February 23, 2012 – Fresh Corner Cafe
When I learned about this locally owned company, making fresh food more accessible to Detroit residents, it was hard to not get really excited. Fresh Corner Cafe is a company that handcrafts healthy grab-and-go food and distributes the meals to Detroit corner stores. The idea really is brilliant, especially given the lack of major grocery stores in Detroit.
Fresh Corner Cafe aggregates Detroit’s finest locally produced healthy foods into a single distribution that services liquor stores, gas stations, and small grocers in underserved areas and cafés and corporate offices in more affluent areas. Through bulk purchasing and a cross-subsidization model that charges higher prices to those who can afford them, FCC is able to provide affordable and high-quality café experiences in underserved areas throughout the city while strengthening the local food system.
With locations spread throughout Detroit, they’re popping up faster and faster.
Who’s behind Fresh Corner Cafe? Watch below!
For more information on Fresh Corner Cafe and to keep track of what they’re up to, make sure to visit their website, Facebook page and follow them on Twitter.
February 22, 2012 – Jazz Cafe at The Music Hall
The Jazz Café is the most significant contribution to music in southeastern Michigan in recent memory and “Jazzpolice.com” call it the most important jazz club to open in America this year.
When I first moved to Detroit, I was introduced to the Jazz Cafe by a friend. Located in the Music Hall, the Jazz Cafe consistently features some of the best live music I have ever seen. In addition to featuring a range of talent from local to global musicians, I really am grateful to them for keeping their website up-to-date so I always know what’s coming up. If you haven’t had a chance to see a performance yet, I highly suggest you check out their calendar and pick a date.
Currently, the Jazz Cafe is hosting a variety of events to accompany Fela! the musical.
For more information on the Jazz Cafe, make sure you visit their website, Facebook page or follow them on Twitter.
February 21, 2012 – Mexicantown
Today we explore another neighborhood in Detroit and a favorite one of mine. Comprised of many locally owned restaurants and businesses, Mexicantown is located Southwest of Downtown. According to Wikipedia:
Roughly, from Clark St. along W. Vernor Hwy. to Ste. Ann St., one block north of theAmbassador Bridge, Porter and Bagley, excluding the area within known as Hubbard farms.[2] With a 6.9 percent population rise to 96,000 from 1990 to 2000, the city’s revitalized Mexicantown has improved the local economy. About half the residents are Hispanic, 25% are African American, 20% are European American and 5% are Arab American, according to the Southwest Detroit Business Association.[26] It is known for Mexican cuisine at restaurants such as Mexican Village, Evie’s Tamales, El Zocalo and Xochimilco. Restaurants, bakeries, and shops are located on Vernor Highway. Mexicantown has had a thriving economy in the 2000s, as evidenced by new housing and increased business openings.[26] Clark Park, named for John Pearson Clark who donated much of the land to the city, borders the neighborhood.[25] Ste. Anne de Detroit Catholic Church is north of the Ambassador Bridge.
I personally love riding my bike around, grabbing food from my favorite family-owned restaurant, Taqueria El Rey and dessert from the Mexicantown Bakery. Also, Lupita’s Wash & Dry has gigantic washers and dryers that are very clean and reasonably priced. Model D has an excellent write-up on Mexicantown.
Mexicantown is a place where vibrantly colored buildings, decorated with even brighter murals and hand-painted signs, dot the main thoroughfares of Bagley and Vernor Streets. One might guess there are more restaurants per square foot than any other neighborhood in Detroit — but the smell of fresh tortillas and baked goods floating down the street provide the only proof. On any given day, the sounds of salsa or merenge come from Discoteca La Rancherita, and in the summer, people sit outside at restaurants — like the side patio at Los Galanes, where dangling plastic chili peppers and a live musician set a festive mood — sipping the best margaritas the city has to offer. [Keep reading...]
February 20, 2012 – Phillip Cooley
Starting this blog, I hoped to capture the positive events, places and people that are a part of Detroit. One individual in particular, Phillip Cooley, has worked tremendously hard to reinvigorate Detroit. Co-owner of the the favorite, Slow’s BBQ, Phil has his hands in a number of projects around the city.
