Detroit Metblogs » Mollika*

Tim Horton’s + Detroit = Dream Come True

Mollika* — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 16:30:13 +0000

Well, the weather outside is frightful to say the least. The river is moving at a snail’s pace, hampered by the sheets of ice that have formed on top of it. The thought of venturing out is scary, but there is a bigger incentive at hand. A dream of mine has finally come true, with no doing of mine. Detroit has its first Tim Horton’s and it is so conveniently located at the Millender Center on the People Mover route. I had been writhing with jealously for the past few years as locations had popped up all around the city but not yet in the city. Thank you former Detroit Piston Derrick Coleman and his business partner Walter Bender for opening Tim Hortons’ 500^th restaurant here in Detroit city. This particular location took over a space that was abandoned by a Starbucks. I am now getting greedy, and it would be great if Tim Horton’s could take over the other location abandoned by Starbucks, at the Belle Isle bridge, on Jefferson. I am about to walk out the door and get myself a cup of deliciousness.

Tree Lighting Scare

Mollika* — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:27:31 +0000

Yesterday I was driving down Woodward and saw the snowflake adornments for the lampposts for the first time this season. I was hoping I was not to late in regards to seeing the tree lighting; I was happy to see that the tree was just being assembled. However, as I was driving down Woodward this evening, my heart sank to see that the tree was lit. Every year I want to make the tree lighting and it looked like it was too late. I must have just seen a trial because the official lighting takes place on the 21^st of this month.

Entrepreneurial Detroit: E2 Detroit

Mollika* — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:29:06 +0000

The E2 conference was held early last week on Wayne State University’s campus. The conference boasted record numbers and was a very well run conference. The focus of the fourth annual conference was business in the Detroit region. Conference goers were inspired by stories of successful business and entrepreneurs in the region. My two favourite speakers were Mary Ellen Sheets, of Two Men and a Truck, and David Brandon, CEO of Dominos Pizza.

Mary Ellen was so touching in her presentation of her struggles to make ends meet after her husband left her with a houseful of teenagers. She confided that her husband left to get some bread and never came home; “a 23 year old loaf of bread.” Her story was a winding road to success. Her family was instrumental in getting the business by during tough times and being guinea pigs in franchising. She divided her first thousand between her 10 favourite charities. Today Mary Ellen is a multi-million dollar success with an international franchise empire under her belt.

David Brandon of Domino’s was beyond charming. He told a tale of working in a Domino’s store on New Year’s Eve before Y2K (does anyone even remember that?) because he did not want to tell his employees to work this monumental day and not do so himself. Everything from the cardboard-like uniform pants to the difficult prosciutto pizza topping was a challenge and an eye-opening experience. Today, he lives by the Dave rule. If he cannot make a product or get through a process, it is not going out the door.

We in Michigan are losing jobs left, right, and center; however, we still have the power to create. What better time than now?

Detroit Ties

Mollika* — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:07:22 +0000

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This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending a friend’s wedding in Maine. The bride is the reason this site exists and the reason I write for this site as well. She was the one who opened my eyes to this city, for which I will be forever grateful. The bride is originally from Maine and the couple lives in the Detroit area. Even out in Maine, her home-state, my girl made sure to represent. The groomsmen were wearing ties by local Detroit artist Bethany Shorb who silk-screens ties through the Cyberoptix TieLab. All the wedding party was wearing one colour of tie while the groom had a distinct colour of his own. It is going to be tough choosing which ties to give to the men in my life. I might have to ruin the surprise and have them choose themselves.

