Royal Oak : In the News

When you hear about urban agriculture these days, Detroit usually follows, or precedes it - depending on the story. But not in this one. This time, it's Royal Oak. And they'll be plowing this week.

Excerpt:

The non-profit group Royal Oak Forward, which will manage farm operations and organic practices, is borrowing a tractor to start plowing later this week. Then, Johnson will plant about 25 kinds of herbs and vegetables that will be ready to eat from late May through October.

"We know the land is good to grow," Johnson said of environmental tests. "Now I'm checking for nutrients like nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous so I'll know how much compost to add."

Volunteers will help tend the field and in about eight weeks they will have baskets of fresh produce ready for shareholders to pick up and to sell to the public at the market, which is less than a mile away.

Community-sponsored agriculture (CSA) is a growing trend in the United States as more people go green to cut waste, such as transportation fuel, and improve taste.

"You hear about the 100-mile diet challenge some food co-ops put out," Johnson said. "We're talking about the few-feet diet."

Read the entire article here.

There hasn't been a shortage of interesting, weird, off-the-wall art coming out of Detroit lately. And this is no different. Local artist Clinton Snider has created "House 365." It's a small wooden cottage, modeled after some of the old housing stock still in Detroit. It's an homage to when vacancies weren't the norm. It's small like a dollhouse, but don't call it that.

Excerpt:

"House 365" is Snider's homage to old Detroit. As the city pulls down derelict homes, the result is a gap-toothed landscape he finds haunting and mournful.

So he decided to make his own weathered wreck, a talisman from a vanishing Detroit. (For the record, he applauds clearing out blight. He just regrets the loss of that turn-of-the-century clapboard landscape.)

So what do you do with a tiny house that looks like a prop from the opening credits of "The Beverly Hillbillies?"

First Snider thought he'd move the house every day and photograph it (hence the "365"), an idea he now calls "far-fetched." Instead, he presented the house at an opening last year at Hazel Park's Tank gallery and invited visitors to sign up for a month's "deed" to the property.

And that's how the wee house landed in artist Mary Fortuna's front yard in Royal Oak.
"I was totally engaged with the sweetness of it," she says. "It's like Clint's paintings in 3-D."

Read the entire article here.

The Royal Oak-based production firm PixoFactor is taking Dare Comics' acclaimed comic The Hunter from the pages and putting it on the tube, DVDs, and making an interactive downloadable game. All in a days work, eh?

Excerpt:

England's Dare Comics has announced that its critically acclaimed comic, The Hunter, is to be produced as a nine episode motion comic series by the Royal Oak production company PixoFactor.

PixoFactor is also developing a downloadable interactive game based on The Hunter, which will be released alongside the motion comic. 

Details of the game aren't being publicly released, but PixoFactor president Sean Hurwitz said that "The Hunter has a unique set of powers that have enabled us to incorporate some stunning gameplay. Linking the game to the motion comic series is going to allow us to do things the world has never seen before."

Read the entire article here.

The Girlings went from automotive employees at Chrysler to entrepreneurial tea hounds, and all it took was a trip to Beijing. A story other Michiganders might take solace in. The Girlings made the transition to what Michigan was to what Michigan could be, maybe. No, not tea-slingers, small business owners.


Excerpt:

Chrysler has greatly affected life in the Detroit area over the decades, and now it has brought the Motor City a Chinese teashop—albeit indirectly.

Janice and Jim Girling, founders of Goldfish Tea, were both working for the automaker when they were offered the opportunity to go to China for two years to help build an assembly plant outside of Beijing.

"We were living in Beijing and on weekends we just liked to go out exploring," Janice says.

While on an exploration one day, a dragon-embossed tea set caught the couple's attention.

"We went to look at it inside what turned out to be a wholesale tea market," Janice says. "Two Chinese ladies motioned for us to sit down at the tea bar and we stayed for three hours sampling tea."

Read the entire article here.

The Woodward Dream Cruise many things for many people. For car restorers it means a time to shine, for some it's a time for nostalgia, and yet for others, who live near Woodward, it's a time of car congestion and having your own street blocked off for parking. Regardless, what happens during the cruise is what made Detroit, well, Detroit. That's changing now-a-days... but, as the New York Times says, it's still the beating heart of the American automobile biz.

Excerpt:

Today, you won’t see much real racing on Woodward, and the Detroit Three are fighting their battles in other arenas. You will see some machinery that is obviously built more for go than show, and quiet negotiations are sometimes conducted at the side of the road. But if races take place, they’re probably held in some obscure and distant place.

