This was Arlo’s yelled response after being told that we’d all be getting ice cream after dinner. It struck me as being very self-aware, as though he knew what his limits were, but felt as though he needed to keep pushing at the outer boundaries of what’s possible. I’d like to think that perhaps this is a sign that he might be destined for greatness as a scientist or an explorer. He could, of course, just be a dick.
Earlier this week I mentioned that the Ann Arbor Awesome Foundation had awarded $1,000 grants to both Abundant Michigan Permaculture Ypsilanti (AMPY) and Bike Ann Arbor. While I shared quite a bit of information at the time about what the AMPY team was hoping to accomplish on the grounds of Dawn Farm with their grant, though, I didn’t tell you much about the Bike Ann Arbor project that was funded. Well, in hopes of remedying this, I’ve reached out to Bike Ann Arbor founder Krysia Hepatica. What follows is our conversation.
MARK: I’m pretty familiar with Bike Ypsi, but I know relatively little about its sister organization in Ann Arbor – Bike Ann Arbor. When did you launch?
KRYSIA: We officially launched as a non-profit in March of 2013.
MARK: And why is it that you decided to start Bike Ann Arbor?
KRYSIA: We organized because we were interested in promoting bikes as transportation, and we wanted to help further the efforts of the Washtenaw Biking and Walking Coalition (WBWC) and Get Downtown. Our mission is simple. We want to get people to ride bikes more often.
MARK: And what form has you work taken since March 2013?
KRYSIA: Our primary focus thus far has been on making it more convenient for people to bike to events than to drive.
MARK: How you do that? How do you make it more convenient for people to bike than to drive?
KRYSIA: I think most people love the energy and vitality of being downtown, but driving and parking can sometimes be a drawback for various reasons. Making it easier to bike and park is awesome. I know I personally prefer to bike when I can over driving, and we make it super easy by providing simple, secure parking… We also host events that celebrate “bike culture,” like our late-night ride, Lite Bike, which is a great way to introduce new riders to the fun of biking at night, while promoting safety.
MARK: And how did the group initially come together? Did you, or someone else, just float the idea on Facebook one day, and things kind of took off from there? Or did this begin as an initiative of the WBWC, or some other group already working in the space?
KRYSIA: I came up with the idea one day that I wanted to host a night-time biking event. That was how everything got started. I began to talk with a lot of people about it, and, when I saw the energy and excitement, it made me think there might be a need for a new group. And the pieces just started coming together.
MARK: And how many bikers would say identify as being affiliated with Bike Ann Arbor at this point? How many people, for instance, went on your last ride?
KRYSIA: We had about 120 riders pre-register for our first event. We were very happy about the interest and we expect the number to increase this year.
MARK: You were just recently awarded an Ann Arbor Awesome Foundation grant. What will you be doing with your $1,000?
KRYSIA: Yes, we’re extremely grateful for this award. We’ll be using it to buy equipment to help us offer free bike valet every Thursday at Sonic Lunch and on Tuesday Bike Nights at Top of the Park this summer.
MARK: How does bike valet work? Do you just set up temporary bike racks, and have someone watch the bikes, or is it more involved than that?
KRYSIA: It’s basically that. We set up racks and, and, when customers come, we place a reusable plastic number on their bike and give them the corresponding number on a bracelet to wear. We also get their name and phone number, and ask that they sign a waiver.
MARK: What, in your opinion, could be done in Ann Arbor to make it more bike-friendly?
KRYSIA: I’d like to see more bike lanes. I’d like downtown transformed into a more pedestrian-friendly, bike-friendly place. It’s really a trend across the country. And, if Ann Arbor is to remain competitive, and stop suffering from the “brain drain,” we need to address it… Millenials are increasingly interested in places that value alternative transportation and invest in it.
MARK: What’s your vision for the future of Bike Ann Arbor?
KRYSIA: We hope to make a positive impact on the city and inspire residents to advocate on behalf of bikers… We want to impress upon our elected officials the importance of embracing a bike culture.
