- [Tom] On this episode of UTR, we're back in the Ann Arbor area with tons more for you to see, eat and do.
We'll hip hop into some high fashion, meet a mother and daughter Thai team and stop in a morning and night owl.
Then we hit a theater that demands an encore and a gem of a speakeasy.
Get ready to explore the cool people, places, and things that make the Ann Arbor area an awesome place to explore.
- [Narrator] Pure is what you make of it.
It's taking it all in and never taking anything for granted.
The sun sets, the moon rises, and you realize the end of one perfect summer day is the beginning of another.
Pursue your pure in pure Michigan.
- [Narrator 2] A visit to the Stahls Auto Collection will take you back to a time when cars were more than just a way to get around, a fantastic assortment of gas pumps, neon signs and automated music machines dating back 150 years that must be seen and heard info@stahlsauto.com.
- [Narrator 2] Brought to you by Midland, Michigan, a Great Lakes Bay region community.
Visit gogreat.com for more info.
(bright music) - I've been around the world but there's one place I keep coming back to.
And the more I explore the more I realize it's the place to be.
I'm Tom Dalton, and this is "Under the Radar in Michigan."
(drum beating) (bright music) (slide whooshing) Okay, now do me a big favor.
Close your eyes for just a second.
They closed all the way.
Ah, you're peeking.
Okay, great.
They're closed.
Okay, now imagine you're in a magical land full of enlightened, educated people with amazing restaurants, cool funky shops, culture, history, tradition, sports and tons of natural beauty.
Oh, heck, this will open your eyes.
You know where we are.
We're in the awesome Ann Arbor area.
Love it.
That's right.
Year after year, Ann Arbor and its surrounding communities are voted one of the best places on the planet to live, work, play, raise a family and start a business.
Just spend a day around these parts and you'll see why.
There's so much to see, do, eat, and experience that if you play your future right, you could spend a lifetime loving where you live, if you get my drift.
Heck, just ask anybody who lives here.
Wait a minute, don't do that.
That's what we're about to do.
You've got the intellectual and actual energy of University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University, people who are real passionate and full of ideas and enough opportunity for everyone to make their mark.
So keep those eyes open because for the next half hour you're gonna see why you need to spend some time in this most popular part of our great state.
But first for those of you watching from the planet Remulakain, Ann Arbor and its super satellite cities are located in Southeast Lower Michigan about 30 minutes due west of Detroit.
Hey, I got it right this time.
(slide whooshing) Well, first we're off to two places in Ypsilanti.
One that might actually make me cooler, I know hard to believe.
And another one that'll fill your tummy and your soul.
Now, what happens when you combine modern pop and hip hop culture with cool and colorful clothing?
You get Puffer Reds, that's what.
It's a street ware apparel paradise that's steeped in uniquely American music and a sense of comfortable style that says, "Well, you've arrived."
You'll also find that it's owned by one of the nicest, smartest and most motivated guys you'll ever meet.
And that would be Eric Williams.
Eric, I love your story.
So I thought why don't we do this.
we'll do story time with Eric.
- Okay.
- (laughing) So you started this place in 1979 as a record store?
- Yes.
Actually we opened up in Romulus in 1979.
- [Tom] Yeah.
- As just a music store.
And, of course, you know, in the early eighties we started carrying designer jeans from, you know, different brands and so forth.
And then we started with the designer jeans, wasn't nothing changing on the designer jeans.
They was all just the hard denim.
- Yeah.
Well, what made you decide to, I mean, it's a record store.
What made you decide to offer jeans too?
- Well, we wanted to be more of a lifestyle store.
- [Tom] Ah, okay.
- You know, we started off in music and then, you know, the customers and this kind of add this be a lifestyle store.
You know, they was, you know, back then they used to play a lot of music videos and so forth.
And the kid, you know, they wanted to be just like the entertainers.
They wanted to dress like them, you know, everything, yes.
- It blows my mind what you from a little, you know, hiphop record store, what you've turned into now is just amazing.
Like you said, it's a full lifestyle store and what really blows my mind are the people that have been in here, Jamie Fox, Eminem, Ice-T, New Additions been in here.
