Dearborn will soon be losing the Ritz-Carlton name, according to the Detroit Free Press.

In today’s edition, the paper reports that the Ritz-Carlton Dearborn has been sold to an investment group and will be managed by Greenwood Hospitality Group, a hotel investment and management company. As of June 2, it will no longer be a Ritz-Carlton, said Vivian Deuschl, a Ritz-Carlton spokeswoman.

Employees at the Ritz say the hotel will undergo a complete renovation and remain an upscale hotel but under a new name.

For the full story, click HERE.

LaPita Fresh on the campus of Wayne State University.

LaPita restaurant, the Dearborn gem that serves some of the tastiest food in town, is branching out to Canton.

The LaPita in Canton, Kasey Chammout’s third restaurant of the same name, will be located at Cherry Hill and Canton Center Road in a small strip mall. The store is expected to open later this summer.

The Canton restaurant will be smaller in size than the Dearborn location. It instead will be modeled after LaPita’s successful Detroit location called LaPita Fresh, just off the campus of Wayne State University.

The Wayne State location is less formal and serves some of the same tasty Mediterranean food as well as some unique offerings for university students. Canton will offer a similar menu and atmosphere.

We wish Kasey and the entire LaPita team the best of luck in their latest venture.

As a way to raise awareness about local small businesses in Dearborn, Dave Bowman, owner of networkdearborn.com, is kicking off a new promotion that he calls “Thousand Buck Thursdays.

While no one is going to win $1,000, Bowman says you can win a Dearborn T-shirt simply by shopping in Dearborn and then posting what you purchased, where you purchased it and how much you spent.

“Every third Thursday, let’s band together and shop in Dearborn on purpose,” Bowman says. “Every dollar counts as we try to get to $1,000. Simply go shopping and then post your details at http://networkdearborn.blogspot.com. Someone will win a fun Dearborn T-shirt as we work together to make a small difference for our city.”

Happy shopping.

Dearborn Councilman Robert Abraham

Dearborn Councilman Robert Abraham says the decision by Dearborn developer Hakim Fakhoury to put the properties held by his Dearborn Village Partners (DVP) corporation up for sale may turn-out to be a “blessing” for Dearborn business owners and entrepreneurs.

The councilman in December went to bat for DVP, penning a column here and in the local papers saying he supported a one-year extension of the preferred developer agreement Dearborn had with Fakhoury’s DVP. Chief among Abraham’s decision to support an extension was that there wasn’t a list of developers banging on Dearborn’s door to rebuild downtown West Dearborn. You can click HERE for that earlier column.

Abraham says it is unfortunate the plan presented by DVP never was able to get off the ground.

“Dearborn Village Partners, LLC has failed to deliver a complete proposal for the development site in West Dearborn to the Council and the Mayor,” said Abraham in a written statement. “The Mayor and the City Council have previously extended the Preferred Developers Agreement several times to accommodate the Developer and the drastic changes to the banking industry and the economic conditions.

“The most recent extension was granted by the Council in December 2009; this would allow DVP an additional year to submit a viable development and financing plan. It is very unfortunate for Dearborn, that the economic circumstances have derailed this project before it ever really began.

“The fact that many of the privately held buildings and properties on Michigan Avenue are now for sale, may turn-out to be a blessing for new Dearborn business owners and entrepreneurs looking for affordable locations in the West Dearborn Business District.

“I remain optimistic as we bring closure to the DVP agreement, that new opportunities can be discovered; let’s hope the glass is half full, and not half empty as so many believe.”

Some of the details to what contributed to the unraveling of the development are in the Sunday edition of the Dearborn Press & Guide. You can read that story and watch a video interview with Mr. Fakhoury by clicking HERE

Resident Hakim Fakhoury says 'dream' of developing downtown Dearborn is over.

If you’ve driven along Michigan Avenue this week you probably have seen signs hanging in the windows of some of the properties owned by developer Hakim Fakhoury with the following words: “The Dream is Over. For Sale.” Many of you have even written here asking what the signs meant.

Well, we sent a note straight to the source, Mr. Fakhoury, asking if he would pen a note explaining the meaning of the signs. He provided us this article, which begins below.

My name is Hakim Fakhoury, and I had a dream…

I had a dream… that Dearborn could become one of the most vibrant downtowns in Michigan.

I had a dream… that the city I have lived in nearly my whole life would be the place where I could invest the fruits of all my hard work.

I had a dream… that Dearborn’s leader would open their arms to a developer that is home-grown and seeks to make a better future for our city for generations to come.

I had a dream… that our mayor and city council could put aside personal and political differences, that petty political infighting would not cause the development of our city to come to a standstill. The inability of our leaders to have a vision has caused us to lag behind other cities, and make us unable to fully transition into the 21st century.