Recently, according to Crain’s Detroit Business, Phil Cooley’s latest project is more than just another Corktown rehab:
When Phil Cooley bought the 80-year old vacant building at 1401 Vermont St. in Corktown for $100,000, he already had a vision for what it would be: a place where entrepreneurs, artists and urban pioneers can stake a claim in the renaissance of Detroit.
The 30,000-square-foot warehouse is now home to an eclectic group of like-minded individuals, from an old-fashioned typesetter from New York to a ship builder, a furniture maker, a fencing tutor, a dance group and more.
But perhaps the most interesting aspect is watching this patchwork of entrepreneurs pitch in to restore the building, a microcosm of what could potentially save the city.
In 2010, Huffington Post named Cooley “Greatest person of the day.” They go on to say:
For many, Detroit, known for its high unemployment rates and arguably dysfunctional local government, is the face of American urban decay. For Phillip Cooley, the young proprietor of Slows Bar BQ, a popular eatery there, Detroit is a city of opportunity.
Cooley, a former model who worked in places like Barcelona, Paris, Tokyo, and New York City, before moving back to Michigan to open his restaurant, bemoans the dearth of commercial options in his city: “Detroit is starved for commercial and small businesses,” he says. “There’s no Starbucks, and mostly mom and pop shops.” But where Detroit lacks, he says, there is room for massive revitalization, for building businesses, seeding ideas, and giving back on a very local level.
February 19, 2012 – Green Garage Detroit
Increasing community and supporting local businesses are some of highlights about today’s feature, Green Garage Detroit.
The Green Garage is a building in the Midtown area of Detroit that will help grow sustainable businesses. The building was built in 1920 and was originally used as a Model T showroom. The building is undergoing a historic and green renovation.
The Green Garage has developed as a new project located in the midtown area of Detroit. Think “silicon valley garage” focused on building world class skills for the “green collar” jobs and sustainability-based service and product businesses of the future. It will link the next generation of this region to what will likely be the most important work of their generation…that is, making our way of life more sustainable. This work is already becoming the fastest growing sector of every business segment today from green power to organic foods, to clean water, to hybrid cars. Detroit, and Michigan, need to be a part of this. We think this is how we can attract and retain the best and brightest to our region. We want to do our part to help.
We have purchased a great old building in the Midtown area of Detroit, Michigan. This building had most recently been used as a warehouse, but in the 1920′s it was a showroom for Model T-based automobiles, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Right now, we have completed a green renovation of it, while keeping true to its historic origins. We are renting business and workshop space to green businesses.
The Detroit Free Press reports the Green Garage is working to promote green building methods in these ways:
• Reuse: The building’s old steam pipes will be used with wood to build its staircase. The insulation is used, found on the Internet. It costs 14 cents a square foot compared with 35 cents for new insulation.
• Drainage under the parking lot that will let rainwater percolate to the water table instead of flowing to storm sewers.
• Zero-energy: The Green Garage expects to generate as much energy as it uses. The building is to be heated using solar panels used to heat water tanks. The water will be distributed through a heating system installed under the floor — all supported by a geothermal heat pump for cloudy days.
To find out more about the Green Garage Detroit and what they’re working on, make sure to visit their website, Facebook page or follow them on Twitter.
February 18, 2012 – Live in Peace
Each day we have a choice about how we want to view our life condition. When people decide to fully embrace what’s within, it’s inspiring to see what transpires. In Detroit, Shaka Senghor has a lot to be proud about. Overcoming struggles he had faced earlier in life, Shaka is determined to work with youth in Detroit and allow them to see their own potential.
Shaka Senghor was on a bad road traveling fast when the knock came at his door.
At 18, he was selling drugs for a living and had been shot about a year earlier on a corner in Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood, so Senghor was carrying a gun when a friend came by with two strangers.
“I refused to sell them drugs,” Senghor recalled. “I got into an argument and told them to get off the block. We made threats back and forth … I shot several times and tragically caused his death.”
He tragically caused a death. That’s how Senghor describes it now. But in 1991, he killed a guy. Was charged with second-degree murder. Got sentenced to 17-40 years. A month after his 19th birthday. His girlfriend was three months pregnant.