MARK: Not too long ago, I saw a sign in a local restaurant about a program to incentivize biking. I can’t remember the details, but it had something to do with bikers getting discounts at participating businesses. My sense was that it was a nationwide program of some kind, that people had to pay to join, etc. And I don’t know how good of a program it is. But it makes me wonder about these different things that are being attempted around the country to get people to bike more and drive less. And I’m wondering if, in addition to making it safer for bikers, and adding bike lanes, there might other things that we could explore as a community to incentivize people.
KRYSIA: That program you’re talking about is probably Bicycle Benefits. It’s been spreading across the country. A rider buys a $5 sticker from participating retailer, puts it on their helmet, and receives discounts on goods and services from businesses that partake in the program. We support the program, and think it’s a great idea. And we’ve been in touch with the organizer of the group, as we’re hoping to have stickers for sale at this year’s Lite Bike event.
MARK: I’m curious what kind of benchmarking you may have done with other regions. It just seems like things are taking off all over the place relative to biking… like in Portland and Madison, for instance… and I’m wondering if there might be lessons that we can learn, things that we can implement here… Is there an active exchange of information between bike-friendly regions? Do they share ideas for events, legislation, etc?
KRYSIA: We keep up on the latest news and initiatives, mostly through Twitter. I really admire, for instance, the work Elly Blue is doing in Portland. She recently wrote a book called Bikenomics: How Bicycling Can Save the Economy
As for policy, we don’t focus too much on that. The WBWC has been working on that aspect for 10 years, though. We’re working the other end of it. We’re trying to get more people on the streets. We’re all about “safety in numbers.” The more people that are out riding, the safer it becomes. We’re not waiting for more bike lanes. The bike lanes will follow if we have the numbers. We want more people on the roads now, so that drivers become more accustomed to sharing the road.
MARK: What’s the formal response been from our elected officials and the City of Ann Arbor? Are they engaging actively with Bike Ann Arbor?
KRYSIA: Yes. Right after we decided to host Lite Bike last year, I sent an email out to City Council to alert them that the road closure request would be on their agenda. Immediately afterward, Mayor Hieftje emailed me back and invited me to come down and talk with him about our group and our ideas. He was extremely supportive.
I’ve also met with Ann Arbor’s Transportation Program Manager, Eli Cooper. He’s the one who designs the roads, and implements new bike lanes. He also created the Non-Motorized Transportation Plan, which is a comprehensive plan to make Ann Arbor more bike-friendly.
MARK: Do you have any big group rides scheduled yet for this year?
KRYSIA: We do. Last year we hosted Lite Bike, which was a night-time bike ride through the city, with an after party with live music. We will be hosting this event again on August 23. The ride will be longer, and we’re exploring the option of having a DJ instead. (The venue is to be determined.) We’re also planning on coordinating some night-rides on Saturday nights after Top of the Park. We’ll promote these through our Twitter and Facebook accounts.
MARK: Any discussion of working together with the Bike Ypsi folks to do something? I think a huge city-to-city, border-to-proder ride could be pretty cool.
KRYSIA: We haven’t had the opportunity yet, but we’d love to collaborate with them on something. We’re interested in working with all like-minded groups to achieve the same end-goal.
MARK: I probably should have asked earlier, but where are you from, and what brought you to Ann Arbor?
KRYSIA: I originally grew up in Plymouth, Michigan, and often visited Ann Arbor as a teenager. I moved around the state for a while, had two short stints on Hawaii, and permanently moved to Ann Arbor seven years ago. This town has always held a special place in my heart, and I’m so happy to be here.
[Those with great, inspiring ideas who wish to apply for an Awesome grant, can do so here.]
If I ever lose my mind and run for elected office in Ypsilanti, my first official act will be to propose legislation changing the name of our annual Ypsi Pride day to something more appropriate, like Pick Up Other People’s Garbage and Plant Flowers Around Ypsilanti day. Or, better yet, I’ll just propose that we make Ypsi Pride the biggest, gayest, most fabulous garbage-picking-up day ever. As it is, it just makes me feel bad. As I mentioned to my friends on Facebook earlier today, I can’t help but think that there are, at this very moment, a lot of very sad gay people, shirtless, with feather boas, driving round town, looking for an over-the-top “pride” event, only to find a bunch of sweaty people in matching t-shirts stooping over, picking up candy wrappers and cigarette butts.
