Arbor Farms Market is expanding, adding more dining and shopping space to its West Stadium Boulevard store. The local, organic grocer is adding 4,500 square feet to its existing 12,000-square-foot space. The newly expanded store is expected to open in June. "We're taking down a wall that will open into new space," says Leo Fox, president of Arbor Farms Market. "The expanded store will be L shaped where before it was a rectangle." The new space will include space for a cafe, a soup and salad bar and a sandwich shop. There will also be an expanded deli counter with a broad variety of new items. "We will have a new 60-foot deli lineup for fresh foods," Fox says. Fox launched Arbor Farms Market in 1979. It moved to its current location in 2004, doubling its space to 12,000 square feet. Arbor Farms Market currently employs 60 people. It has hired five new associates over the last year and is looking to add a couple more. "We value serving the community," Fox says. "We value creating jobs. We value the shoppers who want to spend their money locally." Source: Leo Fox, president of Arbor Farms Market Writer: Jon Zemke

Repeat after me: cloud computing is not going away. It's not only a technology that is here to stay but is the very future of computing. The team at RightBrain Networks saw this years ago and is now starting to reap the rewards of growing a business based on cloud computing consultation. "For the longest time people thought that it was a fad," says Jamie Begin, CEO of RightBrain Networks. "In 2014-15 there was a massive uptick in demand for cloud computing services." Begin launched RightBrain Networks in 2009 after he was laid off from his IT job the year before. His firm has since grown exponentially, most especially recently. Over the last year RightBrain has doubled its revenue (crossing the $1 million mark) and tripled its staff. It now employs 13 people after hiring seven in IT, sales and marketing over the last year. It is now looking to hire another five people. "Our growth has been over 100 percent for the last four years," Begin says. "We will be at 20 people by the beginning of August and 30 people by the end of the year. It feels like I am riding a rocket." The Ann Arbor-based company specializes in both IT and cloud-computing for both startups and large companies and institutions. Some of its customers include Silicon Valley-based startups, ProQuest, and the University of California, Berkley. Source: Jamie Begin, CEO of RightBrain Networks Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Swift Biosciences has launched two new products this month, releases the Ann Arbor-based company expects to help power its growth this year. The 5-year-old life sciences startup makes tools for genomic research. It just released Accel-NGSTM Methyl-Seq DNA Library Kit. The new product utilizes AdaptaseTM technology, a unique molecular biology method that works with single-stranded DNA. The Adaptase technology enables next generation sequencing libraries to be made post-bisulfite treatment, allowing researchers to recover more of their input DNA and use a hundredfold less input material compared to other commercially available products. "It's a way of examining the regulations of the genome, mostly what is on and what is off," says David Olson, CEO of Swift Biosciences. "What is active and what is not." Swift Biosciences also recently launched its Accel-NGS Amplicon panels, which helps molecular biologists detect and screen clinically relevant mutations. The underlying technology enables hundreds of primer pairs to be amplified in a single tube. The panels can be used to target either contiguous coverage of a single gene, multiple loci throughout the genome, or a combination of both. "It's a way of looking at a small number of important genes much faster and at a much lower expense than looking at the full genome," Olson says. "These genes can be the critical genes that impact our agriculture or oncology." Swift Biosciences is also looking launching another new product or two before the end of this year (Olson declined to elaborate on them) along with a couple of new versions of is existing products. Its growing product portfolio has enabled the company to hire four people over the last year (technicians and sales & marketing professional), expanding its staff to 19 people. "It would be fair to say we have grown 10-fold in the last year, customers and revenue," Olson says. "We hope to continue that pace this year." Swift Bio Sciences has raised $13.15 million in venture capital, including a $7 million Series B it closed on earlier this year. Source: David Olson, CEO of Swift Biosciences Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

The car isn't the only way you can get to work. More and more folks are discovering that. This year's Commuter Challenge proved that - with a record number of sign ups. And the numbers keep climbing. Excerpt: "Despite lower gas prices, more employees than ever are signing up to try an alternative commute during the 2015 Commuter Challenge, happening in May.  With over 800 registrants to date, the Commuter Challenge is on track to break last year’s record for total participation.   The Commuter Challenge is a fun, free alternative commuting competition that happens during the month of May. The Challenge has been an Ann Arbor area institution since 2005. More information about the Challenge is available at www.LetsMakeaMove.org. During the Challenge, Ann Arbor area organizations compete to see who can get the most employees to try an alternative commute." Read more about the program here.

