Some business owners run scared. Others spit in the face of adversity.
Concentrate has decided to show you a six pack of entrepreneurial spirits who decided troubled economy or no, they were gonna open a new business and, hell or high water, make them succeed.
COMET COFFEE
In this case, heaven is in the details.
Stop into the spare but ever-fragrant Comet Coffee and you'll get a lesson in quality. See, according to owner and coffee expert Jim Saborio, excellence takes time and attention. And after one sip of his java juice you're bound to jump on his bandwagon, become a member of the cult and throw your Starbucks Coffee Card in the trash. See, if the folks at Comet Coffee were pretentious, they'd be, well, justified. Luckily, Saborio is about as nice a java genius as you'll ever meet.
Everything at Comet Coffee is made to order and hand brewed. Choose your preferred method (French press, vacuum, drip) then watch as fresh beans are ground, tamped, and the juice of inspiration brewed just for you.
Comet Coffee is located at 16 Nickels Arcade.
DEPOT TOWN TATTOO
Maybe calling Depot Town Tattoo part of the Ypsi hipster mafia is going a bit far, but it's becoming pretty clear that the city is actively courting the kinds of businesses Ann Arbor no longer seems to be able to (or want to) attract. Namely: young and exciting.
"We've kind of hooked up and become friends with Bee at Beezy's, Andy Garris at the Elbow Room and Zak at the Ugly Mug," says co-owner Mike Emmett. "The city has been really trying to bring some fresh faces to the downtown area."
Emmett describes business as "pretty good" and likes being in a growing business community with alt sensibilities. It's clear he and his partner, Dawn Cooke, have plugged in quick, hosting an art opening last week (they plan to do this every three months) and sponsoring local tattoo design contests.
Depot Town Tattoo is at 33 E. Cross Street in, well yeah, Depot Town.
BLUE TRACTOR
It's not copying if you made the original!
Importing their culinary successes in Traverse City to their burgeoing Ann Arbor empire, Jon Carlson and Greg Lobdell opened their too-cool-for-school edifice to locally brewed beer and Americana-style comfort food. It's been an instant success. Coolest feature? The built-in cooling strip on the bar, keeping your beer frosty no matter how long you nurse it. Big portioned menu items, lots of BBQ sauce and a dense young crowd make this new addition to Ann Arbor's restaurant scene an inevitable mainstay.
Blue Tractor is at 207 E. Washington in downtown Ann Arbor.
BEAGLE BRAIN
Okay, let's get this out there first: Beagle Brain does free estimates... which means no upfront fees. And then a flat rate repair fee. Yup. Bring your 'puter in, let the techs at Beagle Brain give it a look-see and they'll come back with the price to fix. Sounds simple, but you'd be surprised how hard it is to get computer assistance for anything other than $60 down, before anyone pops the case cover. Then figure on hourly rates and vague guesstimates as to how long it'll take 'em to fix a corrupted OS, a burned out drive, or nuke all those porn cookies. Beagle Brain not only doesn't believe in the approach, their offended other shops do.
"More now than ever, small businesses need to be innovative in the ways big companies are," says owner Ben Falk. "There is no business as usual any more. We knew we would have to compete with online pricing, meaning Amazon or Newegg, while offering superior service."
So, how good are these guys? They needed to hire another tech one week after opening in January.
"Things are really going great. We're at this awesome corner with incredible windows and visibility," Falk adds. "Eventually we hope to branch out with business-to-business more."
And where does the name come from?
"I guess it comes down to the fact that I like dogs. And the domain name was available."
Beagle Brain is a corner shop in Nickle's Arcade, facing Maynard Street. Oh, and they sell all sorts of up-to-the-minute computer accoutrements.
SPARK East
Cool cafes, hip bars and trendy retail is nice, but high tech is where the jobs are going. If Ypsilanti is to support its bridge to the future, its building blocks are probably going to come from whatever inspired start-up biz comes out of SPARK East, Ann Arbor's stalwart tech incubator.
"Things are really starting to get busy with activity here," says Shamar Herron, Manager of SPARK East and the Michigan Innovation Equipment Depot.
Open only since February, the brick-walled yet oh-so nurturing high tech womb in Ypsi's downtown has already attracted six fledgling companies. They include:
- LaVision - producers of high tech camera and laser imaging systems
- Smart Dining - a one stop online restaurant publication group
- Senseichange - management consultants
- Diversified Energy Control Group
- Brainstorm Creative - a lottery technology firm
- Chris Hiltz - an entrepreneur / consultant
Want to check out the space yourself? SPARK East is having on Open House on May 8th at 2:30PM. Be there or be square.
BEEZY'S CAFE
We like Beezy's. We like Beezy's owner, Bee Mayhew. We like what her cafe says about where Ypsilanti's downtown is headed. Hit the links to read the virtual ink. Or just check out Dave Lewinski's new additions to what is quickly becoming our photo shrine to Bee's did-it-herself cafe.
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