Not being gay, I suspect I’m the wrong guy to coordinate such a thing, but I’d love to see our local LGBT community rise up to the challenge and take back Ypsi Pride next year. Kind of like my friends and I did several years ago when we started the Shadow Art Fair in the shadow of Ann Arbor’s well-established art fair, I think there’s a real opportunity for folks to counter-program against Ypsi Pride, and make it exponentially cooler… Just imagine drag queens planting flowers around town, and picking up trash in high heals… It would be a huge step forward in our attempt to make Ypsi the gay-friendliest town in the midwest, which, if I’m not mistaken, we agreed during the Shape Ypsi process should be our primary objective.
Yesterday evening, after work, one thing led to another and I found myself locked in the basement of Arbor Brewing along with with Mark Schauer, the Democratic candidate for Governor of Michigan. Fortunately, I had a camera with me, and captured a good deal of our exchange on the subjects of K-12 education and the minimum wage, which you can watch below.
Speaking of the minimum wage, this conversation between myself and Schauer transpired just a few hours after Republicans in the Michigan Senate passed a minimum wage hike to $9.20 an hour by 2017. It’s probably also worth noting that this Republican repurposing of legislation originally proposed by Democrats like Mark Schauer was pushed through less than two days after those individuals behind the Raise Michigan initiative announced they’d collected the 250,000 signatures needed to get the $10.10 minimum wage on the November ballot. And, no, I don’t think that’s a coincidence. Senate Republicans, I think it’s pretty clear, rushed through this minimum wage legislation yesterday, not because they developed a sudden concern for our most vulnerable workers, but because they wanted to keep the minimum wage off the ballot, as they knew it would not only pass, but drive the progressive base to the polls, where they’d vote Republicans like Rick Snyder out of office.
Here, with all of that said, is video of my very quick interview with Mark Schauer, followed by the transcript.
MAYNARD: Privatization in education is a huge concern for a number of us in the state. Your dad was a science teacher, and I know it’s something close to your heart. Michigan, I believe, is the number one state in the country relative to for-profit charters. How (as Governor) would you stop that?
SCHAUER: There are a number of ways. Number one, we have to remove the profit motive from education in Michigan, and put the “public” back in education. 80% of charter schools in Michigan are run by for-profit companies. And that’s not even counting these virtual schools, or cyber schools, that were enacted into law by Governor Snyder. They see kids with dollar signs on their foreheads. I’ll give you an interesting case in point. Muskegon Heights schools were in financial distress. So Governor Snyder sent in an emergency manager. And the emergency manager chose a for-profit charter school company to run the entire district. It was a company called Mosaic. Well, recently, Mosaic ended their contract. Three years early. And the emergency manager said, Mosaic was doing a good job academically… I can’t really speak to that part… but, he said, this did not fit their financial model. They could not make a profit, he said. So they quit. The public shool district did not have an option of quitting. Elected school boards don’t have that option.
They key is committing to our public school system, to all of our neighborhood schools. We need to make sure they have the resources to be successful. I’m not against charter schools per se. There are a lot of excellent examples of charter schools. But most of them are redundant. They’re not especially innovative. They’re not especially effective. Some of the lowest performing schools are charter schools run by for-profits. So we need to take the profit motive out.
When I’m Governor, if it’s not done before, we’ll conduct a study and see what it actually costs to educate our kids. Most charter schools are K-6, or K-8. Most are not K-12. It’s cheaper to provide an elementary school education. (And these charters) often don’t provide transportation. So we’ll determine what it costs for them to actually provide that education, and, instead of getting that seven-thousand dollars and change per student that our public schools get, they’ll get what it actually costs (to provide what they provide). I think that will weed out a lot of these for-profit companies. And that will allow us to redirect those resources back to our public schools.
MAYNARD: Do people vote on education? I mean, people vote on the economy, but do they vote on education. I know it’s your central message, but do people care?
SCHAUER: Education is my number one priority. I learned this firsthand… I’m a product of public education… the key to a good job is a good education. I mean (not just) from a moral standpoint, but from a purely economic standpoint (it makes sense to invest in education). I used to run Headstart, and we knew the dollar return on investment on quality, developmental preschool, and that’s the same for quality education through high school completion. We all pay as a society when young people aren’t getting a good education.