I had a dream… that our leaders would be smart to know what they don’t know, that they would hire professionals to develop master plans, that they would end corruption, the “old boys” network, an breathe new life into our community.

I had a dream… that we could redevelop our downtown into something that would appeal to everyone, attracting fresh young minds to make our city vibrant, livable, fun, and modern.

I had a dream… that I could buy buildings and then, in agreement with city officials, transform our city.

I had a dream… that the mayor and city council members would not lie, that they would be honest, that they would not manipulate each other, or play petty games, or include me in their internal feuds, and just be mature, with the city’s interests, and only the city’s interests, at the core of their decision-making.

I had a dream… but now the DREAM IS OVER for me… My hope is that another developer with come along, buy all my properties, pick up on my hard work, and move to develop the district…

Developer Burton-Katzman and the City of Dearborn are again at odds. This time over two crumbling concrete foundations slated for demolition, according to an article in the Dearborn Times-Herald

Burton-Katzman is already facing a court order to break ground on 12 condos and two midrise buildings between the city’s two underutilized parking decks. Wayne County Circuit Judge Michael Sapala said the company had to break ground no later than April 3.

Sapala’s order stems from Dearborn’s ongoing lawsuit against Burton-Katzman and several of the company’s executives for failing to complete its agreed-upon project on a city-owned parcel.

Now the City of Dearborn and a subsidiary of Burton-Katzman are in dispute over concrete foundation slabs.

The lawyers representing Burton-Katzman now tell the Times-Herald that if the city moves forward with demolition of the concrete slabs it would be “purposely interfering” with its ability to begin construction on April 3 as part of its court order.

The concrete slabs are to be the foundation for two six-unit condo buildings for the still unfinished West Village Commons project. The concrete pads, according to the Times-Herald, were poured more than two years ago.

Dearborn officials say the concrete foundations have now become a public safety hazard and need to be removed. If Burton-Katzman wants to stop the demolition, they need to provide an engineering report to the city to prove the concrete pads are suitable for holding the two six-unit condo buildings, the paper reports.

Trouble is the subsidiary of Burton-Katzman, on the hook to complete the engineering report and the construction, says it doesn’t have enough money to finance the necessary engineering reports, the Times-Herald says. You can read the full story by clicking HERE

Wendy's before the demolition. Dearborn Theatre is in the background.

The building that was once home of Wendy’s hamburgers at Michigan and Telegraph has been razed and is expected to be the future home of Sonic burgers.

The deal to land a Sonic at that intersection is about 90 percent complete, according to one city official.

. . . Wendy's after the demolition.

The long-closed Dearborn Theatre also is slated to be demolished. However, a date for the removal of that building isn’t yet know. As we have reported here once before, discussions have been ongoing about building a new Hampton Inn hotel on the site of the theatre complex.

The current Hampton Inn in Dearborn, just east of Brady on Michigan Avenue, will at some point have to operate under a different name as the hotel in its current design does not meet Hampton’s new corporate requirements.

In other development news, the government-run auction for the long-closed La Shish restaurant and adjoining Talal’s restaurant on Michigan Avenue was apparently held last week. No word yet on who submitted the winning bid but hopefully something soon will happen with that eyesore of a building.

And finally, the owners of Ciao, the restaurant on Monroe that was badly damaged in a fire nearly a year ago, tell us that they are close to inking a deal for a new building in a new location in west Dearborn. The popular Italian eatery could open in the second quarter of this year, if all goes as planned.

If you haven’t already heard, Comerica Bank announced it is cutting 300 jobs or about 3 percent of its workforce and closing six branch offices, including one in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights.

The branch closings will affect about 78 workers. The Dearborn branch being closed is located on Pelham and Outer Drive, according to Crain’s Detroit Business. About 80 percent of those workers will be transferred to other branches and those that do not find jobs will be given severance packages.

The other bank branches being closed are located at Nine Mile and Schoenherr roads in Warren; Cherry Hill and Inkster roads in Dearborn Heights; Livernois and Clarita in Detroit; and branches in Carleton and Lapeer. The closings are caused in part by the growing number of customers doing online banking, a spokeswoman for Comerica tells Crain’s.

We can all be relieved that the most beautiful Comerica Bank branch in Dearborn, located at Mason and Michigan, remains here as an anchor of the west Dearborn downtown. That branch has had a few names on the building.  At one point in the early 1900s it was the P.D. Lapham Bank. The bank was then sold to Henry Ford, who renamed it the Dearborn State Bank, which later became Manufacturers Bank and then finally Comerica Bank.

As for the job cuts, it isn’t clear how many of the 300 job eliminations will be from Michigan.

So another Dearborn store is closing.

Adventure Bicycle, 3806 Monroe in Dearborn.

