  Citybird Member Username: Citybird Post Number: 1 Registered: 07-2008 |
though we can't personally attest to the management of the business, second hand we have great faith in the cooley brothers. especially considering the effort put into this particular establishment and the cooley track record, phil cooley's mention that it will re-open is really promising. it's a fantastic business and is in good hands. city bird http://www.ilovecitybird.com (Message edited by citybird on February 10, 2009) | ||
Newlaster Member Username: Newlaster Post Number: 94 Registered: 06-2004 |
This is really horrible. Now there isn't a single 'third-wave' or quality-focused coffee-bar in the metro region. The Ugly Mug in Ypsi is the only thing close. Someone should swoop in and reopen the place and forget all the food. Focus on coffee, just the coffee. | ||
Andylinn Member Username: Andylinn Post Number: 1067 Registered: 04-2006 |
newlaster, not so hasty! i think it will reopen soon. | ||
Gravitymachine Member Username: Gravitymachine Post Number: 1698 Registered: 05-2005 |
terrible news, but one can't argue with this quote: | ||
Birdie Member Username: Birdie Post Number: 78 Registered: 04-2007 |
i didn't get from the article that they are closing for sure...sounds like they'll probably re-open sometime soon. | ||
Otter Member Username: Otter Post Number: 552 Registered: 12-2007 |
Aw, crap. I sure hope they can reopen soonish with a better business model. O. | ||
Cooper Member Username: Cooper Post Number: 49 Registered: 02-2008 |
It's not all doom and gloom -- not quite. A new French cafe just opened in Corktown at Trumbull and Howard. It looks great: http://www.modeldmedia.com/dev elopmentnews/lepetitzinc17809. aspx http://web.mac.com/karimasorel /iWeb/LePetitZinc/LePetitZinc. html I hope it survives. Is anyone familiar with that corner? Will anyone know to find a cafe there? | ||
Chitaku Member Username: Chitaku Post Number: 2100 Registered: 03-2006 |
Don't forget Mudgie's for some Damn good Sandwiches | ||
Genesyxx Member Username: Genesyxx Post Number: 619 Registered: 02-2004 |
Only open 4 months. Damn. News says it might reopen down the line and I hope they do, given how hard they fought to open up in the first place. | ||
Registeredguest Member Username: Registeredguest Post Number: 133 Registered: 10-2003 |
"What tooks years to build up seems to have been swept away in a week or two." Just think how fast it would come back if the city and state focused on cutting taxes, providing basic services, streamlining permitting, and cutting construction costs for small business owners. If the root causes that set business up for failure aren't addressed, Detroit will never be more than a city of a few successes and a lot of failures. Angry about these closures, then demand political candidates to reform the way government works, taxes and regulates. | ||
Rel Member Username: Rel Post Number: 775 Registered: 02-2008 |
"Angry about these closures, then demand political candidates to reform the way government works, taxes and regulates." Partly, but... How 'bout just support local businesses and spend your money with them? | ||
Lugotown Member Username: Lugotown Post Number: 41 Registered: 02-2008 |
it's really difficult to understand exactly what has caused all of these recent closings. but, as we all know, we have been struggling for years. i do support local businesses when i can but you have to have extra money to do that and many just don't have it. for me, the place has to have parking, a great product and even more important, prices i can afford. i loved mercury coffee bar but realistically, couldn't afford to go there daily. i hope they'll include some of their customers in their focus group so that we can help to ensure they are successful when they re-open. i do believe that there are many other things that make it difficult to have a business in detroit as stated by Registeredguest and others. sadly, we may see a lot more closings in the near future. the good thing is that they recognized their losses early and seem to be trying to re-group. i believe the biggest mistake they made was trying to serve food for breakfast and lunch. also, their hours might have been a little too long. had to pay their staff and utilities for many hours they may not have been busy. they should have focused more and their prices didn't help, just like zaccaro's. well, it sounded from the article that they are planning on re-organizing and may re-open with a new plan. i sincerely hope so. | ||
Kryptonite Member Username: Kryptonite Post Number: 74 Registered: 11-2008 |
Maybe they can reopen with a more realistic approach. Organic? Local? "Slow coffee"??? mabye those are not the greatest approaches. Personally I could give a shit about organic and local is fine but come on, not available 365. It looks like the place was very attractive and they had put a lot into it, maybe a 2nd chance will work for them. I would like to visit, but please "slow coffee"? not for me. But for me I will be going to Dunkin Donuts or Tim Horton, I never have time to wait for someone to roast, grind, do a voodoo dance before brewing coffee. | ||
Eastsideal Member Username: Eastsideal Post Number: 288 Registered: 10-2007 |
Not really difficult to understand. The poorest city in the country already, with a quickly declining population, very low traffic for an urban area, and a city that many people are still afraid to spend time in. Combine that with businesses that are often trying to sell products that are out of the reach (and interest) of most of the local population, a city bureaucracy that barely operates and seems hostile to small businesses, and especially with the worst economic downturn in decades and mass unemployment, and you have a pretty damn solid recipe for putting places out of business. | ||
Pythonmaster Member Username: Pythonmaster Post Number: 238 Registered: 12-2006 |
