OT: Favorite Local Businesses That No Longer Exist? (AA or Elsewhere)
Hey everyone! Figured the MGoBlog community is just the type of place that would love this...
I have a friend who recently opened a new branch of his t-shirt company exclusively dedicated to commemorating defunct local businesses, whether it be restaurants, stores, movie theaters, arcades, rinks, ballparks/arenas/stadiums — you name it.
So...curious to hear what everyone's favorites are? Whether it's a nostalgic place you remember from your hometown or a place you frequented in your college days, shout em out! He might even cook up some shirt designs for you to order.
NOTE: It MUST be a local business that is no longer in operation. There are already great ways to buy gear supporting current Ann Arbor businesses, including a sponsor of this site. Seth's Ann Arbor Institutions series from Fall of 2020 (and the shirts that came with it) was some of my favorite stuff the blog has ever produced. This is just for the ghosts of Ann Arbor business past!
Loved Bell's
A friend on my hall ate the "Family Feast" on a dare once. Consisted of an XL pizza and an 8 pack of coke (back in the glass bottle days).
Open to 4:00 AM. Who didn't love that?
For (im)pure late-night snackery I was always fond of a Gumby’s 20” bacon.
being open till 4 was crucial. It was my last spot many nights of my senior year.
I had no idea Bells was gone. Shit I'm old.
Same. I used to swing by after Thursday night shifts at Rick’s.
Or do you mean The Blue Frogge?
Rick's forever and ever. That said, let's play tribute to its Madonna-frequented predecessor...
BLUE FROGGE, AA: https://www.hometownvintagetees.com/product-page/blue-frogge-ann-arbor-mi
Steve’s Lunch
A thousand times yes on this one. My sophomore year, it was the perfect halfway point between campus and my apartment on cold days when stupid me (who still hadn't learned to dress appropriately for the weather) could stop in for a big $5 hot bowl of bi bim bap to fortify me for the rest of my slog home.
Also done!
STEVE’S LUNCH: https://www.hometownvintagetees.com/product-page/steve-s-lunch-ann-arbor-mi
I loved Bells! Lived on Packard two blocks away.
Story time.
My girlfriend would buy a Bells pizza for me every other Friday.
I realized it was time for us to break up after a huge disagreement we had on a Wednesday night.
I was going to do it on Thursday. Thought about it. And waited until Saturday so I could get my Bells.
After a full day of college football viewing (with Bell's beers), we would put the Big Lebowski on and order 3 or 4 large pizzas from Bell's with pepperoni and pepper rings. Sad to hear they are gone.
Greasiest pizza I've ever seen was a Bell's double bacon pizza a friend of ours ordered at 3:30 AM for delivery. That box was literally dripping when the delivery dude handed it over.
This is my answer.
I worked at Bell's all through college (and beyond, when they were shorthanded) -- mostly delivering but also making pizzas, answering phones, triaging drunk customers, mopping up the joint at the end of the night. I loved that job and the folks who worked there were a diverse, funny, bighearted bunch.
I still rock my Bell's Pizza shirt we made for a local hoops rec league, but there were only 10 of those ever made. Would be thrilled for a company to reprint some retro Bell's Pizza t-shirts!!
I'll never forget the pizza we ordered from Bell's to our dorm that came with a roach baked into the cheese. We called them, and they admitted that they had sprayed for them and they tended to come out when that happend. They offered us pizza credit. As you might imagine, that was my last Bell's pizza.
My bad.
In NYC: Spain Restaurant (paella to die for and those appetizers!) and Gyro II (the world's best gyros).
Gyro II…was that the one on 7th Ave a block or two north of MSG? If so, I also remember it fondly. Their food was Greek-adjacent at best and their take on the tzatziki sauce was way too sweet but unique and tasty to be sure
That was it. The disk-shaped french fries too...
Gyro II is a sentimental attachment. In my childhood (we're talking the 70s) my mom would take me clothes shopping at Macy's on the next block. I hated clothes shopping with my mom--her payoff was Gyro II. My last time there was 2015, when I was in the City for my mom's funeral. The floor space was half of what they once occupied--that other half was like a Taco Bell or something. That gyro was still the fucking best though. The tzatziki sauce was sweeter than most, but I kinda love it that way. I've never had better gyro meat than theirs. The flavor was deep and intense. Pretty sure they buttered the pita bread somehow.
Zei Mar Delicatessen. Brighton Beach
Lundy's Restaurant. Sheepshead Bay
Gasner's Restaurant. Lower Manhattan
Royal Pizza. Brighton Beach
Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers (da Bums)
Shea Stadium, Queens (home of the New York Mutts)
Twin Towers (aka World Trade Center) and Vista International Hotel.
Pinocchio's Restaurant, UES (Manhattan)
Durgin-Park. Boston
First one done…
SPAIN RESTAURANT: https://www.hometownvintagetees.com/product-page/spain-restaurant-nyc
A & W rootbeer in munising. on the way back to MQT it was a go-to stop for the family. almost home. best fries.