I actually was in a band that opened at Pine Knob for New Addition.
We almost got noticed.
(group laughing) But yeah, I mean, you've got cool clothing and you've got, do you miss the record store part of it?
- Yes.
I mean, that was a lot of fun.
When we started in the record industry, we was really known.
- [Tom] Yeah.
- [Guest] You know, for having product and having product first.
And our customer, you know, we used to have lines.
- [Tom] Right.
- You know, around the corner, you know, coming in to purchase the CDs and so forth.
I mean, that business, of course, we know what happened to it.
It just, you know, it kind of disappeared with, you know, in today's world here.
- Where'd the name Puffer Red come from, Puffer Red?
- That's my nickname they gave me back in junior high school, you know.
You know, kind of a heavyset guy, you know, fair-skinned and just turned red and, you know.
- [Tom] Were you puffy?
- Yes.
You know, yes, I was.
(host laughing) - Got, you know, on the football field and, you know, we all gave each other names and so I just decided to, you know, carry that with me.
- I just love it here.
Last question.
Can I get my picture on the wall of fame back here, maybe next to Jamie?
- Sure.
- Jamie Fox up there?
- Yes, you can.
Yes, you can.
- Seriously?
- And, you know, and I have to give it to, you know, my wife too.
I mean, you know, putting up with me for, you know, for decades, I mean.
(host laughing) They all deserve her.
- Right.
- Exactly for that.
- Well, after hearing how it all happened, it was time for me to meander through the merchandise and up my ailing image.
So I looked and I looked and I looked some more.
Heck, there was so much cool stuff here that I got lost in looking.
But finally I got some expert advice and found something that might increase my cool quota.
So just give me a moment.
I'll be right back.
Oh, yeah, this is it.
I've arrived.
I honestly don't think I could look any cooler.
Well, at least as far as I knew, and I think I might have actually looked a little bit younger too.
Bonus.
So if you want a dress to impress in clothing that's a meld of music and modern American culture, pop into Puffer Reds in Ypsilanti.
I guarantee you'll never find another store like it.
(bright music) (slide whooshing) Well, all that cool shopping made me hungry.
And in Ypsilanti you've got a myriad of marvelous meals to choose from.
So we made our way over to Basil Babe, a place we'd heard about and were dying to try.
Haluthai and Vasanna Inhmathong put their heart and soul into their amazing cuisine.
And if you love food, family and community, this is a mother-daughter duo you simply need to dine with.
So how did it start?
- Okay, so my mom had a Thai restaurant in Ann Arbor for over 20 years up until I graduated from Eastern Michigan University.
I went to school for advertising and I got a big girl advertising job in Detroit.
I lived out there for a few years and I was miserable.
I felt like it was a lot more numbers and I wanted to be more creative.
During the pandemic, me and my mom learned how to do like dumplings together.
We were making new foods together, making our comfort food which is is a basil stir fry.
It's called Put Kaprow in Thai.
We got to meet a lot of different people, learned so many different things.
- Right.
- And we just kept growing.
- I just love stories like yours because you're still so connected with family and with your mom and the fact that you did this, that you went to school, you experimented, you tried something but then you found out what was in your heart, what you really wanted to do, what you're really good at and you got to do it with your family.
- Yeah, exactly.
- And now you're sharing it with the community and that, it means everything.
- I wholeheartedly agree.
- [Tom] Yeah.
- We still have people coming from like the driveway days, which is when I was selling dumplings out of my driveway.
(host laughing) They would come and they're like, "Oh, my God, we're so proud of you.
Like, we've been following you ever since then."
And it's just, and also we're getting new customers who've never heard of Basil Babe.
And it's just, it gives me goosebumps.
I'm so happy to be here in the town I was like born and raised in so.
- So the community's loving.
Obviously your people are coming in here a lot.
- A lot, a lot of people.
- Are you tired (laughing)?
- Oh, my gosh.
So tired.
But it makes me very happy to see repeated customers and it's nice.
- Well, talking about full circle.
I mean, many, many, many years ago I went to school across the street there at EMU.
They asked me to leave.
(group laughing) But I'm back.
I don't know if they know I'm back yet.
