Cigar aficionados will soon have a new place to buy and smoke cigars. A vacant building along Michigan Avenue will soon be the home of a new cigar bar called Cigaro Lounge.

Ashraf Abbas is working on a plan to transform the small vacant building at 22037 Michigan Ave., the former site of the Hob Nob Gallery, into a cigar bar, which would be located next to the Double Olive martini bar and the closed La Shish restaurant.

The planned cigar bar would serve coffee, tea, sodas some desserts but there are no plans at this time to serve alcohol at this location. There also would be an outdoor patio lounge, similar to the one currently operated by the Double Olive.

The 1,500 square foot building is expected to offer comfortable seating inside for cigar and hookah fans, along with music and television sets.

Burton-Katzman, the Bingham Farms-based developer being sued by the city of Dearborn for not completing a multi-million dollar downtown residential-retail complex, has been named the developer of $146 million Unity Studios project in Allen Park.

According to Crain’s Detroit Business, Jimmy Lifton, the brainchild of the development and founder of Burbank, Calif.-based Oracle Post said Burton-Katzman was chosen from among many developers who submitted proposals.

The media studio, retail and residential development will be built on 104 acres in Allen Park.

“Many developers submitted proposals to us in what was a vigorous competition to be selected as the firm that would build Unity Studios,” Lifton said in the Crain’s article. “Burton-Katzman turned in a compelling proposal that not only gives us a solid partner in the construction phase but also an equity partner in the studios and village. It was the best proposal for those and other reasons.”

Peter Burton, principal at Burton-Katzman, who is named in the Dearborn lawsuit, told Crain’s that his company is thrilled to be serving as both the developer and builder of Unity Studios.

“Unity Studios is not only an extraordinarily attractive business venture for Burton-Katzman, it also represents a new source of opportunity and hope for all of southeast Michigan, and we are proud to be associated with it,” Burton said in a press release.

In April, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority board today approved a high-technology tax credit worth $2.8 million over 12 years for the project.

The 750,000-square-foot production facility will also include the full spectrum of production, post-production and related infrastructure and part of it will be built on the 630,000-square-foot office and engineering center at 16630 Southfield Road, adjacent to the Allen Park’s city hall. The property was formerly the Visteon Technical Center.

The project is expected to employ 3,000 skilled workers and 83 management positions.

A vacant building in Dearborn at the corner of Greenfield and Ford Road is now the home of a new Leo’s Coney Island restaurant that will employ some 40 people.

Owner Ken Vlahadamis said more than 400 people applied for the 40 jobs at his restaurant.

The owner of the new Leo’s Coney Island said his restaurant was overwhelmed with more than 400 applications for employment, yet another sign of the critical shape of today’s economy.

The smoke-free restaurant – in the home of a former Baker’s Square – is owned by Ken Vlahadamis, in partnership with Bill Kanellopolous and Tony Gamoloush. As the new implies, the new restaurant will serve the Coney Islands basics such as fries, burgers and Greek salads but it also will include a wide selection of homemade dishes, including Greek specialties, halal meats, breakfast items and a kids menu. Many of the menu selections are available for off-site catering.

“We’re excited about being in Dearborn and partnering with the local community,” said Vlahadamis, who has been in the restaurant business for 12 years. “Our mission, in addition to serving great food, is to support local events and worthwhile causes, so we look forward to meeting our neighbors and learning how we can participate.”

Leo’s Coney Island in Dearborn is located at 5575 Greenfield Road and is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday, and from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
For more information, click HERE or call 313-253-0200.

It’s not often you can find a way to successfully turn a love for a sport into a profession but Ray Vipond appears to have done just that at his store at 23920 Carlysle in Dearborn.

Edsel Ford graduate Ray Vipond opened The Fight Shop in January.

The 29-year-old Dearborn resident opened The Fight Shop in January and has been going strong since. Now, truth be told, it’s not a store for the average Joe.

 But if you are an amateur boxer in Metro Detroit looking for equipment or a fan of boxing or amateur mixed martial arts, this is your dream come true. You’ll find every imaginable boxing brand in Vipond’s store, along with the staples of boxing: shoes, handwraps, mouth guards, gloves and heavy bags. Later this summer, the store will be adding a line of karate clothing. He also carries a huge line of T-Shirts for those who love boxing and mixed martial arts.

A 1997 Edsel Ford High School graduate, Vipond is no stranger to boxing as his grandfather was a golden glove champion in Michigan. But he didn’t actually get into the ring as an amateur until 2004. As amateur boxers aren’t allowed to be paid, Vipond worked a 40 hour work week and then went to the Dynamic Boxing Club in Garden City to train.

