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Profiles & Photos
By Robert E. Martin
Best Furniture Store -
Feige’s Interiors
Feige’s Interiors, one of America’s oldest family-owned furniture
stores, offers a full line of quality items for the home. Feige’s designers
help clients develop long-term plans for their home interiors, to fit their
lifestyles, personalities and budgets.
Today, Feige’s has some of Mid-Michigan’s most experienced interior
designers selling some of the top names in furniture, lighting,
accessories, window treatments, art, and floor and wall covering.
Feige’s hours are Monday & Thursday, 10 am - 9 pm; Tuesday, Wednesday,
Friday, and Saturday 10 am - 5:30 pm; and Sunday 12 pm - 5 pm.
Another contributing factor to Feige’s popularity amongst our readers is
their commitment to the community. The success of a recent in-store
exhibition at Feige’s will have direct benefits for 14 underprivileged area
families, who will receive memberships to the Saginaw Children’s Zoo as a
result of proceeds from a raffle of a painting by visiting impressionist
Barbara A. Wood. Wood’s work was first shown in an exhibition at the store
in early March. The artists has made it a tradition at many of her shows to
bring a special work along with her to be donated to a local community
cause.
”We were very happy to host an exhibition by a national artist and also to
be able to do something to benefit the community,” says Feige’s General
Manager Jennifer Kamrath. “Barbara’s donation was a generous thing to do
for Saginaw families and the Children’s Zoo.”
Visit Feige’s at 4946 Berl Drive, off Tittabawassee in Saginaw, (517)
790-3856 or Toll-Free (877-3764).
Best Deli - Richie Rich’s
As they enter their sixth year of business, Rich Kramer - the ‘business
mind’ behind Richie Rich’s Gourmet Deli is proud to be selected ‘Best Deli’
in the Tri-Cities by Review readers, and also optimistic about the growth
of his business.
In addition to the original deli at 422 Hancock St. in Old Town Saginaw,
Rich also has an outlet at 901 E. Ashman in Midland, and recently opened a
location inside the newly re-located Antique Warehouse at 1122
Tittabawassee, and is busy planning on opening yet another outlet in Tawas.
Coupled with the culinary expertise of his mother, Sallie Kramer, Rich has
managed to offer substantial & tasty sandwiches, along with providing
tri-city taste buds with a mouth-watering assortment of unique salads,
soups, cheesecakes, and specialty items.
”We’ve added a lot of vegetarian items since we first opened, “notes Rich,
”and use good, high-quality ingredients. Everything is homemade, which is
reflected in the taste and quality.”
”All our meats & cheeses are supplied from Boar’s Head , which is the
biggest deli supplier in New York City. Our sandwiches are lower in sodium
and fat grams than a brand suck as Healthy Choice, only with Boar’s Head
you still have the ‘taste’. It’s quite healthy to eat here, and yet it’s
still filling, which definitely appeals to people.”
”I’ve always felt quality is worth the price, and we’ve stuck to our guns,”
concludes Rich. “I think people have come to appreciate your higher
quality, and our food is still below the market price of the Bay City
delis, where you can pay two dollars more for the same portion and quality.”
Best Place for Antiques -
The Antique Warehouse
When Jean Quinn and Pat Mallory bought the original owners of the Antique
Warehouse out in 1984, two years after it first opened on N. Michigan in
Saginaw, they were both ‘newcomers’ to the area. “We both had young
families and were looking for a way to become involved in the community,”
recalls Jean. “Pat and I kind of found each other and went from there.”
Today the duo have constructed a shining new structure at 1122
Tittabawassee in Saginaw Township, close to the I-675 expressway that is
teeming with 70 antique dealers and 12 official shops, along with the
addition of Richie Rich’s Gourmet Deli.
When asked what distinguishes them from the many antique dealers in the
tri-city area, Jean is quick to answer. “We deal in genuine antiques and
have an in-house Policy and Procedure Committee whose sole purpose is to
screen, evaluate and substantiate the authenticity of the items we handle.
With more replicas and forgeries surfacing across the nation, our goal is
to assure the customer can shop with confidence.”
