesses. Many are family-owned and operated and have been around for decades.

For the most amazing flower arrangements in town, order from Tom Thompson Flowers. They cater to your budget and the results are always breathtaking.

You might still think of Leopold Brothers as a brewpub, but forget the beer and go for their on-site distilled top-shelf spirits. Their vodka and gin are nationwide award winners (the Silver Tree vodka is the highest rated vodka distilled and bottled in America) as are many of their other flavored liqueurs. You can’t buy everything they distill here (stupid Michigan liquor laws), but what you can buy makes for great presents and, heck, a good shopping experience!

Fingerles is our local full-service lumberyard (family-owned and operated since 1931). You can order online and they will deliver, but it is fun to go into their store too. They even have a custom mill house where they can match your wood trim.

Ivory Photo will restore your old family photo to tip-top shape, among many other photo services. Overture Audio sells great audio equipment that you can’t get online. Delux Drapery is a third-generation family-owned business that has been around since 1942. They sell drapes, shades, wallpaper, and custom bedding. Fox Tent and Awning has been family owned and operated since 1920. Don’t think you need a tent or awning? They will make anything out of canvas, including sturdy canvas bags to your order. The Washtenaw Dairy of course sells milk, ice cream, malteds, shakes, and doughnuts, but they also have t-shirts, hats, and gift certificates. Summer or winter, it is a great place to hang out.

Austin & Warburton has beautiful custom-made jewelry and Washtenaw Woodwrights has beautiful custom-made kitchens. They share a big parking lot so it is easy to stop in.

Take a mini-vacation in the South Main Market by shopping at Copernicus for Polish pierogi, kielbasa, and candies. Brazamerica has Brazilian specialty food. By the Pound has snacks, baking goods, and spices available in bulk. They have a lot of Indian ingredients including lots of dried peas and beans.

Want to get something for that hard-to-buy-for person on your list? A pre-paid card of car washes or detailing from Don’s Soft-Touch Auto Wash next to South Main Market is a great gift or stocking stuffer. Don’t forget a gift certificate or tickets to that special concert at the Firefly Club. People are saying a lot of good things about their new South Main venue.

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Buy Local in Ann Arbor: West Stadium Boulevard

Posted by Juliew on 5. December 2007

Although West Stadium Boulevard might look like a standard suburban fast-food strip at first glance, it is actually a vibrant, walkable area with a lot of long-time locally-owned shops. Street and sidewalk improvements have made the past few years tough on the area, but construction is now done so stop by and check out the following local businesses.

Nicola’s Books in the Westgate Shopping Center is ready for the holidays with lots of suggestions for everyone on your gift list. Donate a book for a local child in need and you get %10 off your total bill. A few steps away, Mast Shoes has been family-owned since 1942! At Mast, you can find comfortable shoes and cool hand bags thanks to the second(third?) generation employee Molly Mast.

A&L Wine Castle has a great selection of wine, alcohol, and cigars. They have great deals on champagne and other sparklers for the holidays. They also have a good selection of Michigan wines. If you are looking for something you can’t get anywhere else, check out A&L. Need a nice ring to go with your champagne? Check out Diane Rose Jewelers or Lewis Jewelers just a few blocks down.

West Stadium is home to two great hardware and home stores. Stadium Hardware is the best general hardware store in town. Plus they are so nice and will give you the best advice on any project, even if they have to talk you out of buying something. They have everything you need for that vacation project or the do-it-yourselfer in the family. Ace Barnes Hardware is an independently-owned home and hardware store with all the holiday lights, Christmas trees, kitchen gadgets, and other useful stuff you might need. Great for useful little gifts.

Next door to Ace is Arbor Farms Market. Arbor Farms has been in Ann Arbor since 1979. They focus on natural foods and have a lot of local products on their shelves (like Calder Milk and Michigan beef). They will be showcasing local wines and food during Buy Local Week. Barely a bike ride away from Ace and Arbor Farms is Great Lakes Cycling & Fitness. They even have a nifty gift list on their website.

Big George’s calls themselves “the Biggest Little Superstore” and has been locally family-owned since 1959! We used to compare prices with the big-box stores, but don’t even bother anymore because Big George’s always won on price and service. From film supplies to high-end appliances, they really are a big little superstore. Check out their new store with, yes, the only commercial green-roof in town.