The world ain't right when all that's left are McDonalds style coffee places, and the specialty places can't survive. Character is fast slipping away. | ||
Lugotown Member Username: Lugotown Post Number: 42 Registered: 02-2008 |
well said Eastsideal. this is sad. now, my question is, what now? i haven't lived anywhere else in the states or in michigan but there has to be other places that have made a comeback. are there? how did they do it? this may have already been addressed in a couple of threads. i can't keep up with all of them so if anyone can point me to one that talks about this, please do. i just feel like we have everything stacked against us and if things don't change soon, what will we have on our hands? | ||
Blt Member Username: Blt Post Number: 4 Registered: 02-2008 |
An employee told me they plan to re-open on Friday. | ||
Professorscott Member Username: Professorscott Post Number: 1777 Registered: 12-2006 |
Lugotown, many American cities have made a comeback to some degree. Look at Pittsburgh, Cleveland; compare the New York of today to the New York of 1975 or 1980. But you don't make a comeback by just trying to keep doing everything like you've done it in the past, which seems to be our problem. When have you ever heard of this region trying to do anything new? I mean anything whatsoever. We just seem to collectively wish it was still 1956 and we could all turn 18 and get a good job at Ford. | ||
Detroitchef Member Username: Detroitchef Post Number: 97 Registered: 09-2008 |
1956 Detroit? Is it 1956? I wouldn't work at Ford, I hear they hire Negros. I'll take a nice job at Strohs, becasue you know beer will never go out of style and leave Detroit! Next thing you know, the Negros will want to move out of Black Bottom and onto my nice, elm lined street. Why.. I'd have to move out to Warren or something, to get away! Besides, this Sputnik thing worries me. What happens if the Russians get to the moon? Mark my words, if we don't stop them and the Chinks in Korea, there will be hell to pay! | ||
Waymooreland Member Username: Waymooreland Post Number: 98 Registered: 11-2007 |
Looks like Mercury is in retrograde. | ||
Detroitchef Member Username: Detroitchef Post Number: 98 Registered: 09-2008 |
Lowell, we're going to ban you from any further reviews and photography of Detroit businesses. No sooner than you post this on the sixth, and the place goes down. | ||
Eastsideal Member Username: Eastsideal Post Number: 290 Registered: 10-2007 |
It seems almost as if we're stuck in 2 conflicting kinds of wishful thinking in this area. The nostalgic kind that professorscott alludes to, where many people try to wish back the auto industry, wish back their old neighborhood, and give vent to their long-time racial animosities like it's still 1973. And what I call the "wannabee" kind, where people open up businesses, all too often very under-capitalized ones, that attempt to be like New York or Chicago or even Ann Arbor, and have a very difficult time surviving in the conditions of the Detroit market. Then there's the city government, and other local area governments, who seem to change nothing and to try to act as if this is still a burgeoning area that can still afford and support the old ways of doing things. Again, as if wishing can make it so. Most cities in the country have seen some form of urban comeback that far outstrips Detroit's. Even cities that have lost primary industries and a lot of population like Pittsburgh. Very little will help though if there are simply no people left around to buy anything. Let's hope that Blt is correct, and that Mercury can make some necessary changes to their business model and survive. Certainly their early days showed there is a real market for some of what they were offering. But lack of proper capitalization can kill off even relatively successful places in trying to survive the early costs of building, hiring, and adjusting to the market conditions of a new business. | ||
Bigd Member Username: Bigd Post Number: 18 Registered: 10-2007 |
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pb cs.dll/article?AID=/20090210/B IZ/902100446/1361 Looks like MCB will be back online Friday. | ||
Lugotown Member Username: Lugotown Post Number: 44 Registered: 02-2008 |
great news!! we should all show them some love and introduce others to them as well. i'll be there this weekend and will continue to support them when i can. | ||
Birdie Member Username: Birdie Post Number: 85 Registered: 04-2007 |
yay!!! great news. | ||
Gravitymachine Member Username: Gravitymachine Post Number: 1701 Registered: 05-2005 |
great news, and just in time for the weekend when i usually stop in for a coffee and a pastry | ||
Chitaku Member Username: Chitaku Post Number: 2103 Registered: 03-2006 |
I'd be interested to know which partners and managers they got rid of. | ||
Andylinn Member Username: Andylinn Post Number: 1070 Registered: 04-2006 |
Who called it!? (me) AWESOME NEWS! | ||
Rel Member Username: Rel Post Number: 779 Registered: 02-2008 |
I found it interesting that a small coffee shop had 8 partners... is this true? | ||
Lowell Moderator Username: Lowell Post Number: 2191 Registered: 09-2003 |
Wow, just when I was getting to like it. Yeah d-chef I hope I didn't jinx them. But whenever I hear "reopen down the line" that translates into very 'slim chance' from my experiences. I hope it 'ain't over til it's over'. $280 a day is not good but for a business that new, it is unrealistic. Not all businesses come in an hit it out of the park, like Slow's did, on their first at bat. It tells me they didn't have 'legs' going in or they have too many partners with too many vetoes. Tight money and tight pocketbooks with gloomy forecasts couldn't have helped their will. I sure hope they pull it together, because it is a really nice place with good food and coffee. The Great February Massacre continues... |