Another unique component to the business is that all the individual
businesses and dealers work as a co-operative, with each owner in business
for themselves.
”Since our move from Michigan, we’ve had a lots of traffic and have seen a
lot of people we haven’t before,” notes Pat. “I don’t know if it’s the new
building or because we are somehow considered a new business.”
Is obtaining inventory a difficult process? “It depends upon the
business,” notes Jean. “Pat and I handle two entities - the gift shop and
the leasing. For the gift shop we go to markets personally in New York,
Atlanta, and Los Angeles to obtain the items we sell. For the dealers we
lease to, they mainly obtain their items from traveling to estate sales
throughout the country.”
About their new transition, Jean is quick to admit “it’s been a stressful
six months. We cried a lot in the beginning and thought maybe it would all
go away, but then we had to make a decision - are we going to retire or
keep going. We decided that we enjoyed what we did, our husbands are
retired, so now there are four of us, and we’re glad we moved ahead. We’re
20 years older now, but we did it!”
Although their new location is a smaller building than their former
location, Pat says there is more usable space in the new structure.
Best Place for Antique Clothing - Adomaitis Antiques
The husband & wife team of Dennis & Melodye Adomaitis have existed as
driving forces in the Saginaw community for over 30 years, and while their
business has witnessed changes over the years, their commitment and love
for antique clothing has remained constant.
”We started out in the ‘Carriage House’ next to the Montague Inn, which is
where we used to live,” reflects Melodye. “Dennis was teaching, as he still
does, and I was working in insurance. Dennis found that he could buy things
at flea markets in the morning, refinish them, put an antique sign out
front of the Carriage House, and sell them that afternoon - so that’s how
we started.”
”Someone came along who wanted us to make these items for a mall show, so
we figured how to do that and within a month came up with 2,000 pieces of
silverware that we started circulating and moving at antique shows. That
was back in 1970-1971,” she continues.
”We started traveling a lot and amassed a tremendous amount of stuff.
Eventually, we did so well that I quit my job at the insurance company and
just traveled and did shows. Dennis would join me on the weekend, but
you’re living like a gypsy and it got very tiring, especially after I drove
through a couple of blowouts with the van all by myself.”
”In 1980 we opened a store across the street and then started a flea market
for about six or seven years. Eventually we bought this building at 412
Court Street and the rest is current history.”
What does Melodye feel distinguishes Adomatis from other vintage clothing
dealers in the area?
”Longevity and success,” she answers. “We started out with vintage clothes
because I’ve always loved them. Eventually we branched into estate and
antique sales, but clothing is still my strongest interest. Our costuming
has grown tremendously as well. We found that people wanted to rent clothes
for more money than we were selling them for, so about 12 years ago we
branched out into costuming. We belong to the National Costumes Association
and have won awards for our apparel.”
”Personally, I think we do well because we’re so diversified. People seek
us out and we are definitely a ‘destination’ store.”
”There are ups & downs to this, as there are with any business,” concludes
Melodye, “because one day you are thrilled and on top of the world and the
next day you are asking yourself why you’re doing it, but I think that’s
true of most businesses.”
”We have a whole store, basement, and warehouse full of antique clothing.
Literally, we have thousands of clothing items.”
Best Men’s Clothier -
Edward’s Men Shop
Located at Green Acres Plaza on State Street in Saginaw, the dynamic
brother duo of Jim & Gary Silk are familiar names to the legions of men in
the tri-cities that rely upon these two to keep them looking good.
Edwards began back when Jim & Gary’s father, the late Ed Silk, came home
from the service back in 1947. “The original store was on Franklin Street
in Downtown Saginaw and then expanded to a location on Jefferson Street,”
reflects Jim. “The personality of our store has always been important, and
our father helped define what we are about today.”
”People didn’t have a lot of money back then and times were tight, so when
they shopped at Edwards they could establish credit, and if people were
starting a new job, our father would help them out.”
”Somebody even told us he had a post in the store that people would come in
and put their name upon to attempt to relocate acquaintances before they
went into the service,” adds Gary, “which is kind of neat. You would have
to beg, borrow and steal to get merchandise back then.”