Senghor is the kind of guy that used to be written off. But everybody gets second chances. His came eight years later in a letter from his son. [continue reading...]
[Now] Senghor wants his students to “take control of their own destinies through literature.”
His project, Live in Peace Digital and Literary Arts Project, recently won the Black Male Engagement Leadership Awards from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in partnership with the Open Society Foundations’ Campaign for Black Male Achievement.
“Live in Peace Digital and Literary Arts Project” is a 12-week program led by Shaka Senghor. It is designed to create a critical dialogue among youth around issues such as abuse, abandonment, addiction, domestic violence, consequences, emotional development, and personal transformation. Shaka uses his experiences as a launching pad and leads participants in exercises that challenge destructive thinking patterns and behaviors and encourage peaceful resolution to life’s problems. Many of our youth are yearning for the guidance and instruction of someone who understands their struggle and can relate to their story. I’ve been where many of them are and I know where that path leads. I often reflect on the tragedy of my youth and the destructive path that led me to prison and realize that there is no greater time than now for me to use my voice and the power of digital media and literary arts to counteract the culture of gun violence that has robbed our youth of their innocence and holds our communities hostage.
The program follows the following timeline:
Weeks 1 and 2 Reclaiming the Innocence of Childhood
Weeks 3 and 4 Addressing the Causes and Consequences of Teenage Addiction and Violence
Weeks 5 and 6 Victimization and Accountability
Weeks 7 and 8 Prison Industrial Complex and the Impact of Incarceration on Families and Communities
Weeks 9 and 10 Transforming Self, Transforming Others
Weeks 11 and 12 Writing Freedom
Each week, participants will read and discuss writings from “Live in Peace: A Youth Guide to Turning Hurt into Hope.” They will then be given an opportunity to write about and document their experiences using poetry, essays, photography and film. Short field trips are incorporated to allow participants to shoot footage at a variety of locations across the city. At the end of the program, participants will compile all of their work and produce a digital media project and anthology of their writing. Through these two creative mediums, participants will highlight their experience and show how arts can be a catalyst for peaceful living.
To find out more information about Shaka or Live in Peace, make sure to read the recent Detroit Free Press article, find him on Facebook or visit his website.
February 17, 2012 – 313HappyHour #16
One of my favorite things about this city is how eager people are to network, connect and find reasons to gather. 313HappyHour does just that. A weekly event that takes place at venues throughout the city, 313HappyHour not only brings people together, but helps drive business and local restaurants and bars. Some of their previous locations have been at The Majestic, Northern Lights Lounge, The Bronx, The Whitney, Andiamo and Temple Bar. When’s the next one going to be? This Sunday! Where? Foran’s Grand Trunk Pub!
To make sure you’re up-to-date on the whereabouts of upcoming happy hours, make sure to check out 313HappyHour’s Facebook page or follow them on Twitter. See you Sunday at the 16th happy hour at Foran’s Grand Trunk Pub!
February 16, 2012 – Pay It Forward Initiative
“Employing, Educating and Empowering” were the 3 words that really caught my eye with this Detroit project. Recently, a friend passed on an article about Pay it Forward Initiative’s Executive Director, Charlie Cavell. As an individual who has an incredibly positive outlook on the city, it was my intention to feature him and his work here on Detroit Half Full. About two days later, while getting some work done at Thistle Coffee House, I ran into Charlie. He was more than willing and excited to share about his project:
The Pay it Forward Initiative strives to transform young adults (ages 18-24) living in Detroit who have been a part of the Foster Care program and/or live below the poverty line. The Pay it Forward Initiative’s main objective has always been to provide employment to our target population. We do this through establishing internships at local businesses and non-profit organizations that we have targeted as being in-need of new employees or building capacity. To support our interns and allow for the most success, we have incorporated into our program entrepreneurship and financial management classes. These classes are held on 10 Saturdays over the course of the 16 week program. In addition to the employment and educational components mentioned, we have counseling following a one-to-one format for each of our interns. This is how we Employ, Educate, and Empower!