What I hear on the campaign trail all over the state… The two items that make people the angriest about Rick Snyder as Governor… One is the $1 billion cut to public education. No matter how had he tries to spin it, people realize that school districts now have about $500 less per pupil in the classroom. And kids are in more crowded classrooms (as a result). My running mate, Lisa Brown, from Oakland County, talks about her own experience. She sees her younger children getting an inferior education with fewer resources in more crowded classrooms. Programs just don’t exist anymore that were there when her older children were in school. So, yes, it is a potent issue. People understand that for Michigan to win in this global competition for jobs, we need to have the best educated workforce.
The second issue that people are most passionate about is Rick SNyder’s retirement tax. Retirees are paying, one thousand, two thousand, three thousand more dollars a year in taxes that would otherwise be going into the economy to help create jobs in Michigan.
MAYNARD: Your campaign has been very smart in certain ways. By not having a primary opponent, you’re saving a lot of money, and you’re not being distracted by these petty fights within the Democratic party. Brilliant. Another thing that could help you is the minimum wage. If we can get the minimum wage on the ballot in November, it would drive Democrats to the polls, which is absolutely critical, given that this is a non-Presidential election year. What are our chances of getting it on the ballot? I know that there were some developments today.
SCHAUER: Well, a couple of things. The fact that I didn’t have a primary challenger speaks to a couple of things. The Democratic party is very unified and disciplined going into the 2014 election. We had the lowest base Democratic turnout in 2010 than in any election since 1948, when Harry Truman was President. And you see what happened. We got Rick Snyder as Governor, and Republicans controlling every aspect of state government. And we’ve seen what’s happened as a result. So there’s real unity and a focus on winning this election. I stepped forward to run because I could not abide by the attacks on public education, the tax increases on retirees, families and low-wage earners, cuts in environmental protections, attacks on working people, women, and the gay and lesbian community. So I stepped forward to run almost a year ago. And I was able to establish myself as a consensus candidate partly because Democratic values, but also because of my effectiveness as a policy maker over the years, and the fact that I know how to win tough elections. I beat two out-of-touch Republican incumbents in really tough districts. I filed my petitions a month ago, I’m on the ballot, I’ve got no Democratic challengers, and my running mate, Lisa Brown, already. So we are ready to win.
The minimum wage is a very important priority the me. I’ve supported raising the minimum wage since I ran an anti-poverty agency in the ’80s and early ’90s, early in my career. And I introduced my own proposal last November to raise the minimum wage to $9.25 an hour, indexed to inflation, and give a million low-wage earners in Michigan a raise. Rick Snyder said that the minimum wage was not a significant issue, in response to my proposal. At the same time, he gave his top investment offices 80 and 90% pay raises. We see what his priorities are. There’s a ballot campaign to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. I signed the petition. I think that’s a proposal that would do great things for families and our economy. The legislature… We’ll see what happens… I’ve seen a lot of games in my time. I was in the legislature twelve years. Today the Senate did something important, and significant, and I commend them for that. They adopted essentially what was my proposal. $9.20 an hour, indexed to inflation, and lift tipped workers as well. It’s a good step. To me, what’s more important than politics is doing what’s right. And giving a million people a long overdo raise and tying that minimum wage to inflation, so that it will increase as the cost of goods goes up, is a good thing.
MAYNARD: But are they doing that to get it off the ballot, so that it won’t drive Democrats to the polls to vote for you?
SCHAUER: Well, I want to be clear. I’m going to beat Rick Snyder whether or not the minimum wage ballot proposal is before voters or not. I want to be clear about that. And I think those low-wage earners are going to know, whether it’s on the ballot or not, which party, and which candidate, is a fighter for fair wages for everyone… So I’m not worried whether it gets on the ballot. I just want to see people who need a raise, get a raise.
Theresa Rickloff, a regular fixture behind the counter at Beezy’s for the past several years, and the woman behind Riki Tiki Pies, will be leaving in the next few months for Portland, where she’ll be attending culinary school. Following is her official Ypsi/Arbor Exit Interview.
MARK: Can a good pie crust be made without lard?
THERESA: Why yes!