- Oh, my gosh.
- But I'm here for your food.
- Well, you're always welcome to Basil Babe, maybe not over there but- - It's more fun over here.
(guest laughing) Don't tell them I said that.
- I love Ypsilanti because you can find all sorts of food in every single corner.
And we get to experience so much of the world in just a few miles around here.
It's so nice to be able to try new things.
- And I love Ypsilanti because you can find every kind of person here as well.
It's a richly diverse community.
It's got every kind of person that you want to meet here and everybody cohabitates and they get along and they love their city.
And the fact that the university's right here too, it just adds that electrical energy.
- Right.
- You know, to the town.
So yeah, I just love it here.
Always will.
That's why I keep coming back and now I'm back for Thai food, bonus.
- Yeah (laughing).
- Well, enough talking about this tantalizing Thai food.
It was time to down some delicious dumplings and we were up for the task, but then again, when aren't we?
What an awesome experience.
We tasted new flavors, made new friends and met a family who really cares about their community.
If you're ever anywhere near Ypsilanti and you want some exceptional Thai treats head for Basil Babe.
I personally know a mother and daughter who will love you for it.
(slide whooshing) So after a marvelous meal we headed about 20 minutes due south to the town of Milan for two, two, two places in one.
Now we all have a favorite place we go to in the morning to wake up and have a cup of coffee.
And we also have a favorite place we go to in the evening to have that frosty cold delve malted beverage.
Well, what if they were both the same place?
Bonus.
Well, you heard right.
The Owl right downtown Milan is a place where the entire community goes to hydrate, share, care and connect at all times of the live long day.
It's what you might call a community watering hole that's a whole lot more.
Ryan Wilman is both the early bird and the night owl who came up with this concept, combined the two and is pouring community spirit morning, noon, and night.
- Dude, I love the concept of this place.
Seriously.
It's your morning coffee place.
It's a place to go in the middle of the day to get some work done and then it's your party place at night.
- Exactly.
- It's like all in the same place.
How did you come up with the concept?
- Well, I mean, what's great is we actually originally started as exclusively a coffee shop.
- [Tom] Yeah.
- And with the vision and the idea that we wanted to be a community centric business and as the days went on, we realized that we weren't offering what the community needed.
And what they needed is more hours in the day to socialize and hang out.
And, you know, we had people coming in enjoying a cup of coffee, ordering a hot chocolate at six o'clock at night, and they were ordering it because they wanted to support the business because they wanted to use the space.
And then as soon as we got to the concept of let's add craft beer, let's do some cocktails, let's, you know, have a good glass of wine, it immediately blew up into what we are now.
You know, morning till night with the idea of, hey, if you need to have your meeting, come on and do that meeting and enjoy it with a pint instead of a cup of coffee.
- I've just never heard of a place where you can go in the morning for your coffee and at night to have craft cocktails, fine wines and the food.
Now, you've gotten the community involved in the food here, right?
- Absolutely.
Yeah.
I realized that that's not my skillset is not food.
- Eating, yes, making it, no.
- I know how, yeah, I know how to eat food.
I know how to make drinks.
I have a passion for cocktails and beer and obviously coffee, but I realized I'm not a specialist there.
So bring in a specialist.
And so right around the corner there is the Zilke Farm Kitchen which makes all of our baked goods, does a small salad, sandwiches, things like that, that they prepare for us every day and just load them up.
And even while we were setting up with, they were coming in with a new batch of cupcakes and things for us.
We get a lot of outside people coming in because of we have an outdoor social area.
We have live music on Friday nights when it's not freezing outside.
- If somebody's never been to Milan before.
- [Guest] Yeah.
- What would you tell them?
I mean, what, give me your elevator speech.
- We are a community, a business community that's super focused on the craft.
And so every single place that's in town is a specialty place in that field.
And so we specialize in cocktails and coffee and craft beer.
And down the street there's a place that specializes exclusively in lavender and another place that specializes exclusively in different types of yarn which I'm not educated in, but yeah.
- Yeah.
Plus the downtown is really cute.
It's very historic so yeah.
- Yeah, yeah.