No need to go hungry on West Stadium during your shopping trip. Here are just a few of the eating options on West Stadium: Dimos Deli and Donuts has yummy donuts of all sorts; Sze-chuan West has their wild cave dining room; Zingerman’s Roadhouse isn’t the Deli, but some people like it; and Knights is the place in town to go for great steak and strong drinks.

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Golf Course Report Available

Posted by Juliew on 4. December 2007

From the City’s website:

The City of Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation Services together with Golf Convergence, Inc. hosted two community meetings in September to present an update on the Huron Hills & Leslie Park Golf Course operations and to gather input and suggestions on how to improve the golf course operations. Public comments were gathered from both meetings. Since then, Golf Convergence, Inc. has been conducting a comprehensive analysis of the status and future of golf in the city of Ann Arbor and its findings relating to Huron Hills and Leslie Park

The Golf Report is posted here, a copy is located at City Hall (sixth floor), the Clerks Office (second floor), the downtown library, Veterans Memorial Sports Complex, Buhr Park Outdoor Ice Arena, Huron Hills and Leslie Park Golf Courses and the public may purchase copies at Kolossos Copy Center (301 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor, 734.741.1600).

Citizens are encouraged to comment and provide input. All comments about the report will be accepted in writing (Parks & Recreation Services, 100 N. Fifth Ave., Sixth Floor, Ann Arbor, MI 48107; Attention: Golf Report/Jan Barber) and via e-mail to: GolfReport@a2gov.org. Comments received will be posted on the City’s Web site.

Thanks to JennyD for sending this in last week.

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City Council: Return of the Unposted Agenda

Posted by Juliew on 2. December 2007

Monday, December 3 at 7:00 pm.
Ann Arbor City HallCity Council Agenda will be here if posted is now here in a new part of the web site.

Once again, the City Council Agenda has not been posted on the City’s website. So I have posted the agenda items for Monday’s meeting.

For the full agenda, click on “Read More.”

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Holiday events: Shadow Art Fair and Mittenfest

Posted by Murph on 1. December 2007

Today, noon to midnight, the Arbor Brewing Company’s Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti (directions from ABC to CB) will be hosting the Fourth Shadow Art Fair. Admission is five cents. At 6pm, a special “Shadow Brew” will be served; $1 from each Shadow Brew sold, as well as the nickels from admission, will be used for micro-grants to support local arts projects.

SAF vendors include a variety of artists, musicians, and crafters from around the area, ranging from coffee-art-and-cars Roos Roast to Matt Callow’s pinhole photography to the Ann Arbor-based Bulb Records label to clothier and printshop VG Kids.

Then, December 21-22, Mittenfest II will feature 23 local bands in a benefit multi-show for 826michigan. Organized by ArborUpdate alum Brandon, from his new headquarters on the banks of the East River, the show will get underway at 9:30pm, Friday the 21st, at Ann Arbor’s Blind Pig, continuing at noon, Saturday, at the Corner Brewery, before moving to the Elbow Room Saturday night. The schedules linked include links to myspace, etc, for artist information.

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Catherine Wilkerson trial underway

Posted by Murph on 1. December 2007

This week, Doctor Catherine Wilkerson’s trial on charges of attempting to interfere with police and emergency medical personnel began in Washtenaw County 15th District Court. The charges stem from an incident during a November 30, 2006, talk at the University of Michigan; Wilkerson attempted to intervene in police handling of protester (and AU regular) Blaine Coleman, believing that Coleman, who appeared unconscious, was in danger of asphyxiation. Wilkerson and other protesters in January filed a complaint of police brutality regarding the incident; an Ann Arbor Police investigation found the officers did not act inappropriately.

More coverage and related links at:

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Buy Local in Ann Arbor: Online Retailers

Posted by Juliew on 1. December 2007

Don’t want to leave your cozy house to do your shopping? Need to send a present to your great-Aunt in Paducah? You can still shop locally at these Ann Arbor-based online retailers.