Who we help:
- 18-24 year old
- Detroit Residents
- Aging out of Foster care and/or Current Government Housing Residents
- High School Diploma/GED
- Living below poverty line ($11,161)
- Local for-profit & non-profit organizations
What we do:
EMPLOY, EDUCATE, EMPOWER!
EMPLOY:
EDUCATE:
Here are the titles of the first 3 classes out of the 10 our program offers. Each class is taught by Wayne State School of Business Faculty members!
Class Overview Class 1: Why are these classes important? Class 2: Why businesses succeed/fail Class 3: Foundations for long-term success: Intra-preneuring and entrepreneuring
EMPOWER:
1.) Weekly counseling to help support interns goals!
2.) Micro-Fund:
To further support our interns, PIFI has set aside a portion of our $80,000 budget to administer a micro-fund. At the conclusion of the internship, interns with the assistance of their guidance counselor will be encouraged to fulfill their goals established during program participation. Intern goals may include educational, entrepreneurship or other areas. For example-If the intern chooses to further their education PIFI may pay for former interns’ books up-to a maximum of $550 once certain milestones have been met.
Costs Per-Intern: Program Calendar:
Month January Secure $Recruit internsFinalize Partners February Secure $Place interns March* Run Program April * Run Program May* Run Program June * Run Program July Final Evaluation August
- 16 Week program stipend: $2,400
- Instructor: $50
- Curriculum Development costs: $75
- Administrative costs: $724
- Overhead: $600
Average cost of intern:
$4,000
How this helps:
Partner Non-profits & Businesses by providing:
- Employment support to fill gap in staff/costs
- Viable and experienced employment candidates for your organization following internship
- Intern arrives at interview with Qualifications Packet, after a three round interview process to insure a good fit for all
Interns by providing:
- 16 Week Job-matching Internship
- Entrepreneurship & Financial management classes
- Weekly guidance Counseling
- Weekly pay
- Transportation stipend
- Micro-Fund to support interns during internship if unforeseen problems arise
- Micro-Fund Open Scholarship at conclusion of program to maintain support
Find out more about the Pay It Forward here!
February 15, 2012 – Detroit Red Wings
A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.
Wayne Gretzky
Detroit is known for making history. Yesterday, the Red Wings did just that. They set the NHL record for the most consecutive home wins. How many? 21! I’m not going to lie, I really know very little about sports. It’s something that interests me, but I wouldn’t know where to begin for explaining the details… However, that doesn’t mean a sense of pride comes over me hearing how a team came together and accomplished something so monumental. Sports have the ability to bring up communities, instill a sense of responsibility and allow people opportunities beyond what they sometimes thought were possible. Given my lack of knowledge about sports, I’ll hand it over to Mitch Albom’s article about the event that recently took place:
T wenty-one! Twenty-one! …”
There was snow on the ground and empty streets throughout Detroit. Tuesday night in February is a hard sell for any business.
“Twenty-one! Twenty-one! …”
But inside Joe Louis Arena, it was buzzing like a summer weekend, a team, a sport and a crowd on fire, alive with the unique jolt of making history while being aware of it.
“Twenty-one! Twenty-one! …”
The anthem was sung, the puck was dropped, and before you knew it, Nicklas Lidstrom, the Red Wings’ captain, got it to Pavel Datsyuk, the alternate captain, who flicked it to Henrik Zetterberg, the other alternate captain (talk about your stars aligning!), who banged it past the Dallas goalie and straight into the record books. [Read More...]
For those similar to myself with their lack of sports knowledge… here’s a little background:
The roots of the Red Wings go all the way back to the old Western Hockey League, where the Victoria (British Columbia) Cougars were members until their roster was sold to a group from Detroit on September 25, 1926. The Detroit group had been awarded an NHL franchise on May 15, 1926.
The team began to play as the Detroit Cougars in the fall of 1926 while playing its home games in Windsor, Ontario. Despite the fact that the Victoria Cougars had won the Stanley Cup in 1925 and were Cup finalists in 1926, the Detroit Cougars finished 12-28-4; the NHL’s worst record for the 1926-27 season.
Not only did the team struggle on the ice, but it performed poorly on the ledger sheet as well where the Cougars were more than $80,000 in debt.
