Local businesses buck the tide

Jan. 4, 2009

At a time when most businesses are cutting costs, laying off people, or even closing their doors, there are a few stores in Northern Michigan that are going the other way—opening a new store or hugely expanding their business.
One can only ask, What were you thinking!?
Cream of the Crop?
Most of the stores that are expanding in Northern Michigan are aimed at the affluent. We’re talking high-end dresses, food, furniture and clothing. Coincidence? It’s interesting to note that during the Great Depression, more millionaires were created as a percentage of the population than during any other era in our nation’s history. So maybe not so crazy to take a plunge. Maybe crazy like a fox.
So, what were they thinking? Here’s what they said.

Robert Frost Fine Footwear
Robert Frost opened his new store in early December in downtown Traverse City. The store sells high-end men’s and women’s dress shoes, along with a beautiful line of coats. It’s kind of like a Niemann Marcus in the middle of TC. Frost owns a similar store in downtown Petoskey.
Here’s what Robert Frost had to say:
“Everyone who comes through the door is asking me the same question—What were you thinking! We’re thinking that if you take all the media blitz out of the equation—and I agree there are some problems out there—you need to have more faith in the human spirit than the fact that we are financially riding a pretty rocky road.
With the Traverse City situation, we had been looking at this target location for a long time, and it finally became open. You can’t sit and wait. You have to make a move. We bring to the TC market an offering that wasn’t here. There’s a market for what we do here. It just made sense; we sat and thought about it, and looked at the elements outside of us, and decided we’ll be okay.
“We’ll make inroads with new customers, and at the end of the tunnel, we’ll be glad we made the move. I don’t listen to the evening news anymore. I have my own portfolios that were damaged, but we’ve made a lot of new customers. We’re pleased about the new traffic, and the Petoskey store and Internet sales are holding their own. We have this good situation with three locations.
“There’s a lot of community-driven support, where people shop locally and care about the people who own the shops. And then you’ve got the summertime when you’re playing to a large market. There are people who come to Traverse City who are affluent who might have a boat or a condo here. They love a store with a New York-Chicago flair to it.
“So that was the decision, and we’re not looking back. And we’ve been overwhelmed with kind wishes. It’s grassroots, and it means more to us than checking the stock market everyday. It’s a more pleasant way to go through the recession.”

City Mac
On Black Friday (the Friday after Thanksgiving), Computer Haus in Traverse City closed its doors and re-opened as City Mac. The new store, located next to MC Sports on South Airport, amped up its square footage from 2,000 square feet to 6,100 square feet. Co-owners Jim Neu and Greg Nickerson added an Internet café with Fair Trade coffee, expanded store hours to seven days a week, and added Dell computers to their Mac line-up.
Neu envisions a franchise and is testing out this urban, industrial design before rolling out nationally. Neu moved his family this past fall to Ashville, North Carolina, so if the TC location works he’ll set up another store there first.
Here’s what he had to say:
“I’ve always wanted to do Mac, Windows, and a coffee shop. I guess it’s because I’d see customers come into Computer Haus with a coffee in their hand, and they just started hanging out there, and it just seemed like a Border’s Books with computers. They have their computers, their phones, their this, their that. Why not have a place to hang out? There is no other free wi-fi place to hang out. And it smells more inviting with brewed coffee instead of burnt computers and dirty feet. Hey, it’s the nature of what you have.
“It was a gut feeling to be honest with you. I kind of stepped out and went for it. Bad timing probably with the economy, but then again, if we do well, it’s even a better notion to do another one.
“I added Windows because it gives people options. Someone who normally would automatically buy a Windows computer now has the opportunity to also look at a Mac. To me, Windows is a fake Mac with problems, but Apple doesn’t offer a $600 or $700 laptop. At the same time, if they’re looking at a Dell, they can walk 10 feet away, and compare specs, ease of use, plus the fact that Macs don’t get viruses or spyware. Most people who go to Mac never go back.
“So far, the response has been really good. They like the store. We want to warm up the coffee shop a little more, evolve into it a little more. People are saying this is going to be my new hang-out. It’s out by the mall, so while the wife and kids go to Target, the husband and son stay here and play on the Internet.
“The response has been good enough for me to do one down here (in North Carolina). I wanted to see what people thought of the store, the name City Mac, and a digital café. So far the response is overwhelmingly good. It was a better response than I thought with the economy the way it is. My feeling is if this store can do well right now, then it’s a no-brainer to do another one. Maybe in five years, we’ll have 20 of these things.”

Ella’s
Wendy Buhr Dorman, who boldly opened her first shop in Traverse City at the age of 22 in 1990, has made another bold move—taking her high-end clothing store down the street and expanding it from 650 square feet to 2,600 square feet. She’s added antique furniture and jewelry to the mix, making the store a visual treat.
Here’s what she was thinking:
“You’ve got to have money to survive, but happiness and peace comes from feeling passion for what you do. That’s why I moved my store. I’d been there for 10 years, and all signs were pointing for me to do this. The universe was just nudging me. It’s fun. It shakes things up and rekindles the passion for what I do.
“The price was right, not to mention my sales were really up this past year. My rent was going up in the space I was in, and I got a very good deal on the rent in the new building. And I’m doing a cooperative with other people. I have a local artist who works with recycled jewelry, and they’re consigning pieces with me. I rent the basement to some alterations people. My mom has her furniture with me and she was in 500 square feet in Elk Rapids and paying the rent there, and not in a visible location. I get a commission on what she sells. And we did a lot of the work on the store ourselves—friends and family helping—and the landlords are very, very generous. We didn’t have to pay rent until we were in there.
“I feel very optimistic in these times. I deal in quality clothing and I help people find clothes that will really flatter them. High quality clothing that won’t fall apart. In these times, you really have to think how you spend, how you invest your money. The food you eat, the clothes you wear, the cars you buy (laughs). I’m not so sure about that last one!

Flatiron Deli
The Flatiron Deli opened a second deli this past summer across the street from the Petoskey-Bay View Country Cub. Its first location on Howard Street in Petoskey opened 15 years ago.
Owner Mona Holcomb took a minute from a busy morning to respond:
“The primary reason I decided to expand is I’m planning on making this into a franchise and I needed a prototype. We designed this to look like a flatiron building that anyone could plunk down on any street in the country. Business is terrific. We’re doing great. We are exceeding our expectations,” Holcomb said.