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A new rush for downtown Mount Clemens

Posted By: Macomb Daily on August 25, 2024.  For more information, please click here to read the source article.

Downtown Mount Clemens continues to see an evolution of businesses with a growing roster of new faces and spaces coming into town during the past few months.

Long known for its collection of bars, restaurants, and diners, the city’s core section is now a mix of law offices, food specialties, coffee shops, and a diverse collection of other businesses.

Coming out of the pandemic, a number of new businesses have recently planted seeds, with many being family-owned, mom-and-pop shops, including a cheesecake bakery that is stirring up interest. Several plan limited Sunday hours for the after-church crowd and weekend walkers.

Mayor Laura Kropp said this adds to the downtown’s small town charm in an era dominated by online shopping. She said city leaders have working on revitalization and recruiting efforts that are now paying off.

“All of these new businesses in town are businesses that our residents and users of our downtown have requested,” Kropp said from behind a counter at City Hall.

“They want to be able to walk the streets, grab a cup of coffee or eat some ice cream, do some shopping. They just want hang out downtown and soak up the vibes of our city.”

The line of businesses looking to come into Mount Clemens follows the success of other stores that have opened in recent years such as Black Cat Coffee, Clementine’s Pastries and other more established places including WeirdsVille Records shop.

City officials say the downtown business vacancy rate is the lowest it has been in years, if not decades. The most recent study found the area is 94% filled, compared to 38% a decade ago.

“When we get a request from a business looking to come in, we have a hard time finding them any spaces to consider,” said Michelle Weiss, a retail coordinator for the Downtown Development Authority (DDA).

Ever since COVID, people “just want the connection of small towns,” the mayor explained.

Kropp said: “They want to know the business owners and feel they are part of the community where they are spending their money. I think these are great additions for that, and who knows what tomorrow may bring.”

Here’s a look at some of the new shops that are now in downtown Mount Clemens:

Lil Daddy’s Cheesecakes

Marcel and Taylor Johnson are young parents with five kids ages 2-9, so they were looking at some ways to generate additional income to meet the family’s needs.

“It’s a lot of juggling,” said Marcel, 30, of balancing time with his children, his wife/business partner, and the family business. “There’s never a dull moment. You have to just train yourself to keep going.”

After kicking around a few ideas, the Johnsons centered on a cheesecake bakery, using some of Taylor’s father’s recipes. The couple began working out of Sweet Rose Bakery and Blooms in Fraser before deciding to get their own place. They found a vacancy in the former Cherry Street Nutrition.

The Johnsons decided to name the business Lil Daddy’s Cheesecakes, using their youngest son, Kobe, as the face of the business on signs and logos.

“(Kobe) looks like me and we’ve always called him Lil Daddy as a joke. We sometimes call (Taylor’s) dad Big Daddy as kind of a reference and it just came together,” Marcel said. “My son became a mascot of Lil Daddy’s Cheesecakes.”

The shop sells “all things cheesecake” including cheesecake cupcakes, cheesecake bars and stuffed waffle cones. In addition, there will be a rotating list of weekly specials that include cheesecake nachos, cheesecake charcuterie, and others.

Flavors include blueberry, caramel apple streusel, white chocolate raspberry, cherry, key lime, and others.

They chose Mount Clemens to buy a home primarily because Marcel had played football as a youngster for the Mount Clemens Barracudas and was familiar with the area. The Johnsons said there’s a stock of older, historic homes with a bit lower price tags that fell into their range.

“We love the area,” Marcel said. “We wanted to move here and invest in our community. We live a half a mile from the store, so if we an employee needs help, we can easily pop by.

“We want to be available to our children as well as the store.”

While focusing on opening their first store, the Johnsons already are looking for possible second location.

“This is our first store, but it won’t the last,” said Taylor, 30, adding somewhere on the east side of Oakland County is their potential next spot.

The couple plan a soft opening in the coming days with a grand opening sometime in September.

Lil Daddy’s Cheesecakes, 52 Cherry Street, 586-213-1793, and online at facebook.com/p/Lil-Daddys-Cheesecakes

Champagne Chocolates

This gourmet candy shop has long been a staple of Mount Clemens, but new owners moved in this year with the intent of expanding its ice cream selections.

The DDA’s Weiss said every successful downtown needs an ice cream and candy store.  “Everybody likes ice cream, so it serves as a gathering point for folks who enjoy strolling with an ice cream cone and doing some window shopping,” she said.

Store co-owners John Merideth, Jessica Cory and Trip Dixon all agree.

They listened to the DDA’s request to bring in ice cream to attract more families to the store. Mount Clemens used to have a Baskin Robbins store, which was a popular attraction on North Walnut Street and Macomb Place, but has long since been closed.

“We’ll always carry ice cream as an ancillary product because it brings people through the door,” Merideth said. “No matter the time of year, people want their ice cream. It’s not our core product, but it’s increased business for sure.”

Champagne Chocolates offer 12 flavors and change three of those each month for variety.

One summer day when a reporter was visiting, a woman called the store asking for directions. A few minutes later she called back, saying she was having trouble finding the place. Merideth tried explaining, but finally gave up and went outside to flag down the woman’s car and escorted her and her husband to the store.

Talk about personalized service. The couple sat down to enjoy a bowl of ice cream before purchasing some chocolate.

“We found that the city was looking to have a store down here, somewhere where people could go after dinner or take their kids for ice cream after baseball games or events,” Merideth said. “So we’ve marketed heavily on social media and in the downtown area to allow for presence of the store to be known.”