Help came, the following season, in the form of Jack Adams as the team’s coach and general manager. Adams had played in the old Pacific Coast league and in the NHL with the Toronto St. Pats and the Ottawa Senators. Adam’s tenure as coach and GM would last until the 1962-63 season, when Sid Abel took over.
The team also moved into the brand new Olympia Stadium for the 1927-28 season. A Detroit and professional hockey landmark, the Olympia would serve as the home for the franchise through the midway point of the 1979-80 season. With Adams at the helm, the team made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history (1928-29).
Watch a few of the highlights from the Red Wing’s history below:
February 14, 2012 – InsideOut Literary Arts Project
Words Have Wings – Blair from Jeremy Olstyn on Vimeo.
In a city with as much creative talent and youth as Detroit has, it’s inspiring to find an organization who’s true aim is to cultivate and support its members. InsideOut Literary Arts Project is a one of a kind program, affecting positive change in Detroit.
Get Versed from Jeremy Olstyn on Vimeo.
Our name tells our story. “We are bringing what is inside of us out into the ,” students said back in 1995, explaining the name they chose to define this once grassroots arts project, founded by award-winning poet & educator, Dr. Terry Blackhawk.IO now serves 5,000 + K-12 youth in over 30 schools per year, through a celebrated teaching model aligned with state standards in language arts education.IO creates a professionally printed literary journal for each school served.Teens in Citywide Poets, IO’s after school poetry workshop, perform for local audiences in the thousands and travel across the US to meet and compete with other youth.IO’s alumni groups, the Citywide Agents , volunteer to develop their skills as poetry leaders and take their love of poetry to vulnerable youth in community settings.CharterOne bank recently named IO it’s first Champion in Action, a salute to IO’s reach across the city and its unique model of addressing literacy through the arts of literary self-expression. IO’s students have been invited and performed twice at The White House. In 2009, the President’s council on the arts awarded IO a prestigious Coming Up Taller Award during a ceremony that included First Lady Michelle Obama.Ask IO’s founder Dr. Terry Blackhawk to sum up IO and she says: ” We teach children to discover the beauty of their voices and to write a better world through their words.”
InsideOut Literary Arts Project proudly presents Scratch the Page, a reading series featuring national guest writers invited to Detroit to workshop with high school poets, ages 13 to 18. During the day the guest writer works alongside young poets daring enough to test their words with a professional author.
A public reading follows each workshop.
About our guest:
Gregory Pardlo is the author Totem and an alum of Cave Canem, an acclaimed fellowship for emerging African American poets. Pardlo’s most recent collection, Totem, won the American Poetry Review’s Honickman First Book Prize. He is also a recipient of New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship in poetry. His poems and reviews have appeared in Calalloo, Black Issues Book Review, Lyric and Ploughshares to name a few.Scratch The Page is sponsored in part by Poets & Writers magazine and Detroit’s Westin Book Cadillac Hotel.
A $5 donation is suggested for the reading to help IO continue the series
*There are slots available for youth 13-18 interested in the workshop. Contact IO Community Projects Coordinator, Aricka Foreman: aricka.foreman@gmail.com.
A Poet in Every Classroom from insideoutdetroit on Vimeo.
Produced as an Undergraduate Research Project through Wayne State’s Honors College by WSU instructor Joel Silvers and Department of Film Studies student Erik Daniel, “A Poet in Every Classroom” explores the unique dynamic between instructors and students. An accomplished documentary filmmaker, Silvers’ previous work has covered the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and aired on Detroit Public Television. Through engaging interviews with writers and footage of InsideOut classrooms, the film uncovers the creative writing techniques that result in award-winning student poetry.
Also, another great even coming up with IO takes place at the Peacock Room on February 23, 2012. They’ll have a Sonnets, Shopping & Champagne salon as a public benefit to help IO raise funds as part of a $25,000 matching grant from a Hollywood filmmaker, Bob Shaye. Come for the fun . It’s free. Really, why would you not go???
Want to find out more about InsideOut Literary Arts Project? Make sure you visit their website or Facebook Page. Also, don’t forget to RSVP for Scratch the Page.