”We have about 100 different manufacturers that we buy from,” continues
Gary. “A lot have remained constant, but like anything, a lot of the old
line vendors are going through transitions and some of the ‘old’ names are
gone now.
”You’ve always got to be looking at new lines and Tommy Bahama is very hot
right now. Actually, we were one of the first stores in the area to jump on
Nautica about 10 years ago. I remember seeing a guy from Nautica at a
grade-show begging people to look at his clothing, and now it’s a huge
conglomerate.”
When asked what distinguishes them from the competition, Jim answers that
the secret is in having knowledge of one’s customers. “We’re an old-time
retailer that knows the customers that walk into our door. We offer a
’personal touch’ and don’t have to run our business from a playbook that’s
written by a corporate entity.”
”We do business the way people once did years ago,” continues Jim. “Even
when we had five stores we tried to give each store its own personality,
and I couldn’t see doing it any other way.”
”Our business is pretty complex, “ adds Gary. “If you sat here and saw the
people that walk in the door you’d see we service every race, nationality,
and size range you can imagine. You can’t pre-package something like that.”
”If you go into big cities you’ll find more specialized store, but here our
market is so small that we must carry a little bit of everything. We need
to cater to the guy in the plant to the chief executive of a major
corporation and everyone in-between.”
”It’s like Cheers,” adds Jim. “We get the wildest personalities coming
through our doors. One day we had a guy fresh out of prison that walked in
because the State was buying him his first suit for a new job, and later
that day we had a one-eyed boxer walk in the door.”
”Plus, we have a lot of older customers that expect old-fashioned service.
If they go to a department store, someone just points them to rack upon
rack of clothing and they are on their own. That isn’t the case here.”
”Most men don’t like to shop,” states Gary. “They will wait until the last
minute or wait until their wife or girlfriend tells them they need a new
outfit. They want to get it and get out and look proper. “
”That’s what we’re good at.”
Best Female Clothier -
Meadowcreek
Back in 1984 Bob Dowling began his first Meadowcreek Clothier shop for
women in the brimming town of Millington on M-15 in a building which he
renovated.
Four years later, he opened his Saginaw location in 1988 at 70 N. Center
Rd. in Saginaw’s Block’s Plaza. Not content to rest upon his success, four
years later in 1992 Bob opened a third store in Downtown Bay City at 920
Washington. Three years later, in 1995 he purchased a store in Mt. Pleasant
and decided to close the Millington Store.
Surprisingly, this is the way an empire was built that relies upon only 8
percent of the market for a steady customer base. However, this is not
unusual.
”For a women’s specialty clothing store like this we carry goods that are
considered better than ‘bridge’,” explains Bob. “The price point is a
little more expensive that what you find out in the malls, but you pay for
what you get. Still, that does limit your customer base. “
”Basically, we’re a store that has a very core customer base of 8 percent.
Other people shop elsewhere for whatever reason, and we do pick up people
for special events and get a lot of incidental shoppers that buy a piece
here & there, but it is very gratifying to have such a solid and loyal base
of core customers that can drive our little store very well.”
Bob says that he got the idea for Meadowcreek because back in 1984 there
were very few clothing stores specializing in classic women’s apparel.
”There were a lot of department stores and moderately priced chain stores
that masqueraded as specialty stores, but in fact they were chain stores
from out-of-state.”
”We always thought there was a group of clothing companies that were not
represented well in this area that people desired that did quite well in
other areas like Detroit, Charlevoix, and Harbor Springs. In Mid-Michigan,
however, there was a not a lot of clothing like this available for women.”
According to Bob, the usual life cycle of most fashion houses is five
years, however the lines he carries are more classic and have been around
since the early 1900s.
”We have about one-third of the lines that we started with,” he notes,
”which is quite exceptional for the fashion business. Geiger of Austria and
Frieberg of Boston have been around quite a few years. But our customer
base is always changing. People come and go or move into a different life
cycle and want more casual clothing instead of suits, so we carry all that
clothing as well.”
