Memories of your favorite RIP Ann Arbor business.
Going back to South U will never be the same for me now that China Gate is closed. I ate there so often that Chef Jan and the staff were almost like a second family to me. Many a stressful day ended on a positive note with some take out or dine in there.
What are memories of a favorite AA business of yours that has passed on?
The proximate cause of China Gate closing was a new high rise, but my understanding from people I know around town is that there were other factors including the folks who run it wanting out and changing tastes... from what I've heard, the market for Chinese food is now very oversaturated relative to demand since a lot of kids are less interested in it as an option vis-a-vis Thai.
This goes back a loooong way: A Mexican restaurant called The Burro on William just west of State Street.
Worked at The Burro on North Campus in High School...loved that place.
Good shit Jed
April 29th, 2020 at 11:02 PM ^
Yes! Great burritos at the Burro.
April 29th, 2020 at 11:02 PM ^
Yes! Great burritos at Burro.
EDIT: doubly great
The arena
Co-sign
Original Pretzel Bell, Bimbos, Village Bell and waay back Everett's Drive-In on Stadium and most of all Quality Bakery on main!
The first Bar I went to was Second Chance on Liberty, no idea what it is now.
Non food: Middle Earth, Peaceable Kingdom, Washtenaw Lumber, Borders Books
Still standing Fleetwood, Old Town, Angelo's
Loved Middle Earth.
Try to explain Middle Earth to a family member who is unfamiliar with it and you just can’t. That’s what made it legendary.
I arrived in Ann Arbor (1984) a year after Pretzel Bell closed. My father was in grad school in the 1950s and told me he would go to Pretzel Bell on Thursday nights when the auto workers got paid and they would be in there buying rounds for everyone in the place.
Co-sign all the above!
The V-bell was our go to to buy beer, they had some great specials for the poor students on a budget (me and my friends).
damn that double.
April 30th, 2020 at 12:53 AM ^
Bimbos yes. And the Dog n' Suds on Packard.
I don't get back to Ann Arbor as much as I would like, would appreciate it if people could let me know the status of some of my favorite haunts in the 01-05 era:
- Afternoon Delight
- Alley Bar
- Sgt. Peppers
- Palio
- Champion House
All still kicking except Champion House (2012)
I worked for some high school and college years delivering furniture for Prisms II on Main St. (immediately north of Gratzi) with my best friend.
The owner was a great guy, and also a bit eccentric and we had all sorts of odd adventures and experiences working there: From the woman whose cat peed on the sofa we'd forgotten to Scotch-guard, to the guy who told us to "go right in" to the bedroom where he wanted his new dresser and where his girlfriend was naked on the bed, and a ton of stuff in between, every day was something. We could write a book...
Borders. Back when there were bookstores.
I saw John Meyer play an acoustic set there in 2002 right after his first album came out and before anyone knew who he was and before he sold himself out to the god of pop. The man is an extremely skilled guitarist and he played a terrific acoustic set for me and maybe 100 other people crammed into the second floor of that Borders. It was a terrific show and a highlight memory of a formative time in my life.
I thought you were talking about the original Border's on State Street - not the one that moved into the Jacobson's.
The upstairs Pinball Pete's on Williams...skipped so many classes in high school to come here and get yelled at by Wendall the manager for not actually spending any money.
Schoolkids Records. Actually almost any of the record stores that used to dot downtown streets.
Upper Deck (baseball card place on Washtenaw)
Plus 1 for Pete's, but I actually went to the old Double Focus location that became a Pete's. I think the William location was closed by then. The old tiny South U location burned while I was in school and the giant South U location opened on the other side of the street right around that time as well. I'm sure that was just a coincidence.
Wow, Double Focus, my brain is starting to crack the bong resin around my memory banks....
I recall both South U locations being open at the same time for some brief period, but it was a long time ago. There used to be a Tower Records upstairs and a comic book/collectible shop in the place Pete's moved to, as well. When I was into that sort of thing I thought that Tower was quite good. Schoolkids and that upstairs place on State whose name I'm forgetting didn't impress me as much as they impressed my friends, which I always wrote off (perhaps correctly) to me not really knowing as much about what I was shopping for.
The two Pete's did overlap for about a minute and then the old one burned. Mysteriously. My guess is Pete's was running out their lease. I imagine the prospects for a new tenant were...limited.