He fought for three years until in 2007 he realized he was “too old” to be an amateur boxer. Most enter the profession between 16 and 18 years of age. But during his time at the various gyms around Metro Detroit, he did learn a lot about what the sport lacks in Michigan — a dedicated store for boxers to shop.

And so The Fight Shop was born. After months of research and trying to find a location, Vipond went from the ring to behind the register.

“A lot of this came from my experience as an amateur boxer,” Vipond said. “There was no store to visit to try on shoes or gloves so you were mail ordering and it was hit or miss.” So instead of  ordering the wrong size boxing shoe or improperly fitting gloves out of a catalog, fighters will now have an alternative way of getting the items they need, he says.

Vipond admits his store serves a narrow band of customers but what he does have is the right product for a group that currently isn’t being served with USA Boxing and AIBA-approved equipment.

Why does Vipond love a sport that seems so violent? He had this to say about that topic in a posting on his blog earlier this year.

“Boxing fans are a different breed, cut from a different cloth. When all is said and done, it’s legalized violence. It requires us to enjoy something most people strive to avoid, hand-to-hand combat. Boxing challenges us to face the natural instinct of fight or flight  . . .  But why do we love it so much? I for one love the individuality. You have no teammates to turn to, no timeouts, no one coming off the bench. It’s you versus him. Who’s better? Who trained harder? Who wants it more? I like that one punch can change an entire fight. Where a man can be out-boxed for 12 rounds and at the very end, land that one home-run punch . . .”

Vipond appears to be landing the right punches now, doing all the right things to get his store on the radar of the 25 boxing and another 25 mixed martial arts gyms in southeast Michigan. The fact he was once an amateur boxer himself has given him access to many of these gyms. So Vipond and his store are now well known in these circles as the place to go for equipment and to meet with someone who actually understands the sport.  In addition, he is a sponsor at nearly every amateur boxing event and gives out plenty of T-shirts with his store’s name.

His hard work appears to be paying off for him.

The Fight Shop is located at 23920 Carlysle (at Telegraph, between Michigan Avenue and Van Born Road) in Dearborn. Contact the store at (313) 278-5770 or visit online by clicking HERE

An artist rendering of the new medical center planned for completion in 2010.

We’ve written a lot on these pages about the development planned at the corner of Michigan and Schaefer. While we were sad to see the Montgomery Ward building destroyed, it’s now time to turn the page and make way for a new medical center that is set to open in 2010.

On Wednesday, April 29, officials from the City of Dearborn, Oakwood Healthcare, Midwest Health Clinic and Redico Development will join to take part in the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Dearborn Town Center development — a $70 million mixed use development that will offer medical care, retail and, later down the road when the economy improves, senior living.

Among those scheduled to take part in the groundbreaking will be Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr., Brian Connolly from Oakwood Healthcare, Dr. Mark Saffer from Midwest Health Clinic and Dale Watchowski from Redico Development Company. 

The event begins at 11 a.m. with speeches at the Arab American National Museum, just across the street from the development site. The group will then move across the street for the photo op at the actual site and future home of the Dearborn Town Center.

During these tough economic times, seeing such a development get underway in our city is a good thing. We wish it well.

Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr., helps celebrate the grand opening of Deliziosa To Go. Pictured here are (from left): Marlene Lemire from the Dearborn Chamber, Council members George Darany and Nancy Hubbard; owner Hassane Awada; Mayor O’Reilly and the Dearborn Chamber's Peggy Richard, Renee Aloe, Jennifer Giering and Larry Stock.

Among the restaurants that make our short list of favorites in Dearborn is Deliziosa, which consistently serves up some of the best food in town and always with great service.

Now you can get that same Mediterranean and Italian food delivered, thanks to the addition of a second restaurant, Deliziosa to Go, 13241 Warren, which just last week had its official ribbon-cutting ceremony with Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr.

The original Deliziosa at 22439 Michigan Ave., just west of Military, opened back in 2005.

But for those who don’t have time for a sit down meal or are looking for fast delivery (if you’re in the delivery range, that is) late at night, there now is Deliziosa to Go, on Warren between Jonathon and Schaefer.

Think of it as gourmet-food to go, courtesy of owner Hassane Awada, who studied culinary arts in Lebanon and then combined his love of Mediterranean food with Italian favorites to create his fantastic menu.

For more information about Deliziosa to Go, call 584-8554. For the original Deliziosa, call 277-4990.

Dearborn has a rich history of stories about immigrant families who have come to our city and established small restaurants to feed the neighborhood and workers at Ford Motor Co.

The Rugiero family are one of those great success stories. And this year their restaurant, the Roman Village, marks its 45th anniversary in the south side of Dearborn at 9924 Dix, east of Miller Road.

