Press Release – Meijer joins Generation With Promise To Provide Tours

27 01 2009

Got this from a press release…..

Meijer Teams Up With Generation With Promise to Provide Grocery Store
Tours
Program Aims To Educate Families about Making Healthy Food Choices

Navigating the aisles of a grocery store can be an overwhelming
experience when families are confronted with the number of food choices,
let alone reading food labels. Michigan-based retailer Meijer wants to
take the fear factor out of grocery shopping for parents and their
children in underserved areas.

Meijer, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is partnering with
“Generation With Promise” (GWP) by providing grocery store tours
as part of a nutrition education class called “Side by Side.” The
class, offered by the Share Our Strength Operation Frontline Program,
involves an educational field trip to Meijer that aims to empower and
educate families about making healthy food choices. Read the rest of this entry »


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House Bill 4099 – The New Smoking Ban Bill

26 01 2009

Doesn’t it figure?  I just put a post up this afternoon about the smoking ban bill not being filed.  A few hours later, I get a comment on that post with a link to a Flint Journal story.  The bill was introduced last Thursday and sent to the Commerce Committee.  Today, the bill was filed which is why it just showed up on the Legislature’s website. 

HB 4099 differs from the bill introduced last year because it is a total ban on smoking…including casino’s and cigar bars.  That was a big issue a few months ago.  The Detroit legislators don’t want and probably won’t let the bill pass without an exemption for the casinos. 

To me, a ban with the those two exemptions is acceptable.  I don’t like it.  I think if the casinos are exempted, then bars (not any place that serves any kind food) should be exempted as well and I don’t want to see that.  Exemptions start a slippery slope and everyone thinks they should be an exemption.  It’s not a matter of Big Brother telling you want to do as the tobacco lobby will try to tell you.  I can’t think of any other thing that people are allowed to do that makes others physically uncomfortable.  If smokers had an ounce of respect for people around them, this wouldn’t be an issue, but most smokers feel like it’s their god given right to make everyone around them uncomfortable.

I wouldn’t expect this to move pretty fast.  In the overall scheme of things, this bill isn’t high priority.  Michigan has bigger problems than a smoking ban and I would guess they will drag it out to the next election.  You don’t want people to forget that you voted in favor of the ban.  It’s one of those social issues that get people on both sides fired up.


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Press Release – Big Boy Names New CEO

26 01 2009

From a Big Boy Restaurants Interntaional, LLC press release…..

WARREN, Mich. –  Keith E. Sirois, a food service industry leader with 35 years of experience, was selected as chief executive officer of Big Boy Restaurants International, LLC. Sirois, 57, begins his new role Monday, Jan. 26, at company headquarters in Warren, Mich.

The appointment, announced today by chairman Robert Liggett Jr., completes a national search and four-month transition while board member Jim Jensen served as interim CEO.

Big Boy strategic planning and operating responsibilities now will be overseen by a business veteran whose career spans multiple restaurant concepts — including family dining and QSR. His most recent positions were at Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, where Sirois was president and CEO of the publicly owned franchisor and owner-operator of an 800-store dual brand system.

“We’re very fortunate to add Keith Sirois, a seasoned, successful restaurant chief executive to our leadership,” Liggett says. “He brings hands-on knowledge of franchise and company-owned restaurants, as well as a strategic vision and leadership for continuing our growth initiatives at Big Boy. Keith has an impressive record of sales growth, franchise development and team-building.”

Big Boy is an enduring icon of Americana with a widely recognized brand symbol holding a double-decker cheeseburger. The company is pursuing aggressive growth in new and existing markets. In California, where the first Bob’s Big Boy opened in 1936, a location with a drive-through lane is planned in the Los Angeles suburb of Downey — a prototype for a new customer service option. Read the rest of this entry »


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Kellogg Testing New Box Design

26 01 2009
The new boxes Kelloggs is testing in the Detroit market

The new boxes Kellogg's is testing in the Detroit market

I got an e-mail about a pilot program taking place in Detroit.  Battle Creek based Kellogg is conducting a six month test with a redesigned box at Kroger’s and Walmart’s in the Detroit area designed to save shelf space.