Zingermans is the King of mail order in Ann Arbor and they do it well. You never find people disappointed in a gift from Zingermans. Order now and they will ship your gift whenever you want. Tracklements is one of those amazing businesses that people outside of Ann Arbor rave about, but many people here don’t even know it exists (although they do have a small storefront in Kerrytown). Their smoked fish makes for an amazing gift.

If your friends and family are coffee and chocolate lovers, try any of these local businesses: Roos Roast is coffee roasted by an artist, or car salesman, or coffee educator, or general Renaissance man—whichever you prefer, John Roos is all of them put together. Competition is always good for buyers and now Mighty Good Coffee is giving John a run for his money. Mighty Good Coffee roasts their coffee to order and ships it within 24 hours of roasting. If you live in Ann Arbor, they deliver it to your door the day after it is roasted. This week our coffee came with a lovely Might Good Truffle from Tammy’s Tastings and it was mighty good. She is doing a partnership with the University’s Exhibit Museum and if you buy a “Puma Box” with truffle replicas of the pumas at the door of the museum, she donates $5 to the museum. Speaking of truffles, Sweet Gem Confections is another local chocolate maker. You have seen their yummy treats inside Morgan and York, and you can also order them online. Should you need a large order of truffles for that holiday event, try Truffle Junkies. They currently only accept larger orders like weddings and parties but this is that time of year, and their truffles look delicious!

If you prefer to ship less decadent, but no less tasty treats, try Al Dente Pasta. They have great gift baskets. In another one of the cool interactions between local merchants, tonight (Friday night) Monique Deschaine of Al Dente Pasta will be showing some of her gift bags and baskets at Heavenly Metal near Kerrytown. Join Vicki and Monique from 6-9pm tonight and have a chance to look at (or buy) some of Al Dente’s much-requested Goodie Bags and Vicki’s gifts. Rumor has it there might be wine and chocolate too. I might venture out for that kind of shopping!

If food isn’t your thing, try Old House Gardens for lovely heirloom presents. You can even order bulbs now and they will ship them when the time is right for planting. A neat gift that people love. Old House Garden’s bulbs have been featured in Martha Stewart magazine and just about every gardening magazine in the country and they are right here in Ann Arbor!

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Buy Local in Ann Arbor: Ashley Street

Posted by Juliew on 29. November 2007

Since Buy Local Week starts Saturday, I’m planning to highlight a few local shopping areas in the next few days. Not only does shopping locally keep more money in our economy, it is a lot more fun!

Ashley Street. You could get a great present for anyone on your holiday shopping list just in a few blocks! Most of the stores are locally owned, but with a few interesting small chains thrown in, it is the mix we all hope to see in our downtowns.

The anchor store on Ashley is Downtown Home and Garden. A wonderful mix of old-fashioned and new-fangled. You can buy great kitchen supplies, plants, ornaments, bread, gloves, birdfood, salt, traction sand, Christmas greens, toys, and many other items. During the holidays, they roast chestnuts over an open fire and feed their customers. Yum!

Red Shoes doesn’t sell any shoes, but they have a wonderful selection of jewelry, art (some made by the owner), candles, rugs, pillows, toys, and the most talked-about fairy door in town. Next to Red Shoes is Lexi’s Toy Box, a brand new toy store selling toys that your kids can play with without worrying about ingesting heavy metals. They have the coolest wooden toys and stuffed animals at reasonable prices. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, or the solstice, they have an appropriate gift. Note, they will also be open on Sundays from noon to 4:00pm during the holiday season. Three Chairs has amazing furniture. If Three Chairs isn’t your thing, check out Dream on Futon. Don’t forget to stop in and get a holiday tattoo or assorted body-part piercing at Lucky Monkey.

If you need even more shopping just a hop from Ashley, turn down Liberty and visit the Ann Arbor Art Center (holiday gift and gingerbread house classes are still available), West Side Books, and Acme Mercantile.

For refreshments, Cafe Zola serves great breakfast, the Fleet, Eastern Flame or the Old Town have great lunches and try Pacific Rim or Grizzly Peak for dinner. Stop by Sweetwaters for a warming cup of your favorite beverage.

Parking is available on Ashley, in the Klines Lot, the Fourth and William lot, the Brown lot, First and Washington, or the Ann-Ashley structure. The Blake Center bus station is just two or three blocks away.

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