In Dearborn, Homegrown Businesses May Work Best
If you’ve had the chance to walk through the West Village Commons project lately, something interesting appears to be taking place: new businesses are moving into the development that once was the site for the Jacobson’s department store and Price’s Menswear.
Moose's Martini Pub is the newest "homegrown" business making plans to move into West Village Commons
The newest business making plans to move in is a martini bar called Moose’s Martini Pub, 22217 Michigan Ave., aimed at the 35 and older crowd. If all goes well, the bar will open in the spring.
The bar probably isn’t the kind of business originally envisioned by our city leaders when they inked the multi-million dollar development deal with Burton-Katzman, the Bingham Farms developer who dangled the names of big name stores in front of our elected officials. Rather than national chain businesses, the West Village Commons has become home to two bars (a third, Moose’s, is on the way), two restaurants, a UPS store, yoga center, ice cream shop and one art & frame store.
What is interesting in all of this is that most of these new places (not all) are unique to Dearborn and usually owned by Dearborn residents or at least people from surrounding communities. Those elements could very well be the critical pieces necessary to ensure the survival of the mostly-vacant West Village Commons.
It also may be indicative of what really works best in Dearborn -– homegrown and home-owned businesses.
January 1st, 2010 at 7:47 pm
I like the sound of this martini bar. Cant wait to check it out!
January 2nd, 2010 at 8:22 am
I have driven past this place a few times, I love the location, and the big window!!. Can’t wait until this place opens up.
January 2nd, 2010 at 8:41 am
I like the idea of a Corner Martini Bar. Looking forward to Grand Opening
January 2nd, 2010 at 10:04 am
What a great concept!!! Exactly what Dearborn needs, a place where I can go and meet friends to have a drink and relax … I know the owners and they are A 1 people and will bring in a Top Tier establishment to Dearborn.. Instead of people leaving the area , they will bring in people from all over to help and support the business’s in West Dearborn.. Cant wait for it to open!!!
January 2nd, 2010 at 10:13 am
Happy to see any new business taking the plunge and investing in Dearborn, especially in this development. Good luck to them! Just something that has been bugging me for a while: where are all these liquor licenses coming from, anyway?
January 2nd, 2010 at 11:33 am
Good luck to Hisam and Chad El-Awad of Grosse Ile on your Moose’s Martinibar
venture.
January 2nd, 2010 at 12:40 pm
Thank you for the support Mr. Deep. Moose’s Martini Pub promises to keep a positive, customer-friendly, well-maintained business. We’re definitely ‘homegrown’. Brothers Hisam and Chad Elawad are graduates of Grosse Ile High School and both also graduated from UofM-Dearborn with their Bachelor’s Degree. This marks Hisam’s 3rd business in Dearborn. We’re excited to serve the great city of Dearborn and are ready to be a contribution to the West Dearborn business district and West Village Commons.
January 2nd, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Hisam and Chad….looking forward to your grand opening! Congratulations and wishing you huge success!! Sounds like a great place.
January 2nd, 2010 at 4:29 pm
Congrats! Great location! Best of luck
I will be at that grand opening !
January 2nd, 2010 at 7:53 pm
Need more than these fly-by-night wannabe chic bars in Dearborn. I wish them well, but you have lost many, many longtime Dearbornites for lack of shopping x-Fairlane. Again, good luck but I give it 13 months max.
January 2nd, 2010 at 8:44 pm
Great location, we are looking for a new place to enjoy a drink. Good luck and welcome to Dearborn.
January 3rd, 2010 at 12:57 am
A Corner Martini Bar what a great idea . Looking forward to the Grand Opening will be there for sure!!
January 3rd, 2010 at 9:19 am
Congrats to you both!!!!!!!!!!!!Nice location and a nice atmosphere thats all we look for……Cant wait to have a cocktail there…….
January 3rd, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Hopefully they will serve a chocolate martini–as the best one in town used to be at the late Ciao. I think the recipe in included Godiva white chocolate liquer, along with Hershey’s syrup (believe it or not).
January 4th, 2010 at 9:07 am
good luck and we look forward to coming in. will you have food or just drinks?
January 4th, 2010 at 10:19 am
Great news. Keep filling up those vacancies!
January 4th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
looking forward to the Grand Opening!!!..
January 4th, 2010 at 3:32 pm
Homegrown talent and ownership is just what is needed in west Dearborn. Those folks who both live and create a business in Dearborn will have the most at stake and the most to gain. Conversely, they’ll have the most to lose as well. I am willing to venture that those will the most to lose will do their absolute best not to allow that to happen not only to their livelihood but to the community as well. I will have to stop by and check it out and wish you the best.
January 5th, 2010 at 9:23 am
Mr. Deep,
It would be great if you offered a “question section” on your awesome web site. But since you don’t, I’m going to ask a question in this area….It is somewhat relevant…pertains to business in the west end….I often notice that when I drive down Newman (the street between the condos and businesses) that there is still light on inside the old LaShish. Does anyone know why? I doubt the old owner is paying that electric bill since he’s either in jail or hiding or whatever…is the city of Dearborn tax payers paying that bill? I hope not! Why are the lights even on? There aren’t on in the vacant Little Cafe or other old businesses…
January 5th, 2010 at 11:12 am
Here’s the deal: If you’re going to post things like “fly-by-night wannabe chic bars” and “you have lost many, many longtime Dearbornites for lack of shopping” expect a reality check.
Seriously, what is “fly-by night”?
By nature, bars and restaurants have a shelf-life of three to five years. Afterwhich, they get renovated, completely overhauled or close. The bar/restaurant that is open, in one location, for longer that 5 years is an exception to the rule.
“Wannabe”? You either have a license to serve or you don’t.
What do consider “longtime”? I’ve lived here for 16 years and my God I’ve never heard so much useless complaining in my life. I guess I wouldn’t be a good candidate for anything here since I wasn’t “born and raised” in our venerable city.
Can’t you possibly see what’s happening here?? The market is defining what is going to work in these spaces! Not City Council, not the commercial Real Estate Barons, not the business owners…..THE MARKET!
These establishments like The Well, Howell’s, Buddy’s, Kiernan’s, Crave, The Post, Maestro’s Bistro 222, Buffalo Wild Wings, Double Olive, et al, occupy space, bring in some people, employ a few people, put a few bucks in the City tax coffers and try to make our little West Dearborn area attractive to people under the age of 55.
I’ll put it bluntly: If you don’t like consuming alcohol or if it offends you, don’t go to a bar.
On a much different note, we need more people with ‘skin in the game’ like the owners of the future Moose’s Martini Pub. Here’s hoping they will be making hundreds of gallons of martinis for us to put the future CSO projects to good use.
Oh, and to the WDDDA and Chamber of Commerce (I know for a fact you ‘in-the-know types’ read this and even blather here) GET OUT THE WORD TO THE REST OF METRO DETROIT THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO TO ROYAL OAK, NORTHVILLE OR BIRMINGHAM FOR A GOOD COCKTAIL, A FINE RESTAURANT OR EVENING ENTERTAINMENT! TV and radio ads are real cheap in 1st quarter so get to work.
Love, sunshine and rainbows.
January 11th, 2010 at 6:41 pm
I heard that Adventure Bikes on Monroe will be closing at the end of the month. What a shame.
January 13th, 2010 at 9:56 am
I haven’t seen anyone working on this place since the signs went up? Anyone know anything about the timeline?
January 20th, 2010 at 7:43 pm
I heard they are opening sometime around early to mid April..People have been working inside