Kellogg Co., the largest U.S. cereal maker, has reconfigured the size of its boxes in an effort to sell more Froot Loops and Special K at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Kroger Co. stores in Detroit.

Kellogg is replacing cereal at 40 Wal-Mart and Kroger stores with shorter, deeper containers that hold the same amount, Kim Miller, vice president of morning-foods marketing, said in a telephone interview. The six-month test starts today.

[snip]

After several years of research, Kellogg reduced packaging by 8 percent for the test, wagering that consumers who lack kitchen storage will buy cereal in smaller boxes, Miller said.

Consumers put cereal boxes “on top of refrigerators, on countertops, lying down and on their sides,” Miller, 43, said today from Battle Creek, Michigan, Kellogg’s hometown. “Retailers are taking a similar direction, trying to optimize shelf space.”

They’re not shrinking the amount of cereal you get, they’re just shrinking the box and getting rid of all that empty space.  The interesting thing is Walmart is encouraging companies to come up with new packaging ideas that save space and are rewarding companies that do so with premier display space.  The new packaging won’t cost you anything more…at least yet..


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Mid-Michigan Dining on Facebook

26 01 2009

I just created a group for Mid-Michigan Dining on Facebook…I know you all have Facebook pages, so join the group and get some discussions going!  Follow the link below or on the sidebar and make sure you tell your friends about it!

Mid-Michigan Dining on Facebook!


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Categories : Michigan

What’s Up With the Smoking Ban?

26 01 2009

A few weeks ago, I posted a press release fromincoming Representative Paul Scott (R-Grand Blanc).  In that release, he said he was going to introduce a smoking ban on the first day of session which was on January 14.  I had been checking the Legislature website looking for the bill, but hadn’t been able to find it, so I e-mailed Rep. Scott to find out what the hold up was.  I got an answer today.

I am going to introduce the smoking ban bill as soon as possible. The legislature hasn’t read in any bills yet but hopefully I will be able to during session on Feb. 3rd. 

If you would like to look up what I’m going to propose you can go onto the legislature website and look up Bill Number 4163 for the 2007-2008 session.  The bill proposed by Brenda Clack is the same one I am introducing this year.
OK, so hopefully we’ll see something filed next week.  Then the legislature can sit on it again two years until election time.

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Name Change Doesn’t Hurt Biggby’s Growth

26 01 2009

The State News did a profile on Biggby founder and MSU Grad Bob Fish.  The only real newsworthy thing is almost an after thought in the lead. 

Fortunately, the name change didn’t stunt the growth of the company. Biggby has doubled its store numbers every two years since Fish began franchising stores in 1999. The company had its best year ever in 2008, opening 35 new stores across the Midwest and Southeast.

I know how hard change is for people.  I still don’t like to call Comiskey Park US Cellular Field.  It’s just not right.  To me, Beaner’s is an obvious reference to coffee.  It was the only thing I thought about when I heard the original name of the coffee franchise.  J actually had to clue me in as to why Beaners could be offensive.  Then, just last month, I figured out where the new name came from.  Duh…

Anyway, the thing I really wanted to write about today was Biggby’s ability to adapt.  The thing I absolutely LOVE about the franchise is that there is no set model on how the stores have to look.  I love the store in Holt that’s put in an old building or the store in downtown Lansing.  Biggby doesn’t have to go into the same, boring, building every time.  Outside of major cities, all the Starbucks look exactly the same.  What will help Biggby grow is being able to use existing buildings.


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Slows Bar-B-Q

25 01 2009
  • 2138 Michigan Avenue
  • Detroit, MI 48216
  • (313) 962-9828
  • Website
  • Menu
Slows Bar-B-Q on Michigan Avenue in Detroit.

Slows Bar-B-Q on Michigan Avenue in Detroit.

My biggest complaint about the food here in Mid-Michigan is that there’s no good BBQ.  After a rant one day, I was told by more than one person to eat at Slows Bar-B-Q the next time I was in Detroit.  That was probably six months ago, but we’ve only been to Detroit once.  J and I were in town for the North American International Auto Show and we wanted to do both lunch and dinner in the Detroit area.  We were too early for lunch at Slows, so we settled on BBQ for dinner.

