Pieology Pizzeria opened a new location in downtown Ann Arbor next to the University of Michigan campus last week. This is the first store in Michigan for the California-based specialty pizza maker, located in a storefront at 620 E Liberty St in the former Borders flagship store. "It's a great location," says Mike Morgan, general manager of Pieology Pizzeria. "It's close to campus. We think it's a great launching pad for the brand in Michigan." About 20 people are making and selling pizzas at the new pizzeria. Pieology is known for offering custom-made pizzas with freshly prepared toppings and dough made in house. They offer unlimited toppings for $7.95 so customers can concoct whatever sort of pie they desire. "That puts us at an advantage over our competitors," Morgan says. Source: Mike Morgan, general manager of Pieology Pizzeria Writer: Jon Zemke

Enlighten is a digital marketing company that has been around long enough to know success revolves around customer service. "We are focused on the customer experience," says Steve Glauberman, CEO of Enlighten. "We see better customer service as a path to higher profit margins." For the 31-year-old company that meant transitioning from marketing to digital marketing to software development to all of the above. The company now offers a comprehensive suite of marketing services along with the software development products to help complement its traditional offerings. The strategy has worked well. Enlighten grew its revenue by 25 percent last year and it's projecting to do it again in 2015. That has allowed the company to hire close to a dozen people. It now has a staff of about 100 employees and eight interns. It is also looking to hire half a dozen more people now, including senior account managers, software engineers, and project managers. Enlighten is also pushing forward on its own software projects outside of custom work for its customers. It launched two photo-oriented software platforms in 2012, WhatWasThere.com and YearlyMe.com. OffersNow, a coupon and marketing software program aimed at helping small businesses, launched in 2013. "Those projects are still going well," Glauberman says. "We are looking to enhance them." Source: Steve Glauberman, CEO of Enlighten Writer: Jon Zemke

AlumaBridge's big claim to fame is creating a better bridge, made out of aluminum, which is lighter, stronger, and more durable than traditional options. Travelers should get their first chance to test it out later this summer. The Ann Arbor-based company’s first bridge is being built in Quebec, Canada. AlumaBridge completed the fabrication of its bridge deck sections late last year. Those pieces are currently being constructed by the Quebec Ministry of Transportation. "It should be open to traffic by the first week of August," says Greg Osberg, president & CEO of AlumaBridge. The 1-year-old company uses aluminum as its principal material for prefabricated pieces of bridging. The idea is the specially fabricated aluminum pieces will extend the life of aging bridges much beyond the current standards for concrete. The aluminum bridge deck panels are made using friction stir welding and have a non-skid surface. They can easily be applied to the steel girders on existing bridges, giving many more years of service. AlumaBridge is also working on a fabricating more bridge sections for a span in Florida. It delivered the first sections early this year and expects that project to come online later this year. "We will have additional panels shipped in August," Osberg says. "They will be tested by the Florida Department of Transportation and Florida International University before they are installed." AlumaBridge is currently working with Florida and Canada on more potential bridge projects. The company is also trying to make in-roads with the Michigan Department of Transportation, but the company’s most promising prospects appear to be north of the Great Lakes State. "The city of Montreal also indicated that they have some projects in mind," Osberg says. Source: Greg Osberg, president & CEO of AlumaBridge Writer: Jon Zemke

