One year later, one of downtown Ypsilanti's success stories reflects on the ups and downs of helping build Washtenaw County's newest Bohemia.
Excerpt:
Remember how I told you last year about a great new restaurant in Ypsi called Beezy’s? Well, it’s still here. And the food is still great. And, now that they’ve done what most new restaurants don’t, and reached their first anniversary, I thought that I’d ask Beezy’s owner, Bee Mayhew, a few questions.
MARK: So, Bee, it’s been a year. Congratulations on making it this far. As you know, it’s a hurdle that most new restaurants don’t clear, even in areas that aren’t so economically depressed. With that said, how do you account for your success here in Ypsi?
BEE: Thanks Mark!
Well, I don’t know that there’s any accounting for it [ask my accountant, ha!] other than a lot of really really hard work. It sounds trite, and I think everybody who runs a small business works very hard, but it’s true.
Some, okay, most days were/are so immensely grueling. Sure there’s only 12 operating hours a day, 6 days a week but I’m here at around 5:00 AM, and most nights I’m not wrapped up until 9:00 PM. I’m kind of a control freak. And a workaholic. And a little bit anti-social. So long days doing a lot of menial work just feels right. And it’s incredibly cathartic, to a point. It also gave me the opportunity to let my staff learn their roles better and be the personality of the place, so it didn’t all fall on my awkward shoulders.
But hard work aside, I have an attitude, mostly a good one, but I’m very aware of my weaknesses. And that I think has been a key to success in Ypsi. I’m fairly certain that Beezy’s could take off anywhere, but I made Ypsi my home with a passion I’ve never felt for the dozens of towns I’ve lived in. Not the kind of passion that drives me to be involved with every organization or committee (though I love to read all the notes) but the kind of passion that belonging and being brings.
That’s why I think Ypsi has been such a good fit for me, for Beezy’s. A year later, my own and my business’s weaknesses are exposed, but I’m honest about it. A lot like Ypsi itself. It screams opportunity to me in every cell of my being- not in an opportunistic way, but in a tough love, growing, spiritual kind of way. I put that energy into the food I create- something as simple as a matchstick carrot carries the same weight as picking up litter on the street. Calling someone (usually myself) out on their bullshit and being or doing better every day drives that energy.
Read the rest of the story here and another story about how VG Kids is pondering the possibility of moving out of Ypsilanti and into Ann Arbor here.
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