For most Detroiters, Woodward is more about entertainment than competition. And perhaps more about the past and the future than the moment. Today, Woodward is the cruise, the party, the celebration and the affirmation. It’s a place where car folk can go to dream about the way things were and hope for better days. It’s the beating heart of the American automobile business.

Read the entire article here.

Detroit can boast two creperies - one downtown and one in Corktown. So, what do you have to show for it, suburbs? Well, look no further than Royal Oak. What Crepe? has opened its doors and is ready to sling some sweet and savory crepes.

Excerpt:

If you're a fan of crepes -- the delicate, filled French pancakes having a mini-renaissance in metro Detroit lately -- check out the area's newest destination in Royal Oak.

Opened by Paul Jenkins Jr., the tiny but elegantly appointed cafe at 317 S. Washington is called What Crepe? -- perhaps a reference to the wide variety of sweet and savory choices, including vegetarian and vegan options.

Jenkins opened the 28-seat restaurant May 30 in Café Muse's old location after giving the hall-like space a more polished, upscale look in a palette of black, gray, sage and burgundy. Small crystal chandeliers, fresh flowers and tables covered in black fabric with white butcher-paper toppers set a chic tone, but the vibe is still casual, fresh and fun.

Read the entire article here.

Royal Oak already has the Main Art Theater, which is a gem of a place. Yet movie goers in the area still need to drive to Birmingham or the Star John R to see first-run flicks. Well, it's possible that this trek might not need to be made in the future, as Emagine Theaters is setting its sights on the RO.

Excerpt:

To go forward in Royal Oak, Glantz needs the approval of the City Commission to transfer a liquor license from Berkley. If accepted, he will apply for an amendment to the planned unit development for the vacant site where plans for a second high-rise condominium or Plum Market were scrapped, according to Tim Thwing, Royal Oak's director of planning.

A four-deck parking garage behind the condominium tower and on-site parking could serve theater patrons, Glantz said.

"It turns out to be an ideal site for us," he said.

Read the entire article here.

There are all kinds of tours. Music tours, museum tours, pub crawls (it's kind of like a tour), tours of duty, and even food tours. Enter Culinary Escapes, a food tour company here in the Great Lakes State. And they are close to home, too. Check out the Royal Oak experience. And if you go on a tour like this, you might want to wear your fat pants.

Excerpt:

I was a bit of a skeptic, at first, about the need for a walking tour -- to restaurants in Royal Oak, Mich., near Detroit Hip eateries in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak are within close proximity to one another. And I've never had much problem finding food.

But then I met up with our guide on this tour by Culinary Escapes, a company founded last summer. Marq Blanks handed us tiny earpieces with receivers we clipped onto our jackets.

And we soon were trailing behind him around town, through farm market booths, past charming bakeries, striking (even scandalous) sculptures and tempting eateries, feeling like a cross between campus tour-goer and undercover culinary spy as he transmits historic, food and celebrity trivia en route to each stop.

Read the entire article here.

Royal Oak is considering a medical marijuana growing zone and requiring sellers to push the product out of a storefront. Stoners, hold on to your bongs -- this would be for medical purposes only.

Excerpt:

"It will allow patients a safe, reliable place to access their medicine," said medical marijuana user Nicholas Schantz.

The Royal Oak Planning Commission is considering a zoning ordinance that would make it mandatory for medical grass growers to sell their plant product in a store front dispensary in the city's busy business district.

"It's the wave of the future, and the economy in this segment is really going to boom. Michigan needs jobs right now and this is one way to put Michigan on the cutting edge of an exciting new industry," Schantz said.

Read the entire article here.

New words are being invented all the time for all the new ideas and thoughts and movements that are popping up all over the place. And "locavore" -- Someone who only eats food grown within 100 miles of home -- is another one. Locavores are expected to pack the 16th annual Royal Oak in Bloom May 10.

Excerpt:

Locavores — people who eat food grown or raised within 100 miles of home — will find vegetables and herb plants offered by as many as half the 60 vendors at the 16th annual Royal Oak in Bloom.

This year, vendors expect an increase in locavores. Locavore was the Oxford American Dictionary’s 2007 Word of the Year.

From 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 10, the parking lot by City Hall will be transformed into an open-air market for edible plants, flats of annuals, landscaping plants, and garden art and accessories.