Most of Meadowcreek’s employees have been with the store since its
beginning. “We try to retain employees so they know the customers’ likes &
dislikes, “ he adds.
”Still, the key to this business is being able to retain our old customers
while gaining new ones. We’re always looking for young, new faces.”
Best Place to Get Pierced -
Old Town Tattoo
Back when he returned home from his senior year of College at Ferris State
University, Jason Clayton received his first tattoo from a cousin.
Always interested in art and drawing, Jason was asked if he would like to
learn the art of tattooing. Eventually, one year later, he became so good
that his cousin & wife retired, Jason purchased their business, and the
legacy of Old Town Tattoo truly began back in 1991.
Located at 203 N. Hamilton St. in Old Town Saginaw, today Jason feels that
the key distinguishing factor contributing to the success of his business
is his clientele.
”They like our custom work,” he explains. “We have tattoo books out front
for ideas, but we prefer to draw our own unique designs, so people have
something that is totally their own and not a copy from a book.”
”A lot of shops do ‘flash work’,” continues Jason, “but they can’t draw
that well. Flash was good in the 1920s, but people today want something
unique. I could care less about the money today - now I want to do stained
glass, airbrush, and branch-out with my work.”
In terms of the ‘piercing’ phenomenon, Jason says that a couple of years
ago 30% of his business involved piercing whereas today it is 50/50 with
the tattooing.
”The State is getting ready to pass laws on tattoo & piercing that are long
overdue,” comments Jason. “Every Tom, Dick & Harry that went through an
apprentice is opening a studio and not doing good work. They learn from
someone they think is the greatest and don’t know the medical end of the
business, so I think it’s time for the state to pass laws.”
”But on the other hand, I question whether the State has the manpower to
enforce these new laws. If they enforce the laws, that’s good, but I think
it’s going to wind-up being another tax from the government - no one will
enforce it or watch over it. But hopefully it will regulate the amount of
people that come out and open new studios.”
What does Jason feel is the draw & allure of tattooing & piercing?
”I don’t know - people just wanna be different. They want to belong
to a ‘tribe’,” he answers. “For such a long time people were simply people.
In the 1950s everyone lived in little towns and in the suburbs and worked
some job and drove the same car and had 2.5 kids. Nowadays people want to
stand out from each other. They want to be outrageous and they’re political
and they’re religious and they want to express themselves. I think you’re
going to see even more of a renaissance in terms of tattoo & piercing art.”
Surprisingly, Jason says that a wide age group of people passes through his
doors. “We get parents that bring in their 15-year old son to 80-year old
men. One guy walked in the door with a cane and said he’d been looking at
getting a tattoo his entire life and walked out the happiest guy in the
world.”
”I’ve trained doctors to do cosmetic tattooing and also worked with a
couple of plastic surgeons in town,” notes Jason.
”They’ve learned from medical school, but that doesn’t teach a lot about
tattooing. Eventually, these doctors said ‘Screw it’ and they looked around
and came to me because I’m trained in the profession, and probably the most
experienced tattoo artist in Saginaw.”
Best Place to Buy Recorded Music - Records & Tapes Galore
For 25 years now, Bill & Judy Wegner have been familiar faces - almost
’icons’ - with their independently owned record store which they quite
aptly call Records & Tapes Galore.
Located at 1303 Court St. in Saginaw, originally Bill started out working
for the Wickes Corporation. “During one of Wickes’ purges, which they had
periodically when earnings were not so hot, they played musical chairs and
I was left standing,” remembers Bill.
”I said to myself, ‘Well, I’m going to try starting a record store. So in
1974 there was this ‘head-shop’ on Hamilton Street called The Ziggaraut,
and I decided to rent space from them. That didn’t work out, because they
didn’t want to rent that much space, so I said to my wife, let’s just start
our own record shop.”
Records & Tapes opened on December 10th , 1974. “I remember our first day
of business,” reflects Bill. “I sold one album and had five dollars in the
cash register and was so thrilled. Then the next day, we skunked and sold
absolutely nothing. But just before Christmas that year things started
picking up, and the rest is history.”