Echoing the challenges to establishing train travel in Michigan, our entire nation is far behind the ball when it comes to rail travel. Is it our pathological love of the car? Our inability to invest in the future? Our short sighted, highly partisan political leaders? The answer is yes. Excerpt: "Compared with the high-speed trains of Western Europe and East Asia, American passenger rail is notoriously creaky, tardy, and slow. The Acela, currently the only "high-speed" train in America, runs at an average pace of 68 miles per hour between Washington and Boston; a high-speed train from Madrid to Barcelona averages 154 miles per hour. Amtrak's most punctual trains arrive on schedule 75 percent of the time; judged by Amtrak's lax standards, Japan's bullet trains are late basically 0 percent of the time." Read the rest here.

A couple of local businessmen are aiming to open a new distillery and tasting room near downtown Ann Arbor later this year. The Ann Arbor Distilling Co will occupy 6,000 square feet of space in the building at 220 Felch St. The building is currently owned by Icon Interactive, a digital advertising agency. A previous tenant of the space has moved out, opening up the space for new purposes. "It's something that is exciting. It's way more exciting," says Rob Cleveland, partner with Ann Arbor Distilling Co. "This space was made to be a distillery. It just screams it." Cleveland is the CEO of Icon Interactive. He is launching the Ann Arbor Distilling Co with Ari Sussman. The business will make vodka, rum, and gin to start with and eventually move into bourbon production. The distillery will include a 1,000-square-foot tasting room and 5,000 square feet for production space. "There is the same enthusiasm for artisanal liquor as there is for craft brewing," Cleveland says. "It's just a different product." The Ann Arbor Distilling Co hasn’t set an opening date yet but Cleveland hopes to open the doors to the establishment before the end of the year. Source: Rob Cleveland, partner with Ann Arbor Distilling Co Writer: Jon Zemke

The Michigan Angel Fund has closed on its second fund worth $2.05 million. The firm specializes in making early stage investments in Michigan-based tech startups. Those investments usually range from $250,000 to $2 million.  The fund expects to make between eight to 10 investments over the next two years, mostly in startups too young for traditional venture capital investment. "It is designed to fill that need as well for our tech startups," says Skip Simms, managing member of the Michigan Angel Fund, which is overseen by Ann Arbor SPARK. The Michigan Angel Fund was also designed to introduce more high-net-worth individuals into angel investing. The fund launched three years ago with 72 members. The second fund has 62 members with more than half of the investors in the first fund. "The investors come from all over the state and some outside of the state," Simms says. "Some of the investors in the first fund come from as many as four different states." The first investment vehicle from the Michigan Angel Fund is fully invested. Some of the portfolio companies include Avegant, Arborlight, BioPhotonics Solutions, Eco-Fueling, Epsilon Imaging, Larky, stkr.it, and Varsity News Network. Source: Skip Simms, managing member of the Michigan Angel Fund Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Orange Egg Advertising has been expanding its customer base over the last year, a phenomenon the company's leadership attributes to the quality of its work. "It's a quality thing, which translates into more revenue," says Amy Grambeau, director of Orange Egg Advertising. The Ann Arbor-based company has made a name for itself over its 13 years working with the likes of Silver Maples Retirement Community in Chelsea, Ann Arbor Transportation Authority, and Ann Arbor State Bank. "They are keeping us busy," Grambeau says. Orange Egg Advertising as also added a handful of new clients, such as  Dunning Toyota, and the Michigan Memorial Funeral Home. The work from those new accounts has allowed the company to increase its revenue by 25 percent and grow its core team to five people. "We continue to grow," Grambeau says. "We are where we want to be." Source: Amy Grambeau, director of Orange Egg Advertising Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.