Sadly, it is a story that seems to be playing out all too frequently these days. With every step towards a recovery we seem to make when a new business opens, it feels like two steps back when one closes.

That’s certainly how it feels with Clayton Hatchard having to close his Adventure Bicycle store on Monroe. The bicycle shop was a dream come true for Hatchard, who would have celebrated his third year in business this spring. Instead, he is holding a 50 percent-off sale on every item in his store, preparing to permanently close at month’s end.

“I take most of the blame for my store’s downfall,” said Hatchard, a 12-year bicycle sales veteran. “I really should have closed up last fall when my ‘kind hearted bank’ overnight turned my line of credit into a loan. But like a stubborn mule, I refused to give up and the past six months have been brutal.”

Adventure Bicycle owner Chad Hatchard remains upbeat about Dearborn's future.

Despite his rough ride, Hatchard remains refreshingly optimistic about Dearborn and his own future.

“I would open a business again if the circumstances were right,” he said. “And I would do it in Dearborn if the timing was right. I love Dearborn and I would never leave. I take at least fifty percent of the blame and the other fifty percent is completely out of my control.”

That’s not to say Hatchard hasn’t had his share of sleepless nights in the past year. There have been many, he says, but he was able to get through this tough period in his life because of the support of his wife and their 6-year-old son.

What you won’t hear from Hatchard is blame that his store closing was the result of paid parking in Dearborn. His customers parked for free directly outside his store. But that convenience couldn’t save his business. Interestingly, the same was true for Bikesport, a bicycle shop on Michigan Avenue in the heart of downtown west Dearborn that had free parking yet it, too, closed in November.

You also won’t hear Hatchard blame our city leaders, the location of his business or his landlord for the failure of his bike store (the building owners actually lowered his rent, he says, in his second year to try and help him). Instead,

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Deli On The Avenue is located on Military, just north of Michigan Avenue.

Vicki Barndollar says she has been in the food business for about 25 years. But it wasn’t until this year that the 1978 Fordson High School graduate decided to do what many people often talk about but never make the leap to do: open up their own business.

The Dearborn native and resident has done just that with her new Deli On The Avenue, a small but quaint deli shop at 949 Military, just south of Michigan Avenue across from Sacred Heart Church.

“I just wanted a business of my own,” Barndollar says. “I have been in the food business for about 25 years. Instead of working for someone else I decided it was time to open my own business.”

Deli On The Avenue serves up fresh sandwiches, soups and salads, daily. For just $5, patrons can get a nice sandwich, pickle spear and chips. Barndollar says that combo has been the house favorite in the three weeks she has been open. In addition to sandwiches, the deli also offers up muffins, cookies and fruit bowls.

Deli owner Vicki Barndollar, left, and her niece, Heather VanOast, serve up fresh sandwiches daily.

Barndollar previously managed a Moe’s Southwest Grill, helping open one of the chain’s restaurants in Southgate. Moe’s corporate offices put Barndollar through six weeks of training in Atlanta prior to having her manage their store. Prior to Moe’s she managed a hotel down south and spent nine years at the Senate Coney on Greenfield and Rotunda.

Deli On The Avenue does have a small number of free parking spaces at the rear of the building. The spaces are shared with the beauty salon, which is located at the rear of the deli. To access the parking lot, patrons need to use the driveway off Garrison, just east of Military. The city’s paid lot also offers the first 30 minutes free so those just wanting to drop in and order a sandwich can quickly do that, too.

There is outdoor seating alongside the Deli that Barndollar plans to use this spring. She said she wanted to put some seating directly outside of her store on Military but she said city officials, apparently from Building and Safety, told her that wasn’t allowed.

The same Building and Safety official she was dealing with also told her she couldn’t advertise the name of her business – Deli On The Avenue – on the awning over her store, despite the fact that other businesses around town already have names on their awnings. Finally, she was told that putting up a sandwich board to advertise her daily specials to motorists on Military also was off limits.

“They (Building and Safety) were harder to deal with than the Health Department,” Barndollar said.

These actions hardly seem welcoming for a small business owner trying to get started in Dearborn nor does it encourage others to locate in our city if this really is standard operating procedure. We fully understand there has to be rules in a downtown but Barndollar’s requests seem very reasonable and actually could improve the look of the area, particularly the outdoor seating.

Despite her start-up hurdles, Barndollar, to her credit, is very upbeat about finally having her own store in the city she was born and raised. “It is all about keeping it in your own town,” Barndollar says. We agree and wish Barndollar the best of luck with her new Deli On The Avenue.

Winter store hours for the Deli On The Avenue are: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday – Friday. Beginning in January, the Deli may stay open until 5 p.m. and be open on Saturdays, depending on traffic. For more information, call the Deli at: 313-274-4599.