When I first started making pie crust, I was making both lard crusts and butter crusts. I liked working with lard because it was weird, because other people weren’t really doing it, and the crust is easier to handle than a butter crust. A lot of people were really excited to hear that there was an Ypsi pie maker using lard, and I got some buzz that way. However, I wasn’t able to find an affordable and steady-stream of lard that I thought was high-quality and coming from a good place, so I started making more and more butter crusts. It was a matter of ingredient convenience.
Once I got the hang of dealing with butter crust (fortunately I have a low body temperature, and I’m OK with pain and suffering), I actually found I liked them a lot better. I could get the right amount of flaky, I was building beautiful layers, and eventually I was able to sculpt the crust to look like something you might want to look at before you eat it. I now prefer the taste of butter crust to lard. They’re also far more versatile. I can use my basic butter crust for nearly any filling.
I still love lard, though. It’s a delicious and clever use of a product that people used to have around a lot more. And, actually, there are starting to be more and more places to get great leaf lard in the area. If I were continuing on as a pie maker, I would totally be working on making a connection so that I could get back into the lard business.
But shortening? Nobody should have time for that garbage.
MARK: What brought you to Ypsi in the first place?
THERESA: I grew up on the west side of Ann Arbor. I graduated high school in 2005, and I was convinced that I was going to go to a small conservative Christian college. I decided to go to Calvin College in Grand Rapids – or at least I was convinced I was going to go there until I went to orientation there. I panicked. I hated it. Everyone was weird to me. People were saying things like, “Oh, you’re here for your MRS degree.” Everyone was blonde. I also had a lot of really strong friendships I wanted to keep up with, and I decided I just couldn’t get myself to go up to Grand Rapids.
So I unenrolled, but still felt like I should be going to college that year. (In retrospect, I wish I had just been a badass and travelled for a few years, but when given the chance to look back in life don’t we all wish we’d spent more time travelling?) I knew I wanted to stay in the area, but I wanted to grow up and move out of my parent’s house. Even though I’d grown up in Ann Arbor, I’d spent a lot of time in Ypsi, and most of my friends were living out this way.
And, hey, what local university will let someone in two weeks before their semester starts? I bet you guessed it.
I sort of just sat in the EMU admissions lobby for 15 minutes, gave them my high school transcript, then someone came out with a yellow sticky note with a number on it and said, “This is your student number. Welcome to EMU.”
MARK: I understand that you’re going to school to become a chef. What are you hoping to do, once you graduate?
THERESA: Short answer: Chef it up. Long Answer: Start a cult.
The dream for my life is to start a commune with my favorite people, live off the grid, grow plants, and kill and eat animals together. Until the apocalypse.
I’ve heard this takes a bit more orchestration and skills than you might think, so I’ve decided I’ll accomplish a few more things with my life before I start my commune. I also need to make money somehow. Not to sound like a twat, but I’ve never really cared about having a lot of money. However, it’d be good to make some.
While I’m in culinary school, and after I graduate, it’ll be the same priority: work in good restaurants. It can be hard to get your foot in the door, and culinary school, plus living in a good culinary area, is a huge help. But it’s really about learning really great things from smart people, and hopefully I’ll be lucky, and stubborn enough, to get into some great opportunities.
They say that everyone in culinary school wants to open their own place, and I’ve certainly been there too, and have had dreams of my own place. A few years ago, I thought that by this time in my life I’d be taking steps to open my own restaurant. Now I know I’m not in a rush for that. I have so much more to learn, and I have a lot of people to meet before that happens. I’d need to find a good business person who thinks food can make us money; I need to find a good chiropractor; I need to be in an area that I think grows and cultivates interesting food; and I need to observe and learn the preparation of so many more foods than I’ve had the opportunity to learn.
I don’t like to think I’ll work in the industry forever, though. I want to be doing that commune thing I mentioned earlier. But, if I need to make money somehow, I want it to be doing something I enjoy, and I think I can be quite good at. I like kitchens, and my mind likes kitchens, and my body usually likes the kitchen too. I love multi-tasking. I love figuring out how to get yourself out of the weeds. I love pumping out plate after plate of breakfast for the beautiful Beezy’s customers. I love stirring pots of soup. I love yelling at people, and slamming pans around, and making a lot of noise. I love eating. I love strange foods. I love finding new ways to make things, and how to save money. I love wearing aprons. I love really giving a shit about who you work for, and who you work with.