Enrica Rugiero and her husband Antonio came to America in 1962 and two years later borrowed $2,000 to open a small pizzeria and Roman Village was born. Antonia recently passed away but Enrica and her son, Antonio Rugiero Jr., continue the tradition of serving some of the best Italian food in Metro Detroit.

Today the family has four restaurants — the original Roman Village Cucina Italiana plus Antonio’s Cucina Italianas in Dearborn Heights, Canton and Farmington Hills.

In this interview with Dearborn Councilwoman Nancy Hubbard, Enrica Rugiero and her son, Antonio Rugiero Jr., talk about the secrets of their success.

As part of their 45th anniversary celebration, the family through April 17 is offering patrons a meal for 45 cents when you purchase the first one at regular price. Throughout the remainder of the year, the restaurant will continue to offers specials as part of its anniversary. As Antonio Rugiero Jr. says, “my father always said that it is very important to give back to those who have been there to support you in the last 45 years.”

If you haven’t had a chance to visit Roman Village, we strongly recommend you do. It is one of those hidden gems in Dearborn. For more information you can call the restaurant at 313-842-2100 or get directions by clicking HERE

It's off to Allen Park for Toys R Us.

Another Dearborn business is planning to close and move its operation to the top of the landfill in Allen Park.

This time it is the Toys R Us at 24411 Michigan Ave., just north of Telegraph.

And while some may be sad to see this store go, the reality is that in the long run it could prove to be best for Dearborn.

Officials at the store tell us that current plans did call for construction to begin in Allen Park this spring but because of current economic conditions that could be delayed a year. The new store in Allen Park will be a combined Toys R Us and Babies R Us, store officials say.

The Dearborn location of Toys R Us was usually messy inside and customer service was mixed. In a way, it kind of matched the building it was located in, a depressing-looking white, single story mall anchored on the opposite end by a Chuck E. Cheese’s. Only a dentist’s office sits between Chuck E. Cheese’s and the Toys R Us. The rest of the building is vacant.

Across the parking lot to the west of Toys R Us is a boarded up Pep Boys. To the east is a boarded up and closed Dearborn Theatre, Wendy’s restaurant and a now a Dunkin’ Donuts shop whose windows are covered with black plastic and outdoor signage in white plastic.

Dunkin' Donuts is covered and closed.

The silver lining in all of this might be that with all of these businesses closing the opportunity exists for someone to come along and flatten this entire mess of misfit buildings and actually put something of consequence in this very desirable location. With easy access to Telegraph Road, one could envision something such as a Costco or even an IKEA considering such a location. 

Sure it is hard to image this now in these hard financial times. But if city leaders can begin to think about what to do with this area — working with the current property owners and talking with other large retail businesses — Dearborn will be in a better position when we come out of this downturn to actually make something happen here.

Let’s hope our city leaders seize this opportunity.

It isn't clear how soon or what will move in, but the sign promises it all.

A Dearborn eyesore vacant for more than a decade will be redeveloped, according to owner Norm Newman.

As we reported here a couple days ago (for first story click HERE), the long vacant Inca and Pier 1 buildings owned by Norm Newman on Newman Street appear to be getting prepared for new construction. White paper was pasted over the glass windows of the store fronts last weekend. Now new signs have been added saying a “Redevelopment Coming Soon.”

It isn’t yet clear what will go into the buildings or how soon, but speculation still centers around the possibility of a grocery store occupying the two vacant properties. Newman officials confirm a new large store is coming but so far remain coy about the exact type of business only saying that it could be operational in about a year.

New white paper now covers the front glass of the vacant Inca and Pier 1 buildings. Is it a sign of future progress or just paper?

We’re not quite sure what, if anything,  is going on with the long vacant Inca computer store building on Newman street in Dearborn but new white paper is now covering the store’s glass front.  

That’s usually a sign construction is taking place inside.  Unless, that is, it’s a property owned by Norm Newman. Then all bets are off because nothing is quite typical with a Newman-owned property.

And the Inca building is just that, a Newman property. So too is the adjoining and vacant Pier 1 store, which also has new white paper covering its glass front. We stopped to look inside (conveniently, there are carefully cut viewing squares in the white paper for passersby to look inside) and both buildings are just as deserted as they were when the white paper wasn’t taped to the glass. However, we are keeping our fingers crossed something might emerge.

We have heard all sorts of rumors about what might go into these two vacant buildings, including a new grocery store that would occupy both properties (including German store chain Aldi, who offers food at prices below Wal-Mart).  But without confirmation from Mr. Newman, it still is just that, a rumor. We haven’t yet been able to reach Newman to inquire what might be happening to these buildings — one of many vacant eyesores he owns in Dearborn — but when we do we will post it here.  Stay tuned . . .