The development of the Border to Border Trail has always been known for its potential for creating a walkaway across Washtenaw County for pedestrians and bicyclists ...and for the sizable gaps that keep it from doing just that. Advocates for the trail have been pushing to bridge those gaps this year, which include closing small breaks in the county’s big cities and creating large sections in its more rural areas. The idea is to get more of the region's non-motorized traffic off the road and onto the Border To Border Trail. "You avoid putting a whole bunch of cyclists and pedestrians on the same road," says Bob Krzewanski, chair of the Friends of the Border To Border Trail. "Motorists usually don't look for cyclists and pedestrians." A couple of those major gaps that advocates want to close include small but critical sections in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. Ypsilanti has budgeted money to build a pedestrian bridge over the Huron River at Riverside Park and Michigan Avenue, which will enable it to connect the Water Street development, downtown, and Depot Town, through the Border To Border Trail and its park system. Ann Arbor is making plans to build a pedestrian bridge over the Huron River, too, this time where Maiden Lane crosses the river near the University of Michigan Health Center. Currently, users of the Border To Border Trail need to cross the vehicular bridge next to traffic. Creating a smaller pedestrian bridge underneath it will provide some much needed space between people and cars. "It (the Maiden Lane bridge) was built with space underneath," says Larry Deck, board member of the Washtenaw Bicycling and Walking Coalition. "There are concrete pads there where the trail bridge should go." Both Deck and Krzewanski are optimistic that funding packages for both projects could come to fruition within the next year and construction starts soon after. There are larger gaps in the Border To Border further outside the cities, such as a smaller section at the very eastern edge of Washtenaw County and a large section between Ann Arbor and Dexter. "The segment in between Ann Arbor and Dexter is problematic," Krzewanski says. "To get it off road you need to get private property easements." But both are confident these sorts of large projects will get done within the next few years, despite the obstacles ahead. They see a growing demand for this sort of recreational opportunity as what will really make a complete version of the Border To Border Trail a reality. "A lot of people say they would go out to walk or bike if they has some place to do it," Krzewanski says. "This gives them that opportunity." Source: Larry Deck, board member of the Washtenaw Bicycling and Walking Coalition; and Bob Krzewanski, chair of the Friends of the Border To Border Trail Writer: Jon Zemke

WorkForce Software can be counted on for adding a handful of jobs to Ann Arbor’s talent pool each year. The Livonia-based software firm opened its local office about three years ago as a way to leverage more talent coming out of the University of Michigan and other local colleges. It has since grown its Ann Arbor staff to 20 employees and three interns after hiring three software developers in 2014-15. "It was a huge success," says Ken Olson, vice president of product development for WorkForce Software. "We are firmly rooted here now with the office in Ann Arbor. We will continue to grow and grab local talent." Internships have become a significant part of that talent retention strategy. Two of the company's three recent hires were former interns promoted into full-time positions. Those hires work out of both the downtown Ann Arbor and WorkForce Software headquarters in Livonia.  "We have done a very good job of integrating the Ann Arbor office with the Livonia headquarters," Olson says. WorkForce Software makes management software for large-scale employers. It has grown significantly over recent years, expanding its revenue by about 20 percent each year. It now employs 500 people. "Ann Arbor is a key piece of that growth," Olson says. Source: Ken Olson, vice president of product development Writer: Jon Zemke

It took HeatSpring a few years to find its footing in the online sustainability education world, however, now the company is sprinting forward with some significant revenue gains. The Ann Arbor-based business grew at a slow pace during its first four years. In the last two years, however, it has scored 30 percent annual revenue gains, thanks to online education going mainstream and a strong economy interested in learning more about sustainability. "It's all building energy and sustainability (courses)," says Brian Hayden, president of HeatSpring. "It's where we have been since the beginning. We have key partnerships that are strong today." Those partnerships include creating classes for SolarPro Magazine, Renewable Energy World, and Greentech Media. That learning material has been decisively niche in nature such teaching about advanced solar storage for utilities. "It's built for top 5 percent of solar users," Hayden says. That bump in work has allowed HeatSpring to add to its staff. It has hired a content strategist over the last year, expanding the number of employees to five people. Source: Brian Hayden, president of HeatSpring Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

One of the great conundrums of summer is whether to enjoy the warm weather or indulge in a night at the movies. Outdoor movie screenings give you the best of both worlds and Thrillist has put together a calendar of what's playing where in Ann Arbor and metro Detroit. Excerpt: "Remember when you used to look up movie times in the paper? Or actually called Moviefone? Or searched in a bunch of different places to find out what outdoor summer movies where playing? Yeah, all of that sucked, but we’ve finally solved the last one by rounding up every single outdoor moving showing in the D, from now until August, and put ‘em in one handy calendar..." Check it out here!