In the evenings all the trees light up, all the buildings have a track of lights that just light the whole town out, make it feel alive.
It's wonderful.
- Yeah.
So if you haven't been to Milan.
- Milan (laughing).
- If you haven't been to Milan, stop listening to the Siri because she keeps calling it Milan.
Come to Milan.
I mean, it's a great downtown.
- Yeah, thanks.
We love it.
- And you're here.
Okay.
- Most of the time.
(group laughing) - Let's face it, what better way to connect than with a favorite beverage at a cool, comfortable place in an awesome town.
If you've ever got a mind to meander through Milan, meet some old or make some new friends at The Owl.
It just might become your new feathered friend, so to speak.
(slide whooshing) Now, what would the world be without art?
Exactly.
So I think you'll find yourself giving this next place a standing ovation.
Personally, I'm gonna wait until I get out of the car.
That could hurt.
The Encore Musical Theater Company in Dexter is an award-winning nonprofit theater that strives to engage and inspire its community.
And they do it by producing contemporary musicals, reinventing the classics, and fostering new works.
It's the kind of theater that really gives this town a creative heart and soul.
Jessica Grove and Dan Cooney are two of the dedicated directors who personify the passion both citizens and thespians have for this stage.
I mean, were you guys theater kids?
- Definitely.
Yeah.
I grew up doing lots and lots of community theater and then professionally when I was just a teenager even.
So definitely a theater nerd.
- All right.
And you too?
- About ninth grade I found my first play, but I was a hockey kid.
I played hockey for most of my life.
- I'm a hockey kid.
Oh, yeah.
- Westland, Michigan.
- Awesome.
- Hanging with the tough guys.
And I didn't get, like, I didn't like getting punched in the arm, so I was like, let's try theater.
- (laughing) Well, there's a switch.
- [Guest 2] Yeah.
(group laughing) - Well, you helped conceive this theater, right?
- I did, yes.
I'm one of the founders with Anne and Paul Koch being my founding partners about 15 years ago now.
- You have so many people don't realize how important community theaters are.
- Right.
- And does the community realize how lucky they are to have this here, this theater?
- I think they do.
It very well supported.
Not that we couldn't always use more support, but our development director's in the room, she's like, "What are you saying?"
(host laughing) It is very well supported in that vibe of they do appreciate this, Dexter in particular.
It's such an incredible community and they genuinely get it.
- [Tom] Yeah.
- They're here every time we wrap, there are tears in their eyes saying we are just so lucky to have this in our town.
So there is a ton of appreciation for what the Encore does in the community for sure.
- Yeah.
- Well, and we do predominantly musicals.
- [Tom] Right.
- Or musical concerts, right, so we have light musicians as well.
And there is nothing like having live music, live singers right here in this intimate space, you know, where you are truly experiencing it in that intimate way.
And, you know, a lot of theaters you go and that are like a smaller scale theater.
- Yeah.
- Wouldn't necessarily be a musical number one.
Or if it is, they wouldn't have live musicians.
And having the live musicians really helps the whole thing breed.
- Yeah.
And you guys do stuff with children too and you also hold auditions?
- We're developing our educational programs, but we have a decent amount right now.
There's a whole summer series of camps.
- We have a wonderful summer camp program.
I believe it's seven weeks long.
And so each week is a different age range.
- [Tom] Yeah.
- And some of them are so popular that we have to do like two elementary camps.
- Oh, wow.
- And so it's a week long, 10 in the morning until three o'clock and they sing, act, and dance.
And, you know, it's good for not just theater kids.
- [Tom] Yeah.
- It's good for kids who maybe need to come out of their shell a little bit.
- Well, come to the Encore Theater and then thank me afterwards.
I promise you you will.
(guest laughing) I promise.
Oh, and one last point.
Don't you think it's kind of cheating naming this place the Encore Theater?
Don't then people have, they feel like they have to get up and clap at the end (laughing)?
- Absolutely.
- Okay.
It's the Encore Theater.
(host clapping) - See, that's how good it is.
(group laughing) You wanna say, oh (clapping) encore.
- Well, enough performing on UTR.
It was time for the real show to start.
So the lights went down, the energy went up, and as always with live theater, the audience and the actors became one.