Despite that, however, I honestly think it’s kind of dumb and harmful for people to eat out at restaurants as often as they do. (I shouldn’t say that though. It’s bad for business.) Especially because there are so many stupid restaurants that are a waste of time and money. I wish more people would learn to cook more things, and that everyone would get pickier about their food quality. I want to see more talented people cooking in better restaurants, and producing better food for customers happy to pay for it. Otherwise, people should really just eat cheaply and healthfully in their homes.
I don’t know what area of the country “cheffin’ it up” is going to take me. Portland is certainly a good area for it. After graduation, I imagine I’ll be really homesick and want to come back here. I love it here. But I’m trying to toughen up a little bit, because it might not be the best option…
MARK: Do you think that it would have been impossible to do that without having gone to culinary school?
THERESA: It’s certainly not impossible without culinary school, err, certainly possible without culinary school.
And this is the part that’s kept me vacillating back and forth the past few years, as I’ve tried to figure out how to continue on in my career. It’s caused me to sit on my hands for a long time. In a lot of ways, culinary school can be a waste of time and money (as can all school). Here’s a link to a great interview with David Chang about some of the problems with culinary school, if you’re interested.
School is valuable for the connections you make, and trade schools are valuable because you can have access to a lot of skills all in one location. You can learn the skills in a shorter amount of time than it would take to accumulate those skills out in the wild. But going to culinary school doesn’t mean you’re going to become a good cook, or even less of a dumb ass than you started off being. Nor does it mean you’re going to get a very good job.
Part of the reason I’m moving across the country to Portland for culinary school is that it’s a great area to be in the industry. People spend a lot of money on food in Portland, and there are a lot of amazing restaurants to work for. There’s also a lot more Asian cuisine, which excites me. There are lots of farmers and food producers to work with too.
Culinary school can make things happen, but it doesn’t mean you’re going to become a rich and successful chef. It’s easy to say that this is a failure on the part of a student’s tenacity, but I think it’s really more so a failure of how schools work these days. They’re interested in being a business instead of perpetuating knowledge and culture.
We’ll see how it goes. Going to school to learn about cooking sounds like a blast to me.
MARK: I’ve heard Alex Young, the chef and managing partner of Zingerman’s Roadhouse, say that, if he were starting out today, he wouldn’t have been able to make it as a chef without having gone to culinary school. According to him, it’s just too competitive.
THERESA: That’s reassuring.
MARK: There are other cities that have good reputations when it comes to food. Were there other factors pulling your toward Portland? As I’m sure you know, Ypsi’s lost a lot of people to Portland over the past several years, and they’re not just going for culinary school. There’s something magnetic about the place.
THERESA: When I decided I should really pursue going to culinary school, I asked myself where I would want to move, before I asked myself what school I would want to go to. I decided Portland, because it’s a good place to be eating, making and thinking about food. Also, I wanted to live in a place where I wouldn’t need to have a car, and that’s very easy to get around by bike.
I visited out there and stayed with a friend. Everyone said I would “fall in love with the place.” I wouldn’t say that I did, though. I really liked it. It’s beautiful. There are mountains, gardens, chickens, weird ferns, attractive men, and smoked meats everywhere… and everyone has a dog… but it didn’t feel like home. It felt like somewhere I’d want to live for a bit, though.
I wish people out there were more sarcastic. The few days I was out there made me really miss our Midwestern pessimism and denigrating sense of humor. I wanted to walk up to people and tell them to jump in front of a moped, because they’re nice enough out there that they just might do it, and I just get so curious. Hopefully I’ll make a lot of friends.
And yeah! People moving to Portland. I don’t really know any of the people who have left, but I heard they did that. I should read their exit interviews, huh?
MARK: What’s a “food perversion”?
THERESA: Thanks for asking.
Back in my coffee shop days, when I was around 20, I wrote a blog post inspired by the cupcakes we sold at the shop. They were these crazy piles of frosting. People’s eyes would light up when they saw them, then they’d shudder in disgust at themselves, and try to move on with their lives. It was like they saw a pair of boobs they liked, and then weren’t sure they were young enough for those boobs, and began a cycle of self-doubt.