Of course, Champagne Chocolates is first and foremost an artisan chocolate shop, offering assorted truffle boxes, caramels, almond butter toffee, dipped candies, seasonal novelties, and logo chocolates.

“We are seeing new customers almost on a daily basis,” Meredith said. “That let’s us know we are reaching clientele that wasn’t aware of our store. We’ve experienced an uptick in foot traffic, it’s just a matter of building on that awareness that we’re here and open.”

Champagne Chocolates is located at 65 Macomb Place, 586-468-1170, and online at champagnechocolates.com.

Lighthouse Coffee

Lighthouse Coffee is a family-owned business that supports a local nonprofit with their proceeds that set up shop in a former pawn shop on Main Street right across from the Macomb County Circuit Courthouse.

Owner Keegan Semlow tore down a wall of the pawn shop to create the 3,000-square-foot space. She says the shop provides an open space for meetings, after-work get-togethers or to work remotely.

Although the downtown already has other coffee facilities, Semlow said Lighthouse’s strength is in the quality of coffee served.

“We to create a shop that has really high-quality coffee, that comes from the quality of the bean,” she said. “The reality is, if you find a quality that you really like, people will keep coming back on a steady basis. In a world where everything is done instantly, people still want a good, quality cup of coffee.”

Being directly across from the court, foot traffic has been strong, according to the owners.

Lighthouse sells the traditional Italian-style espresso, lattes, cappuccinos, coffee shakes, specialty drinks, and smoothies. They also have a small menu of baked goods ranging from caramel brownies to cookies and lemon bars, and scones from Just Delicious Scones.

Semlow said “we really felt we were supposed to be in Mount Clemens and were supposed to be on Main Street.”

The Chesterfield Township resident said her mother works in human resources for Macomb County and her father had rental homes in the county seat.

“Our heart is for this city and the people of this city,” she said.

The shop also supports Inturn, a 501(c)(3) organization that supports foster care programs. She felt like something was missing from her life and her pastor suggested she start a coffee shop with a goal of it being an outreach center.

“That’s the reason we named this Lighthouse, because lighthouses are safe houses of the storm. We want to help give kids a chance at life,” Semlow said.

“The beauty of it is, we are across from the courthouse where adoptions happen and that’s beautiful. But parents also lose their rights sometimes. We want to be the light in that dark storm for them. We are the first thing they see when walking out of the courthouse.”

Lighthouse Coffee, 45 N. Main Street, 586-662-1978, and online at lighthousecoffeemc.org.

Revita CBD

Revita CBD opened in April in on Main Street behind the clock tower in a space once occupied by a hair salon as well as a kitty cafe.

Owner Jeff Borja and his wife, Kim, quickly became part of the downtown community after introducing themselves at a City Commission meeting and sponsoring some of the area’s special events.

The cannabis shop offers products products derived from hemp grown in Michigan soil using sustainable farming practices with no synthetic pesticides or herbicides used during cultivation, according to Revita’s website.

Revita offers a variety of all-natural products aimed at helping people relax, Borja said.

“We offer a unique health and wellness store that provide alternate route to better health and well being,” he said.

“A lot of people don’t want to go into a dispensary. Some of our more mature customers would feel more comfortable coming in here for a chat where we can educate them on our products and find the ones that are right for them.”

Borja, who retired as a teacher in the Warren Consolidated Schools district, is aware that some folks may be leery of CBD and its relationship to the marijuana industry. But Revita’s line of products are not about getting high; they are aimed at helping people get better, he said.

Scientific research has shown CBD — short for cannabidiol — a chemical found in marijuana, but without the  tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient found in marijuana that produces a high.

According to the Mayo Clinic, CBD is being studied as a treatment for a wide range of conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and anxiety. It also has shown to have anti-inflammatory benefits by improving muscle elasticity, and can reduce neck and back pain caused by car accidents.

The shop sells hemp flowers, oils, and chewable gummies, all designed to regulate the human body’s natural flow of energy.

“There’s nowhere else in Mount Clemens like this,” Borja said. “We invite people to come in here to learn about our products.”

Borja was part of a family partnership with his brother and sister that opened a CBD shop in St. Clair County and found an eager audience. That’s when he decided to open a shop in Mount Clemens.

“This is the heartbeat of Macomb County,” Jeff Borja said. “There is no other business like this in this city. We love seeing the guys with their classic cars and all the lawyers. We love the vibe of this town.”

Revita CBD is at 73 N. Main Street, 586-477-0144, their website is revitacbd.com.

But wait, there’s more!  There are more developments in the works.

One eagerly awaited project involves the former Victory Inn property at the intersection of North River Road and Gratiot Avenue.

In a partnership between the city and Manchester Mt. Clemens, the old hotel has been demolished to make way for a $20 million residential development. Manchester is headed by notable developer Jim George, owner of the former Gibraltar Trade Center.

Also, city officials are waiting to get a look at plans for the long-empty old Huntington Bank on the corner of Cass Avenue and Main Street. The 34,000-square-foot building has been purchased by residential home builder and businessman Baldoino “Russ” DiBartolomeo of Kelly Property Investments.

DiBartolomeo has yet to disclose what he plans to do with the two-story building, but officials expect it will be developed with office space on the top floor, and retail on the street level.

The demand for space reflects the improving health of the downtown and revitalization efforts, according to city boosters.

“Downtown Mount Clemens is working towards revitalization and the addition of housing, services, retail and restaurant is exactly the way we will achieve it,” Mayor Kropp said.