Of all the cold and empty places in the universe, we were so lucky to be here tonight.
Honestly, when was the last time you experienced live theater?
Well, if it's been a while, I highly recommend an entertaining evening at The Encore Theater in Dexter.
You'll leave feeling alive and ready to enjoy the rest of this awesome town, bonus.
(slide whooshing) Now the last person you're gonna meet is pretty special because in the midst of COVID she mixed a community cocktail that's still doing great things for her town.
And that's because the Crazy Diamond Speakeasy in Chelsea brought people back together to share everything they love about this awesome community.
What exactly is it?
Well, it's an upscale dive bar that has local creations and libations.
It also celebrates individuality and promotes community through art, camaraderie, and mental health advocacy.
And that's saying a lot.
Lynae MacLellan is the multifaceted founding member who saw a need, conjured up a club and is now helping her community grow.
Is this an extension of your personality?
- Very much so.
Yeah.
I decided it was a very vulnerable moment actually when I opened.
In fact, I was supposed to open a week prior.
- Yeah.
- But I didn't have the guts too, because I felt like I was letting people into who I actually am.
- Yeah.
Like they'd come here and go, "Oh, my gosh, this is you, your mind?"
(group laughing) - [Lynae] Exactly.
- Oh, no.
It's just such a hip place.
And I love the story about how it happened.
Tell that story about it was the depths of COVID.
- Yeah.
We had to shut down the salon for three and a half months and I would show up every day that I was supposed to to do hair, except we weren't allowed to do hair.
And we would just sit there wondering what are we supposed to do and then- - Yeah, what now.
- Our clients got wind of that and they started showing up.
And this time it wasn't to get their hair done.
It was for the sole human interaction that we shared during our hair appointments.
- So you decided to connect everybody with this place, right?
- Exactly.
Yeah.
And, you know, during that time too, like, it was, you know, we couldn't have coffee, we couldn't have blow dryers, we couldn't have magazines.
And so when we did open up, it was a very sterile environment that I just I loathed.
And so, but during that three and a half months, I decided I was gonna write a business plan.
And that business plan was for this place.
I wanted to give artists a space who had lost their art markets because that was no longer a thing.
I wanted to have a place that was created by our members.
And so if all of the beer that we have, the liquors, our cocktails, those are created a lot of them by our members.
- Now, I know it's a private club, but you have public hours as well, which is great.
That way people can come in and see the inner workings of your mind (laughing).
- Right.
Yeah, it's not a normal bar.
- No, no.
(guest laughing) That's what I love about it.
I mean, some of the art in here and some of the expressions.
That's what I love about your story.
That's what brought us here is the fact that you're so cool, you're so creative.
You're different, you know, you're a, there's a spirit about you, a creative spirit, and you care about people.
You know what I mean?
It's like this place is about you, but it's not just about you.
It's a reflection of you.
- Right.
And so we have so much fun, like it's, I let our members, they can host whatever events they want here during any time.
You know, it's just whatever they want to do.
This is their house too.
- Awesome.
- So.
- The Crazy Diamond in Chelsea really is a fun, friendly and meaningful way to get together with your neighbors and carry your community forward in a positive way.
You get to sit back, relax, tip a few and find ways to help each other navigate this crazy world.
So if you get a chance, stop by during their public hours and say a helpful hello.
Also, if you get a chance come spend some time exploring the entire Ann Arbor area.
It's got a lifetime of people, places, and things to love.
And who knows, if you spend enough time here, you might do just that.
(bright music) - [Narrator] Pure is what you make of it.
It's taking it all in and never taking anything for granted.
The sun sets, the moon rises and you realize the end of one perfect summer day is the beginning of another.
Pursue your pure in pure Michigan.
- [Narrator 2] A visit to the Stahls Auto collection will take you back to a time when cars were more than just a way to get around, a fantastic assortment of gas pumps, neon signs, and automated music machines dating back 150 years that must be seen and heard.
Info at stahlsauto.com.
- [Narrator] Brought to you by Midland, Michigan, a Great Lakes Bay region community.
Visit gogreat.com for more info.
(retro music) (chime ringing)
