Old Town - Lansing, MI

Member Business Spotlight: (ae) Studio & Gallery

This article was posted on Fri, Feb 27 2009 | Permalink

(ae) Studio & Gallery
523 E. Grand River Ave. | 517.267.7600 | http://www.aenow.com

(ae) Studio & Gallery is an award-winning venue for original pieces of photography, independent films and more. Owned by designer John Addis, (ae) Studio & Gallery is a piece of Addis Enterprises, a creative solutions company specializing in web and graphic design, photography, videography and more.

Located at 523 E. Grand River Ave. across from the Temple Club, (ae) Studio & Gallery has been around for about two and a half years. Originally located at 513 E. Grand River, the current location has been their home for about a year and a half. When John Addis opened his own space, he realized he could use it to give local, established and new artists a venue to display their work. Often hosting galleries for artists, (ae) Studio & Gallery is home to much more. In the short time that John has been running his own business, he has designed more than 75 Web sites, both local and international.

Specializing in primarily web design, Addis Enterprises also does wedding and event photography, as well as creating the videos and music on their sites. Even with a little part time help, John is busy working on current projects and expanding Addis Enterprises. You might recognize some of his work with cravingspopcorn.com, votecharlesford.com, grandriverconnection.com or even the photography from a friends wedding. John is also actively involved in Old Town, designing our Festival of the Sun, Festival of the Moon, and Oktoberfest Web sites.

(ae) Studio & Gallery will be open on April 5 for a local artist’s sale. In the meantime, if you are interested in seeing further what Addis Enterprises can do for you, check out their Web site at aenow.com or contact John Addis at .

OTCA Honors Volunteers

This article was posted on Fri, Feb 27 2009 | Permalink

Committees Thank Those Who’ve Helped Throughout The Year

At the Old Town Annual meeting, each Main Street committee nominated their volunteer of the year - someone who went above and beyond in 2008.  We asked each Volunteer of the Year just a little bit about why they volunteer, what they love about Old Town, and some other stuff you just may not know about them…

“ROBERT BUSBY VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR”:Erika Magers, Community Muralist
Favorite memory of volunteering: Tom and I worked in a building without heat during Dickens Village; painting hubcaps with children. We froze our Dickens off!
Fun Fact: I am afraid of heights, but tell myself otherwise every time I need to climb a scaffold.

ORGANIZATION COMMITTEE: Lauren Ciesa, Owner and President of Ciesa Design Studio
What you love about Old Town: The aesthetics of it, as well as the cluster of professional artists and organizations dealing with the arts. 
Fun Fact: I really love to bike, cook, and travel.

PROMOTIONS COMMITTEE: Sandra Neuman, Owner/Promotions Director at Rizzi Designs.
Biggest accomplishment this year: The expansion of the Festival of the Sun and the addition of another day for Oktoberfest.
What you love about Old Town:  The commitment of businesses and residents to make it a great place to live, work and visit.

BOARD AND ORGANIZATIONS COMMIITTEE: Amanda Hightree, Chapter Coordinator for the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter.
What you love about Old Town: The sense of community and belonging.
Favorite memory of volunteering: The farmers market because it gives you a chance to meet people from around Old Town and across Lansing.
Fun Fact:  I used to take belly dancing classes.

ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING COMMITTEE: Heather Chunko , Certified Public Accountant.
Biggest accomplishment this year: Allocating funds towards installing a playground in Burchard Park.
What you love about Old Town:  Fifteen years ago, there was nothing special about where my office was located.  Now, my same office is part of a community who gets involved in supporting its neighbors and working together to continue to improve Old Town.

DESIGN COMMITTEE: Tom Sheerin, Metal Sculptor/Specialty Sign Maker
Biggest accomplishment this year:  Restoring and repairing the shapes in Turner Mini Park, because the park meant so much to Robert.
What do you love about Old Town:I was fascinated by all the old buildings as a child.  There is such a rich history here in Old Town, I am pleased to see it revitalized.
Something you’ve enjoyed this year: Painting hub caps and old doors at the Farmer’s Market.
Fun fact: I’ve performed and taught improv-comedy for the past 20 years.

New Shmooze on Tues.

This article was posted on Tue, Feb 24 2009 | Permalink

The Old Town Commercial Association (OTCA) is excited to announce the new Shmooze on Tues. kick off today, Tuesday, March 3 at 5p.m. Along with food and drink specials, customers can now enter to win prizes.

Shmooze on Tues. is a weekly event where visitors can enjoy local food and drink specials at restaurants and bars while also entering to win prizes for Old Town events. Last year, the Tuesday evening event took place on the second Tuesday of every month. After a little revamping, OTCA has decided to extend the event to every Tuesday evening after 5 p.m.

Participating locations and their specials include:

The Chrome Cat
    - $2 Bud Light and Miller Light
    - $3 Well Drinks
    - $5 Hurricanes

Grand Café Sir Pizza
    - 50 cents off Well Drinks
    - $1 off Draft Beers
    - $8.90 for a 14” 1 item Pizza

Mama Bear’s Café
    - Pastry and Large Latte $5

Pablo’s Panaderia
    - 10% off the Whole Menu

Unicorn Tavern
    - Tom’s “Grumpy Hour” Happy Hour all day until 7p.m.

