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Defined by its colorful storefronts, Saturday farmers markets and red brick roads, Kerrytown is a neighborhood familiar to both University of Michigan and Ann Arbor community members. Although local businesses such as Zingerman’s Deli have gained national recognition, more than 25 small and independent businesses operate in the Kerrytown district and sell goods ranging from olive oils to bikes.
Why does Kerrytown bring in small businesses?
Spun is a yarn and craft shop located on the first floor inside Kerrytown Market & Shops and was founded in 2015 by Carol and Pete Sickman-Garner. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Pete Sickman-Garner said the couple decided to open Spun in Kerrytown because they were familiar with the businesses in the area and felt it would be a great fit.
“I don’t believe corporations are people,” Sickman-Garner said. “We knew Jan (Benzinger, who) owns Mudpuddles because we shopped there when we were buying our kids toys … If we’re gonna go to a slightly more high-profile location than we originally thought, we need to go in on this together. So at that point, we both decided to quit our jobs and launch the store.”
The Kerrytown Market & Shops was developed by O’Neal Construction Inc. and according to Sickman-Garner, the building is currently managed by the O’Neal family. Sickman-Garner said he felt that the family’s encouragement and support makes it a great environment for people to establish local shops despite limited entrepreneurship experience.
“They were for people jumping into something that they’ve never done,” Sickman-Garner said. “They did a good job of making it seem like this was a doable thing for a couple who … really had no idea what we were doing except what we could learn. They really made it seem possible and I think they structure their business to make it possible. So individuals like Gretchen at Kitchen Loft and Jill at 16 Hands … can make a living.”
Sickman-Garner said he believes that Kerrytown’s appeal for local businesses comes from the close relationships customers and potential businesspeople can form with owners.
“A business like (in) Kerrytown where you actually go into shops there and you’re talking to the owners, or you’re talking to managers who are as invested as owners — seeing it exists … makes it feel possible,” Sickman-Garner said.
Aiden Roberts is a co-owner of Mudpuddles, a children’s toy shop located on the second floor of the Kerrytown Market & Shops. Roberts told The Daily in an interview he first started working at Mudpuddles as a teenager to help the original owners with shifts and continued to do so when he held a full-time position elsewhere.
“I would cover the shop so that they could go places and do things, and I ended up getting a job at Plum Market,” Roberts said. “Even when I was at the corporate level for the first three years in my corporate position there, I would work (at Mudpuddles) on Sundays so that they could get a day off … I didn’t need the money. I just loved Kerrytown.”
Roberts said he believes that Kerrytown’s main customers come from the Ann Arbor community more than tourists which encourages the small shop environment.
“You don’t realize how rich the neighborhood is until you keep returning,” Roberts said. “You have people who come in from out of town and they’re going to go visit Zingerman’s or the farmers market. But when you actually start coming back week after week, you get into a rhythm like you’re a part of that heartbeat with Kerrytown being like the heart of Ann Arbor.”
In an interview with The Daily, LSA rising junior Jerry Xia said he has lived in the Kerrytown neighborhood as a student and he felt the district’s design makes it easier for people to shop there.
“I think it’s a really nice spot for a lot of little shops because there’s so many easy places to walk in,” Xia said. “So it’s really nice for pedestrians and also … I feel like the support for small businesses is there with people that live in Ann Arbor. And so if people are willing to support it, I feel like that’s what helps it be such a great spot for small businesses.”
Roberts said he felt that the community support for niche stores is what makes Kerrytown a unique space for local shops.
“It’s a place where you can play with ideas and you can work with the community because they’re all here,” Weeks said. “You look at the different kinds of shops and there’s a little bit of something for everybody.”
Summer Managing News Editor Eilene Koo can be reached at ekoo@umich.edu.
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