Category Archives: Local Business

Video: Owners of The Rocket, Wurst Bar, Bona Sera Cafe and Jacobsen Daniels Associates talk candidly about doing business in Ypsilanti

By Mark | May 6, 2013

Given that we just crossed over into National Masturbation Month, I thought that I’d share a titillating video this evening. Unfortunately, Linette has the parental controls set in such a way that it’s impossible me for me to do that, though. So, instead, here’s video of me on the stage at Woodruff’s a few days [...]

Also posted in Locally Owned Business, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged Annette Weathers, Bad Fairy, Bona Sera Cafe, Concentrate Media, Darryl Daniels, Eli Morrissey, Hasan Mihyar, Jacobsen Daniels Associates, Jeff Meyers, Jesse Kranyak, masturbation, Paul Schutt, Roger Rayle, The Rocket, Wurst Bar | 10 Comments

The Reality of Doing Business in Ypsilanti: a roundtable discussion with a half dozen of Ypsi’s most well known entrepreneurs

By Mark | April 30, 2013

This Thursday evening, from 5:00 to 7:00, I’ll be on stage at Woodruff’s, facilitating a conversation between Bee Mayhew Roll (Beezy’s), Eli Morrissey (The Rocket), Darryl Daniels (Jacobsen Daniels Associates), and Wonder Woman (Bona Sera Cafe) about the challenges that entrepreneurs face in downtown Ypsilanti, and the opportunities, as they see them, that currently exist. [...]

Also posted in entrepreneurism, Locally Owned Business, Ypsilanti | Tagged Bee Mayhew, Bee Roll, Bona Sera, Concentrate Media, Darryl Daniels, Eli Morrissey, Jacobsen Daniels Associates, The Rocket, trough urinals, Wonder Woman | 14 Comments

Bicycle ice cream delivery comes to Ypsilanti… Introducing Go! Ice Cream

By Mark | April 18, 2013

In the not too distant future, thanks to the efforts of a local man by the name of Rob Hess, Ypsilantians, on hot summer days, will be able flag down a vintage bike and purchase an ice cold cone of handmade ice cream. While I’ve yet to sample his work, which I hear is incredible, [...]

Also posted in Food, Locally Owned Business, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged Andy Claydon, bikes, Bona Sera, chocolate, Dairy Queen, delivery, dessert, entrepreneurism, food carts, food delivery, food entrepreneurship, ice cream, ice cream truck, Patti Claydon, Rob Hess, sorbet, street food, summer, tricycle, vanilla, vegan, Whitmore Lake, Worksman, Ypsi entrepreneurs, Ypsi immigration interview, Ypsilanti water tower, Zingerman’s Creamery | 22 Comments

Ypsi/Arbor Exit Interview: Newcombe Clark

By Mark | April 10, 2013

A week or so ago, in front of an audience at Conor O’Neills, I had the pleasure of conducting a live exit interview with Ann Arbor-born commercial real estate broker turned University of Michigan MBA Newcombe Clark, who will soon be leaving Michigan for Chicago. As there was still a great deal that we didn’t [...]

Also posted in Ann Arbor, History, Locally Owned Business, Special Projects | Tagged affordable housing, aging population, Ann Arbor City Council, Ann Arbor history, Ann Arbor problems, Annarbour, Babo, Best Buy, big box retail, Borders, brain drain, Briarwood Mall, car free, change, Chicago, childhood, childhood memories, complaining about things that can't be changed, construction, craftsmanship, density, design porn, development, Discount Records, Encore Records, excellence, exit interviews, fear of change, Five Guys, Fleetwood Diner, Gandy Dancer, Grange, Iggy Pop, India, Kerrytown, land speculation, Last Word, Leopold Bloom’s, Literati, lure of cities, Mani, Mark's Carts, mentorship, Michigan Theater, Mr. Flood’s Party, Mumbai, national chains, Ned Duke, Newcombe Clark, North Ashley, nostalgia, Ojibwa, our fragile downtown business ecosystem, Portlandia, Potbelly Sandwich Shop, poverty, protectionism, Pune, race, race and poverty, racial steering, real estate, rent, retail in Ann Arbor, rewriting history, Rock Paper Scissors, Ross Business School, segregation, Shaman Drum, shifting national demographics, shop local, Vault of Midnight, Vellum, Waterhill, West End Grill, yoga, Ypsi/Arbor Exit Interviews, Zingerman's | 46 Comments

Making way for the further mallification of Ann Arbor, this month Eastern Accents, Herb David, and Mahek all cease operations

By Mark | March 13, 2013

Cities are living things. They grow older, like all of us, and they change. They evolve, or they die. I get that. I’ve grudgingly come to accept that the best things in life are transient. That realization doesn’t make it any easier, however, to accept it when good things, that genuinely make me happy, go [...]