In the States, food has so many more functions than to just “stop us from dying.” And people are getting so weird about it. Me too. I want to see how far I can push a food sometimes. The thing that brings me such supreme delight is figuring out what flavors I can squeak into a pie together, and then convincing people to eat it. It feels naughty after a while, because it feels like we’re abusing food. Maybe we are?
Either way, I’m a huge food pervert. I like touching food to see how it jiggles. Just saying.
MARK: One of the things I like about Beezy’s is that it’s kind of served as an incubator for local food-based businesses. Your venture, Riki Tiki Pies, and Stefanie Stauffer‘s Nightshade Army Industries, both got your start in Bee’s kitchen. How important was Beezy’s in your evolution as an aspiring chef and food entrepreneur?
THERESA: It would only be a slight exaggeration if I were to say that Beezy’s gave me everything. I gave Beezy’s a lot of myself, and Riki Tiki Pies was my baby, but Bee has been my boss, mentor, “boss-mom,” and the person allowing Riki Tiki pies to have a home base and constant support. Giving people a space for business and connections is one of the many great things that Beezy’s has done for Ypsi.
I don’t think there are too many Bee Rolls in the world. She is dedicated to having a big heart for her community, even when her life is really tough. Owning a restaurant is almost impossible – and not only is she doing that, she’s having other people find ways to circulate money through the area when the business is closed for operation.
Oh yeah, and she lets 826 Michigan tutor children at Beezy’s in the evening! I’ll be there making pie at night with adorable kids running around. It’s a fun time.
Gushing about Bee aside, I didn’t even know I wanted to cook professionally until I started working at Beezy’s. And it wasn’t really until Bee got pregnant and trained me to do her job that I realized I was good at it. It’s really hard work, and it was really hard to learn, but it showed me that I’m made of the right kind of stuff.
It also taught me how to make some damn good scrambled eggs.
MARK: Will Riki Tiki still exist in Portland? If so, you should know that you’ll have some serious competition… At least I recall stuffing some really good, savory salami handpies into my food hole during my last visit.
THERESA: Screw those handery slam pies!
And, no. I’m not planning on bringing Riki Tiki out there with me. Riki Tiki Pies is something I’d come back to, but I think, out in Portland, I want to be learning as much new stuff as possible.
MARK: According to Facebook, you’re “hiding a secret anger, and a lust for blood.” I’m curious as to what that means.
THERESA: Ahhh, I mostly just thought that was a funny thing to say. Though I do love watching people get sliced up in old kung fu movies, so there might be something creepy and violent going on there.
I’ve always been seen as a happy, dopey ball of funsies. As I’ve grown up, I’ve found that I actually have quite a lot of anger about a lot of things, just like any normal human. I’m still learning on how to deal with anger in a healthy, awesome way instead of burying it inside.
I posted that because I was having a bullshit day at Beezys, and Facebook always listens when all you want to do is set someone’s house on fire.
MARK: I’ve also heard you use the phrase, “I’m good at pistol whipping.” Did you share that on your culinary school application?
THERESA: They asked, actually.
MARK: How would you respond if, after culinary school, Gordon Ramsay were to come into your restaurant, start screaming, and pretend to vomit?
THERESA: I’d be like, “Which show is Gordon Ramsay on?” and “Do I have to care?”
MARK: Did you enjoy your time in Ypsilanti?
THERESA: You bet your butt I did. Leaving here is going to be one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I’ve changed a lot in this town, and it’s responsible for a lot of what I am now. I love the streets, the dumb parking lots, the buildings, the river. I love interacting with the same terrain every day and seeing it change. It’s hard when people go, but these days it makes sense to move on. It doesn’t change how important this place has been to me, and all the other people who have moved on. Whether or not they’ll admit it…
MARK: What will you miss about Ypsi… Give me the top five in order, ending with the thing that you’ll miss most.
THERESA:
5. Riverside Park, including Frog Island and the tridge (I think that can count as one, right?)
4. Being drunk at the Tap Room and ordering their bar food
3. Porch hangouts
2. Knowing someone everywhere I go
1. Cooking at Beezy’s with my fellow staff. They are some of the finest people I’ve had the honor to spend time and make food with.
MARK: So, where will you be going to culinary school?
THERESA: Le Cordon Bleu.
MARK: Given what you know of the Ypsi food scene, what kind of food-related business do you think would do well here right now?