Rising Airport Costs

Mollika* — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:17:29 +0000

I was out of town this weekend my love of travelling nearly dashed. I flew out of Detroit Metropolitan Airport as I have many a time, but this time I was met with some outrageous prices. Booking my ticket online was painful enough but understandable given inflated fuel costs. Then realizing that I had to pay to check my luggage was some more salt in the wound. I would have been able to take my backpack if not for the 3-1-1 rule of airborne liquids. I know next time to just take my glasses and buy contact lens solution at my final destination given that checking one bag each way put me back $30 on Northwest. Driving is usually the easiest method to get to the airport. The bus is the cheapest, and not unpleasant in the least if you have an hour and a half to get downtown. As I was driving towards the airport my blood was boiling. The Blue Deck is now proudly advertised at the reasonable $10.00/day and boasts the advantage of being a covered lot. However, all other parking lots on the airport campus are also charging $10.00 per day. Where is the value? Also, only three years ago the price was $6 and it has been slowly creeping up dollar by dollar. Not understandable. How does the price of fuel affect a parking structure? Fine, I suppose some expenses go up to operate the shuttles. Either way, it seems that air travel will soon only be reserved for the rich so I had better get all my travelling in now or get rich really soon to maintain my habit.

Bad Boy Bill at Bleu

Mollika* — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:57:21 +0000

Last Friday I was appalled to have had to wait in line to get into a club downtown. I spent my entire university undergraduate career waiting in lines in subzero temperatures with very little on. These days, I love seeing demand in Detroit with the bright eyed youth waiting the same way I did, but I love also just being able to get into where I want without delay. Lucky for me the wait to get into Club Bleu was well worth the wait, the $20 cover, and the $4 bottles of water. DJ Bad Boy Bill was headlining and spinning house to a packed club. The music was incredible and the devotion of the crowd bordered on worship. Moral of the story: I need to get over myself, wait in a line or two, and swallow my pride when I am floored by my reward.

Feather Bowling and Britney Spears

Mollika* — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:24:49 +0000

Just a couple of blocks down the street from the Blue Pointe Restaurant, on Cadieux, is the appropriately named Cadieux Café. Last night, one half of the bar was being regaled by a very enthusiastic young man singing Britney Spears’ “Toxic” up on the karaoke stage. Wednesday nights are karaoke nights. The other half of the bar is where the feather bowling takes place. Imagine giant wheels of Gouda being rolled down a dirt half-pipe to get as close to a pigeon feather as possible. Quite a hilarity with inexperienced bowlers and added alcohol.

Blue Pointe Restaurant – Eating My Way Through Detroit

Mollika* — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:21:46 +0000

As of late it seems that I have been eating my way through Detroit. Well, to be honest and invite shame, I have been eating my way through the city since I got here. Last night I was introduced to Blue Pointe on the east side – at Cadieux and Warren. I have driven by that corner a thousand times and never noticed the blue maritime style gem. The interior is perfectly preserved, old fashioned, with a bar, in dark wood, and bathed in dim lighting. The $16 and change one pound crab leg special was the draw, and was well worth the trip; but, the fall off the bone ribs will be what gets me back.

Sushi in Midtown – Wasabi

Mollika* — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:46:05 +0000

Midtowners now have the luxury of having sushi in the neighbourhood. The base floor of the Park Shelton now boasts the presence of Wasabi restaurant. The marble flooring of the Park Shelton is not an obvious paring for the minimalistic Japanese décor; however, the effect is decadent. The service yesterday was unfortunately terribly slow as first day kinks were being worked out. Despite the delay, the staff was quite courteous and apologetic and the food was well worth the wait. The sushi was delicious – the Philadelphia and spicy California rolls. The appetizers which came out after the sushi were also quite good. I had the edamame as well as the shrimp shumai dim-sum type offering. The deep fried cheesecake was a delicious sin and the green tea ice cream serving was quite generous with a cherry on top. The sushi was well priced and the desserts very fairly priced which is a rare luxury.

Red, White, and Red Again

Mollika* — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:13:44 +0000

Happy Canada Day.

I look forward to crossing the Ambassador Bridge to go celebrate on Canadian soil. The waterfront fair has been calling my name for the past couple of weeks. I want to get on the Ferris wheel in Windsor and see Detroit sparkle across the river.