Spiral Video Dance Bar

Esquire Club

Portable Feast & Friends

Hattie’s Kitchen
    - Yellow Rice with Corn
    - Fried Chicken with Mixed Veggies

Pick up a Shmooze on Tues. punch card at participating bars and restaurants starting at 5p.m., Tuesday nights. When visitors make a purchase, they can get their card punched. Once their card is full, it can be dropped off at any participating location for a prize drawing and a chance to win Old Town festival tickets and more.

New OTCA Executive Director

This article was posted on Mon, Feb 02 2009 | Permalink

After an extensive interview process, the OTCA Board of Directors is excited to introduce Brittney Hoszkiw as the OTCA’s new Executive Director. Some of you may remember Brittney from her time working in the OTCA office as an intern and as Old Town Oktoberfest’s first event director in 2006. After interning at the OTCA and graduating from Michigan State University, Brittney worked in Iron Mountain and, most recently, Scottville, Michigan as Executive Director of the Main Street program in both communities.

Brittney’s first day in the OTCA office will be Monday, February 16, so please feel free to stop by and say hello.  We know that she is excited to be “home” in
Lansing and is ready to meet all the new faces in Old Town and catch up with some old friends.
The OTCA Board is looking forward to what Brittney will bring to our Main Street program. With her energy, enthusiasm, and Main Street program experience, we’re sure she will hit the ground running and that the transition will be near seamless.

After all the success Old Town has experienced during Jamie Schriner-Hooper’s four years as Executive Director, we know the Old Town community has high expectations for the years to come. The wonderful thing about the Main Street program is that the recent growth and positive change in the area have been due in large part to the hard work and passion of Old Town volunteers. The OTCA staff and board are here to help facilitate those positive changes, but really, it comes from you, Old Town’s community stakeholders.

In Scottville, Brittney motivated almost the entire population of the small town to become active in their downtown. We are confident that Brittney’s passion and enthusiasm will be just as effective in Old Town and that she will convince even more of Old Town’s stakeholders to become involved in Old Town’s continued revitalization.

Please join us in both wishing Jamie the best in her future endeavors and welcoming Brittney back to Old Town with open arms. We know that great things are in the works for Old Town and are excited to have Brittney back and working to make Old Town an even better place.
Sincerely, OTCA Board of Directors

Old Town Welcomes Two New Restaurants

This article was posted on Mon, Feb 02 2009 | Permalink

Recently, two Old Town restaurants have received a face-lift, new owners and new names. Check out The Chrome Cat and El Gallo Loco’s new menus and atmosphere!

The Chrome Cat
The Rendezvous on the Grand has new owners, Michelle Taylor and Lisa Whitehead, and in three to four months will have a new name, The Chrome Cat, with a renaming party to celebrate.  The “Chrome” name comes from the owners’ love for motorcycles.
In four to six weeks, the nightclub/restaurant will have a full kitchen and Executive Chef, Monie Latuszek, could not be more excited to add some more delicious meals to the menu.  Open for lunch and dinner, The Chrome Cat’s number one priority is great food and excellent customer service.  Their signature dish that is flying out the door daily is the vegan, six bean, hearty and smoky Chipotle Chili that is served with a toasted crostini.  All of their dishes are made completely from scratch and use simple, tasty, healthy and fresh ingredients.  Monie is passionate about food and offers dishes that are vegan, vegetarian as well as poultry, beef and seafood dishes. 
Aside from the new food, the restaurant is now smoke free, has new carpet, chairs, tables and paint. Owners, Michelle and Lisa are excited to add to the Old Town culture and chose to open their restaurant/nightclub here because the community support that Old Town offers doesn’t happen anywhere else. 
As first time entrepreneurs in the restaurant biz, Michelle and Lisa’s new adventure is sure to be a success.  Stop in the Chrome Cat, open Monday –Thursday, 11a.m. –midnight, Friday-Saturday, 11a.m.-2a.m. and Sunday noon-midnight,  to check out the changes for yourself, or call 517.505.0408.

El Gallo Loco
Family is what brought Jonathan Solis to Old Town and encouraged him to open his own restaurant named, El Gallo Loco or “The Crazy Rooster.”  Solis bought the old El Tempana building at 902 E. Grand River and painted the inside, added new booths and tables and is working on updating the sign.  His specialty cuisines are Mexican and Cuban with chile relleno, gorditas, tacos and Mexican and Central-American Tamales as his signature dishes. 
All of his recipes are handcrafted from scratch, use fresh ingredients and taste great.  Solis also plans to sell American food and invest in a brick oven to make pizza.  El Gallo Loco has some amazing deals like tostadas for $1 on Tuesdays and the everyday, five ground beef tacos for $5, a $2.99 breakfast that includes two eggs, Texas potatoes, two pieces of bacon and Texas toast.
Silos plans on hosting a Grand Opening ceremony for El Gallo Loco sometime in late February or early March.  In the meantime, be sure to stop by Sunday-Thursday 9a.m.-10p.m. or Friday-Saturday 8a.m.-4a.m. and get some tasty food at a great price.  For more information on El Gallo Loco and what they are cooking up, call 517.484.6002.