Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

Harry's Army Surplus to close

14. January 2005 • Murph
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In further Liberty Street news, Harry’s Army Surplus, which has been in Ann Arbor for 30 years and on Liberty for 15, has stated that it will not renew its lease on the Liberty Street storefront, which expires April 1. From the Ann Arbor News:

“We have a store that is doing really good in Dearborn and probably we will open another store in the Detroit area,” [operations manager Rob] Davis said. “That store (on Liberty) used to be a great store. Then all of a sudden people stopped shopping.”
. . .
Davis said Liberty Street has become depressing because of the departure of other businesses, including Mast Shoes and National City Bank.

“We had a lot of loyalty for years, but I don’t think people are shopping downtown,” he said.

Meanwhile, Business Direct Weekly reports that the National City Bank site, Tally Hall, has been purchased; currently most of the space is leased by Borders, but that lease expires this year. The buyer has stated that short term uses may include leasing space to the city while it looks for long-term solutions to crowding at City Hall, or to University departments displaced from Frieze until new space is found. The buyer also mentions the possibility of adding up to three stories to the single-story portion of the building in the long term.



  1. It’s ashame we’re losing harry’s, possible to be replaced by some chain venture, its seems to be the trend downtown.

    I must say though, I never shopped at harry’s as much after they moved from washington (corner of washington and 5th i think). They used to carry alot more actual army suplus and had a basement full of the stuff you could be ready for winter combat for just a few bucks; hat, glove, boots, scarf and coat. There was a character to that first harry’s that I don’t think moved with them to liberty.
       —Just a Voice    Jan. 14 '05 - 06:49PM    #
  2. In my real estate class last week, one of the B-School students made the claim that “the chains are leaving downtown Ann Arbor—I don’t think they’re the problem people want to think they are”. His evidence? There used to be a McDonalds and a Burger King near campus, and now there aren’t. I know *I* found his reasoning convincing…
       —Murph    Jan. 14 '05 - 06:56PM    #
  3. You’d think a B-school student would be better with numbers. So, -1 McDonald’s, -1 Burger King, -1 Taco Bell, +3 Starbucks, +1 Potbelly, +1 Cosi, +innumerable Jimmy John’s, +1 Noodles & Company, +1 Einstein Bros., +1 Bruegger’s, +1 Steve & Barry’s, +1 American Spoon, +afew (do Borders and ERC count? Or the Main Street Ventures?), +1 Aveda, +blahblahblah = ?
       —Brandon    Jan. 14 '05 - 08:57PM    #
  4. I’m willing to count Borders and ERC as local. (Assuming ERC started in A2? I know they have a few stores in other cities/states.)
       —Murph    Jan. 14 '05 - 11:18PM    #
  5. Shouldn’t this count also include H.P. Pickleshitters ...?
       —Brian    Jan. 14 '05 - 11:29PM    #
  6. Yep. And also Honey-baked ham! Yes, I SAID HAM!!!!!!!1!!
       —Murph    Jan. 15 '05 - 05:15PM    #
  7. Where is Ari going to buy his clothes now?
       —T.J.    Jan. 25 '05 - 06:23PM    #
  8. I am looking for a new or used trailer mounted mobile antenna tower.

    do you have any or know where we can get one?

    Thanks,
       —rich Taschek    Apr. 10 '05 - 06:34PM    #
  9. Nope.
       —Murph    Apr. 11 '05 - 12:15AM    #
  10. I used to buy a lot of things at Harry’s, but over the last several years I would go there time and time again looking for some clothes, boots or winter gear and come out empty handed. Instead I would go to Bivouac or SAMs and find it there. Maybe instead of blaming the downtown market Harry’s should take an honest look at how they have been running the store.
       —Denis    Jul. 24 '05 - 02:17AM    #
  11. i like how the banner on the front (at least a week or two ago) advertises the salon’s website “douoasi.com”—-not only is the bottom cut off, but the ‘l’ is dropped. . . .
       —[libcat]    Jul. 24 '05 - 05:12PM    #