”When we started out there was no such thing as a CD and we sold these big
12-inch black slabs of vinyl, along with 8-tracks and cassettes.”
”Then I remember in the mid-70s when Disco came into vogue,” laughs Bill.
”All of a sudden my customers came in with perms and curly hair and these
tall disco shoes - it was pretty amusing, and still is - watching all the
fads that come & go.”
”With the advent of the CD, everything started to shift around. But we
still carry a pretty hefty stock of vinyl albums and do get a good business
from that. We even have 8-tracks if you’re interested, and get a lot of
people with ‘classic cars’ coming to purchase them.”
”I love talking to all the different people that come into the store, and
now we’re getting the sons & daughters of our original customers walking
through the doors.”
Bill is adamant that the key to his success is the fact that people
appreciate the personal attention he offers. “Chains can offer a mass of
merchandise, but they don’t have the depth we offer. A lot of the bigger
stores have hundreds of copies of the Top 10 releases and after that it
gets pretty thin. Plus, we do special ordering and aren’t’ afraid to look
up the strangest artists and not question people’s taste or pass judgement.”
”We do a lot of reading and research and frankly, the customer does rule.
If they ask for some band I’ve never heard of, I’ll order it and get the
record for them. And as the owner, I’m always here so people can always
talk to me. “
Best Place to Purchase a Stereo - The Listening Room
Tom & Marilyn Rodammer first started The Listening Room in December of 1981
in a storefront on Court Street in Saginaw next to Records & Tapes Galore.
As their business grew, changed, and evolved with the times, the pair
decided to relocate a few years ago to Saginaw Township, and today are
located at 5801 State Street in Saginaw Township, right next to Walmart.
Originally, Tom says his ‘vision’ for the business was to “focus on
providing a place where somebody could get good advice in an attempt to put
together a music system that would perform better than the typical
’off-the-shelf’ system. In turn, we wanted to offer products that were
performance oriented of good quality beyond the norm.”
In the 19 years since they first opened shop, many changes have occurred in
the world of audio.
”The most significant developments, not only from a consumer point-of-view
but also from a retailer is the transition from music only entertainment
systems to those incorporating video with music. The ‘home theater craze’
started very slowly, but is snowballing and now represents the most
significant part of our business,” states Tom.
Have product lines also changed, or are many of the ‘name’ manufacturers
still putting out strong high-quality performance-oriented systems?
”It’s kind of rare for any given supplier to maintain that kind of
consistency,” notes Tom. “I can think of just a few that have remained
suppliers for us over the years. Often the trend seems to be that a
manufacturer will work hard to come out with the type of products that we
are prone to embrace, developing a reputation as a result of that high
performance.”
”Once their products and reputation are in position, they will then cheapen
out in order to have a broader appeal to the marketplace,” he continues.
”Apparently it works for them because they move a lot of goods and move
onto other projects, but for people like us that are in it for the long
haul, it makes the situation kind of tough. But it does keep us in constant
vigil to embrace the right manufacturer.”
”Actually, changes in audio & video are happening more quickly than ever
before.”
”We get a broad spectrum of America walking into our doors,” notes Tom.
”Everyone from the bargain hunters that want a nice system to the upper
end. We do accept trade-ins, so are able to get good pieces of equipment
for people on a budget, but I am continually amazed at the upper end of the
spectrum - people willing to drop top dollar on systems.”
Are more people starting to design their homes with ‘home theaters’ built
into their architectural plans?
”Most definitely,” answers Tom. “That part of our business has increased a
lot. The idea of dedicated space for a home entertainment system is a very
up & coming idea. We work with a lot of people building homes with stereo
rooms and home theatre rooms in mind.”
Has the phenomenon of the Internet affected Tom’s business at all? “I’m
sure those kind of transactions take place, but for our purposes better
customers will use the Internet as a tool for research and then come into
the store a more informed buyer, which makes our job a little easier.”
Another ‘new wave’ to watch for is the converging of the computer industry
with the home entertainment industry. “It’s been spoken about for a couple
years now,” notes Tom. “But I think it’s developing a little more slowly
than anticipated, although I’m sure we’ll see more of that type of thing.”
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