Lum’s on Woodward at Lincoln. Would order a hot dog and an LSD (large Stroh’s Dark). Was a waitress there I lusted for.
Also on Woodward…Athens Coney Island. The original building. And Maverick’s drive-in. Both great places to go after “huffin’ on a Dube”
I’m currently on vacation in Marquette with my family. First time here. Gorgeous area. Checked out Black Rocks today. Stopped in Munising yesterday on the way up and saw Munising Falls and Pictured Rocks. Munising High School has to have the best view of any high school in the country—right on Lake Superior! Headed to Houghton and the Keweenaw tomorrow. Can’t believe it’s taken me 39 years to come up here!
was in MQT a week ago for NMU football camp for a couple of our sons. it had been years since i'd been there. we haven't lived there for 20 yrs but it still pulls at my heart to be there. i will always love the homeland.
My Munising 4th of July was one of the best of my life. I did a week of backpacking (flies were terrible at times) in Pictured Rocks and spent recovery in Munising. Just happened to catch fireworks...memory of a lifetime.
Looking for a place to park it for fall colors in Keweenaw. I would appreciate any pointers. Can't wait to do that. Maybe this year. Going to Maryland game so maybe not.
Super jealous ... enjoy!
On topic... I miss the spring factory near the stadium... I used to pick up springs as a kid and toss them around. I can't explain it if you don't know...it was a cool dirty grimy place.
suggest eagle river, eagle harbor, and copper harbor. you can also find really good grouse hunting on pt. abbaye, not to mention the colors there. rabbit bay, the same.
Arbor Brewing Company in AA. I worked there many years ago. The food was decent, but the beer was fantastic!
Chicago related. There are tons of places that closed that I like in Chicago, but the one that hits me hardest is John’s Pizza on Western Ave. This is not a Chicago style deep dish place, it’s a tavern style pizza place (FYI, Chicago is also famous for tavern style pizza).
Arbor Brewing has the Ypsi location and a newer downtown Plymouth location
the beer they make today is leaps and bounds better if you ask me, and the Ypsi spot has a great beer garden and solid food
Good to know! I’ll hit those up next time I’m in the area in a few weeks.
I now live very near there and have walked by a couple of times. There's a brewery in Logan Square called Middlebrow that serves only tavern style pizza on Tuesdays. Can't vouch for it since I haven't had it but it's on my pizza to-do list.
Can vouch for it-it’s awesome
Oh thats exciting, I didn’t know they did tavern style. Their usual pizza is delicious, it’s a sourdough crust. And they make great beer too
Been to Middlebrow a few times (my cousin lives about 2 mins from there). Their lagers are fantastic. The ales are pretty good.
As for the food there, I don't remember the pizza, but I'll give it a go next time I'm there.
Thanks for the tip!
Ok, so a pretty big slice of mgobloggers seems to be hanging out within a few blocks of me. Missing Wormhole 2 just for its convenience.
I think tavern style pizza (the real Chicago pizza to a majority of Chicagoans, I'll bet) needs better PR. It's amazing how many people outside the area think that Chicago's favorite pizza is deep dish.
I'm a fourth generation Chicagoan and didn't hear the term "tavern-style" until I read an article about it in the New York Times. I've always known it as thin and cut into a lot of squares. Deep dish is a disservice to pizza and Chicago.
Ok, so here is my take on the pizza argument.
Every single pizza style in the world is some sort of derivation of thin crust pizza. NYC, New Haven, Napoli, California, etc. All thin crust pizzas. Except for Chicago. They said "fuck that weak shit!" we know how to push the concept of pizza to the next level: the concept of deep dish. No one else in the world even comes close to trying to emulate the deep dish pizza. NYC style pizza is a paltry snack; Chicago style pizza is a hearty meal.
Nobody emulates it because it sucks. It's not pizza. It's Midwest heart attack casserole.
Nobody emulates it? There's like 10 Chicago-style pizza joints doing well nationally.
Dude, from your own post that I was responding to:
No one else in the world even comes close to trying to emulate the deep dish pizza.
Internet arguing must be a hobby of yours or something. Can't wait to see who wins your argument with yourself lol
after one bite of chicago-style pizza you want a second bite. after the second you want a nap. and after the the third you long for the sweet release of death.
If Detroit style is considered deep dish, Detroit style >>>> Chicago style
Detroit style is pan pizza, not deep dish. They are made very differently.
With that, Jet's pizza in Chicago is doing quite well compared to other large pizza chains.
John's was a favorite in our house. We got one last Roman when we heard they were closing. BTW, they are closing because they lost their lease. Their landlord? Their sister. Double-bummer.
Madras Masala in Ann Arbor
Also Eastern Flame. thankfully Suvai on state st does an awesome job, but those places were peak
also also Cellarmen’s in Hazel Park and Elbow Room>Savoy>Woodruff’s in Ypsilanti. the world was a better place with those spots around
Cardamom on north campus has been by far the best Indian restaurant in AA over the past decade
I love their Hepatitis A meals.
Bill Knapps