THERESA: I can’t answer this question without this prologue: Ypsi is an interesting place to start a business, and a lot of people have failed. I think the reason a lot of people fail is that they haven’t involved themselves in a culture of Ypsi from the start. And I say “a culture” of Ypsi, because there are many. People first moving here, strolling through here, often don’t see that, even if they’re from Ann Arbor. They lump it all together into some kind of hipster slum, or poor people slum, and their minds, bodies, and wallets move on.
What else is great about Ypsi, especially what I know of the downtown area, is once you’re involved in a particular culture or group, there’s mobility between groups. It’s not that we’re free from segregation here, but we’re a lot more multicultural than other areas, especially in Southeastern Michigan. We’re willing to try other people’s food, as long as it seems interesting, affordable, and the people running the place don’t seem like jerks. A lot of us don’t have very much money, but we want to have a nice time, and we don’t have as many snob hang-ups as a lot of other towns. (This is my opinion on living in Washtenaw County my whole life. I understand many people might disagree with me.)
I think there is so much room for many types of restaurants in Ypsi, and even room for more bars. I think we’re still at the point in Ypsi where business begets business, and people looking to open up places will only be helped by getting close with other business owners and operators. What I look for and hope to see is 1) experienced people with a specific vision (not, “I’m going to open up a pizza place! We’ll serve gourmet pizzas!” What the hell does “gourmet” even mean?), and 2) people who have been, and are, networking in the area.
Most things I’ve heard about the food cart park opening up in Ypsi Township has made me excited about it. I think that will get a lot of locals with years of vision realizing that they can make their first step toward their vision making money. A lot of cooks live in Ypsi, but cook in Ann Arbor. They’re talented, anxious to do their own thing, and just looking for an avenue that makes sense for their life – and I think a viable food cart industry will get a lot of people walking through that door.
I think we also badly need more dinner places that serve booze, are open late, and have small menus they can manage. The failure, or hurdle to success, of a lot of dinner places in Ypsi (and everywhere) is they try to do everything, their menus become huge, and the quality of food becomes unmanageable. I’d love to come back to Ypsi and see a restaurant with entree ticket prices between $15-$25, made by a chef who is invested in a very particular cuisine. There would be appetizers that pair wonderfully with booze, allowing people to drop around $20 for pre-dinner or pre-show hang outs, and the restaurant to have a way to make easy money. Then the dinner menu would have two to three dishes that are stars, they’re well-known for, and the cooks never fuck up. The rest of the menu could be rotating and exploring of the chef’s vision and culinary expertise, and also allow room for up and coming sous-chef’s to play around. I don’t think they’d need to be open for lunch, but I’d want them to be open late.
I think a lot of prospective restaurant owners get scared that people in Ypsi don’t want, or can’t afford, a “fine-dining” place (I’m using scare quotes because people assume fine-dining means French, and that shouldn’t be implied). In my perhaps wrong opinion, fine-dining would do great here (as long as they still have a vision, and are networking in the area). With the proliferation of 9-5 foodies scouring Yelp for weekend destinations, you don’t need your weekend money to come from Ypsi people (who might be all working, and if not, looking for a fun way to spend extra cash). Weekend money carries a restaurant through the week, and during the week you cater to your bread & butter Ypsi customers, who make up the heart of the place.
I get tired of hearing people say “You can’t get enough business in Ypsi,” or “People are too poor in Ypsi.” The focus needs to be on making excellent food and running a tight ship.
And in order to be more specific regarding what I want to see open up here: I’ve also always wanted a walk-up fish & chips place in Ypsi. Just fish & chips, maybe beer & ginger ale, and they’d be open til 4:00 in the morning, so I could wander home from the bar and get a snack before I nap for the night.
Oh yeah, we also need more venues. Please open up more venues. If I come back, I’ll make the bar food if you need it, just fucking open up places for music.
MARK: Any parting words for the people of Ypsi?
THERESA: Make friends with your neighbors, and keep the Water Tower happy.
[note: Credit for the first photo goes to Christine Laughren. The second two are the work of Joe Rybarczyk.]
If you’d like to find out more about why it is that people leave this place we call home, check our our Ypsi/Arbor Exit Interview archive.