The event has become a Mother's Day tradition for many families. They have breakfast or brunch at downtown restaurants before or after walking around the booths set up at the municipal lot south of 11 Mile Road and east of Main Street. "We think this year more people are interested in vegetable gardening," said Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce Event Coordinator Shelly Kemp. "They see it as a way to save money, eat the freshest possible food, save energy and gain a sense of personal satisfaction."

Read the entire article here.

Thomas Video, a haven for cult and obscure movie buffs, has moved and will no longer be under that big yellow sign in Clawson. However, they have moved for the better; when most places like theirs are being closed because of chain stores and technology, Thomas has managed to beat the odds.

Excerpt:

To call Thomas Video a niche business is an understatement of vast proportions -- "supremely prescient" might be a better description.

Opened as Thomas Film Classics in 1974, the shop's then-owner, Dennis Thomas, recognized the potential of the home video market before the technology even existed.

"Dennis was a visionary," says Jim Olenski, who bought into the business in 1976. "He started off with a film store, but he saw that there would be a market for people to own movies -- it was a natural flow into video."

Olenski and band mate Gary Reichel (from early Detroit punk ensemble, Cinecyde), started working for Thomas in the '70s. He eventually sold the business outright to Olenski and Reichel, who later partnered with Carol Schwartz. Now, 35 years later, the business has beaten the odds, staying strong through trends, technology and economic tumult.

Read the entire article here.

If you ever ridden a bike along Woodward in Ferndale or Royal Oak you've probably hear, "Get outta the road!" more than once. Yet riding on the sidewalk isn't feasible in these cities. So, what to do? Well a group in Royal Oak is pushing for a more biker friendly downtown that includes bike lanes.

Excerpt:

The Royal Oak nonmotorized transportation task force wants to improve the situation and prevent more accidents...

"Studies show that when a city is safer for bicyclists, those people tend to stay in their city for entertainment," Regan said. "They bike to local restaurants and venues ... I'm tired of the self-righteous attitudes by motorists in Royal Oak that assume only motor vehicles have the right to the road."

Honking, angry drivers tell Regan to "get off the road" and "Go ride on the sidewalk."

The reality, he said, is that more people are injured riding their bikes on sidewalks than in the streets. Motorized vehicle drivers usually aren't paying enough attention when turning, and if a bicyclist is crossing the street, that's often when they're struck.

Read the entire article here.

Rain water doesn't damper this Royal Oakian's spirits. He saves it. He uses it for his garden, his flowers, his shrubs, and, to top it all off, it helps reduce his water bill. Soon we'll all be saving our rainwater, maybe, after hearing from this guy.

Excerpt:

Collect the water that runs off one residential rooftop when it rains just a quarter of an inch, and you gain 55 gallons of water.

That's a lot of nutrient-rich, chlorine-free water that shrubs, flowers and vegetable plants love.

Each spring and summer the result can be up to 3,200 gallons of water that is saved and used. Royal Oak resident Jon Muresan said it can also save a lot of money on water bills.

"My girlfriend and I are avid gardeners; serious gardeners," Muresan said. "One summer we spent nearly $1,300 on watering our lawn, shrubs, potted plants and vegetable gardens."

Read the entire article here.

Born to be wild? Or not? That's the question Royal Oak city officials want to know about the city's downtown. Would the possible introduction of a bistro license turn up the volume on the city?

Excerpt:

For some, new bistro licenses could be a way to let already established local businesses add beer or wine to their menu. For others, a bistro license should include the option for a full liquor bar.

And for others, bistro licenses are a way of allowing quiet restaurants to serve booze, and keep out the bigger bars that may change a town from quaint to wild. One-hundred seats or less is about what Andrzejak, for now, considers good bistro licenses.

"Each commissioner has a different perspective on bistro licenses," Commissioner Mike Andrzejak said. "To some, there's a misnomer that the goal is to bring more smaller liquor establishments into the city. That's not my desire. I see it as a defense against the next mega-bar proposal."

Read the entire article here.

Royal Oak's Mark Twain Dog Park has been so successful that city officials are thinking about opening up a second one. In the meantime they are improving this one.

Excerpt:

The Royal Oak City Commission approved installing two security systems, one at the front and one at the back of the park, plus offer year-round park passes and keys to residents and non-residents.

It's estimated that 75 percent of park users are residents. Each year, 500 annual passes will be offered. Residents get first dibs at a cost of $40 per year. After a 60 day time-period, non-residents will have the chance to purchase the pass for $65.

Keys to the park will be sold for $10 each.

Each pass will be activated for 365 days upon purchase.

"Our park functions well, people love it. This takes is to the next level," City Commissioner Mike Anderzejak said.

Read the entire article here.