Slows Bar-B-Q is on Michigan Avenue in the shadow of what’s left of Tiger Stadium.  There’s no parking lot that we could see, but we were able to find street parking around the corner.  The area looks a little rundown and not some place I would really want to be at night, but Slows stood out as a diamond in that rough.

Our first challenge was getting in the place.  We couldn’t find the door!  There are two doors that actually look like doors, but both are looked and not an actual entrance.  We stood looking at the store front trying to figure out how to get in!  Fortunately, someone came out.  The door is blended in to the facade.  It’s has the same wooden slats the cover the building.  No windows or even a handle.  There’s a hole cut out of the wood to pull the door open.  It’s actually a really cool look and once we figured out how to get in, we had a little chuckle and could appreciate the design.

We made it to Slows just after three o’clock.  Not a prime dinner time.  We thought we’d be ok, but when we got in, there’s was actually a wait.  There were two large groups in front of us as well as a couple normal size parties.  We gave our name to the host who told us it would be about twenty minutes.  A twenty minute wait at three in the afternoon!  Again, that’s usually a good sign, so we stuck it out.  Turns out, the wait was about ten to fifteen.   Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : BBQ, Detroit, Local Flavor, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

Cobo Center

24 01 2009
  • 1 Washington Boulevard
  • Detroit, MI 48226
  • (313) 877-8111
  • Website
The Cobo Center in downtown Detroit

The Cobo Center in downtown Detroit

I really didn’t want to miss the auto show.  My family has always talked about making the drive to Detroit, but this year, I live an hour and a half away.  I really didn’t have an excuse not to go, so J and I got up early and made the trip to Detroit.  We were going to the auto show.

The Cobo Center is in downtown Detroit near the river.  We made it downtown with no problem.  Being veterans of Chicago traffic made navigating Detroit that much easier.  The problem was, we didn’t know where to park.  There was some confusion on Jefferson street which put us down by Joe Louis Arena.  We didn’t want to park there because we didn’t know where we were, so we took a “Michigan Left” and headed back the way we came.  After another “Michigan Left” we were back in front of Cobo.  Still not sure where to go, I took a right where we finally saw some parking garages.  Surprisingly, it was only ten bucks and a really short walk to the entrance of the conference center.

Inside, the Cobo Center is huge.  It’s probably comparable to McCormack Place in Chicago…but I wouldn’t know.  I’ve never been there.  Sad, huh.  Anyway, we walked the lobby area until we found a ticket kiosk.  There were options to either buy from a ticket window or use a computer.  Buying tickets from a person meant cash only.  Using the computer wsa the only way to use a credit card.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Detroit, Downtown, Entertainment Venues, Reviews

The Fly Trap

24 01 2009
  • 22950 Woodward Avenue
  • Ferndale, MI 48220
  • (248 ) 399-5150
  • Website
  • Menu
The Fly Trap on Woodward Avenue in Ferndale.

The Fly Trap on Woodward Avenue in Ferndale.

When I started watching Diner’s, Drive In’s, and Dives, one of the first restaurants I saw was a little joint in Ferndale, MI called the Fly Trap.  At that point, J and I weren’t even dating and I had no idea that I would one day move to Lansing.  Still, the diner looked awesome and I knew if I ever made it to Detroit, I had to find this place.

J and I got up and got going this morning.  We figured since we live in Michigan, we have to go to the North American International Auto Show.  My parents were going to drive up from Eastern Illinois last weekend and go with us, but the weather kept them home.  They weren’t able to make the drive this weekend, so J and I decided to go on our own.  One of the things we really want to do is see as much and do as much in Michigan as we can.  We always took things in Illinois for granted and there are a lot of major events I’ve never been to.  Would you believe I have never been to the Taste of Chicago?  Me!  A guy who blogs about food has never been to one of the premier food events in the country that takes place in my backyard.  We didn’t want to do that in Michigan and the NAIAS is the equivalent to the Taste.

Before heading in to Detroit, we decided to stop and eat first.  I have a short list of places I want to eat at in Detroit and the Fly Trap in neighboring Ferndale was one of them. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : breakfast, Detroit, Diner, Ferndale, Local Flavor, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews

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