For CDs, I was a big Wherehouse Records fan, which was down near Charley's on South U. They also had some great locations in Lansing/EL (where I grew up). They used to have midnight releases of new stuff and had a lot of hard to find stuff. By the late 80s/early 90s, I think Schoolkids was more image and attitude than a good source of records. Wherehouse was a nice compromise. They had knowledgeable staff and always had what I wanted.
does anyone know if Schoolkids Records is the namesake for the Schoolkids Song and Dance sandwich at Zingermans? I'd imagine yes but don't know
Yes.
oh, ABSOLUTELY.
Pinball Pete's? Youngins.
I worked at Flipper McGee's my sophomore and junior years and managed the Crosseyed Moose and Flipper McGee's my senior year 82-83.
Still around, just moved next to the Fleetwood - https://www.blimpyburger.com/
Favorite RIP Ann Arbor business?
Shakey Jake!
Wow, he passed 13 years ago. I had forgotten it had been that long.
I remember Shaky Jake from the 80's.
April 28th, 2020 at 10:56 PM ^
I remember him from the 70's.
Shakey Jake AND Arthur being gone is a tragedy
The Del Rio. Closed in the mid '70's. I think on East Liberty. Smallish bar with great sandwiches and music was mostly jazz. Best known for their Detburger (named for the owners Juli Detweiler and husband) and the hot stacked ham (shaved) and cheese on a toasted bun. I tended bar there in '73. Sara Moulton was in the kitchen back then.
Also Middle Kingdom...best Chinese food I ever had in AA. As good as any I found in Chgo. NY. or San Fran.
Digme 71
Del Rio was great. Their wall of tapes was legendary. But the Del Rio I know of closed 15-20 years ago. It was on the corner of Ashley and Washington, where Grizzly Peak is.
The Del Rio opened again under new management in the early 90s (then closed again early 2000s).
I used to work at Arbor Brewing Company (great place to work BTW) but they were super conservative about having a drink on the job (go figure!). So if we were having a particularly rough shift, we would run down to the Del Rio for a shot. It was free if we were still working our shift at ABC. Got to know the Del Rio staff well. Great place.
Schoolkids record store and the used record store across the street. (Sorry, just had to get the aged and dated thing in there.)
Yeah, lots of good places. Here, here to those who served us and have moved on.
Wolverine Deli on the corner of Madison and South Main St.
Fox Tent and Awning just south of the Wolverine Deli. Tailgated at Fox for over 30 years. Owner Dave Fox is one of the nicest men I've ever met. He treated me and my friends like family. So many great memories partying before and after the game. One of the first cars there and the last to leave. Dave would ask me to shut the gates and lock up. Wolverine Deli had great sandwiches and cold beer.
I miss all of the old record stores (School kids, Discount Records, Wherehouse, Tower). I also hella miss The Burro
I was a big Dinersty fan. The GF(s) and I used to get delivery from them frequently, even though it was only a couple of blocks away. I finally walked there once to get food. That was a mistake. The place was filthy, even by hole in the wall Chinese restaurant standards.
I lived across S Forest from the Bagel Factory and used to go there frequently. Fragels were tasty. Shakey Jake used to hang out there sometimes. I remember one time when he tried to sell me a VHS tape of himself playing guitar on the cable public access station for $20. I chuckled and said I could buy my own $.99 blank tape and record him myself so I wasn't going to pay $20. He smiled and said "You're a smart guy, but you and I both know I'll get someone to give me $20 for this tape." I laughed out loud, because I knew he was right. RIP Jake.
Del rio . Best burgers in town. Great music. An draft Heineken
Mr. Flood's Party on W. Liberty. Had a tiny stage in the front corner. Went there to listen to blues.
Full Moon on Main next door to MNB. Worked a couple years part-time at MNB and went there Friday nights after work frequently.
Borders, on State, before the moved over the Jacobson's spot on Liberty.
Domino's store #2 on Broadway at Plymouth--only because I worked there as a second job for five months so my wife could stay home with our first born.
Lovin' Spoonful ice cream on S. Main.
Almost positive Lovin' Spoonful closed because the owner was selling mass amounts of drugs. Which also reminds me to add DeLong's to the list. Walked over there from Commie and ordered the "special" a few times.
I remember hearing that, too.
During the summer we could wait half an hour to get a cone. Owner must have needed additional cash flow for the winter months, though.
I was too young to go to the downtown Border's often before its move across the street, but I do remember how cool its layout was, a layout whose silhouette is still faintly visible in the M-Den now and was apparent in Steve & Berry's before that.