October 17, 2018

October 17, 2018

by | Oct 17, 2018 | Clawson News

It May Be You

Clawson is one of those walkable, hometowny kinds of places. And the mission of The Clawson Downtown Development Authority is to keep the downtown area strong and vibrant. In celebration of the city and the people in it, the DDA recently completed the first phase of a permanent public art installation consisting of steel silhouettes that represent what DDA Director Joan Horton calls “the very best of Clawson – its people.” Several two-dimensional steel figures represent a woman and her dog, a man holding a child, a woman with a shopping bag and a youngster with a backpack. The DDA is currently looking for sponsors for the next phase of the installation. Contact Joan Horton at (248) 435-5299 or ddadirector@cityofclawson.com for sponsorship information.

The Blue Cat Band Rocks the Clawson Public Library

Come tap your feet and get into a groove at the library. Detroiters Al Carmichael on guitar and vocals, Billy Farris on guitar and vocals, Ken Murphy on drums and percussion, and Frankie Lee and bass bring together four lifetimes of musical experience and styles. The group has deep Detroit roots as well as a long list of song-writing, studio, national and international touring credits. Their rock, country, folk and blues classics will bring a whole new vibe to the Library at an all-ages show on Monday, October 29   7:00pm -7:45pm. To register, call (248) 588-5500.

Scary Senior Halloween Event

The Clawson Senior Center will host a Halloween Luncheon on Wednesday, Oct. 31 at noon. The afternoon will feature food, tricks, treats and prizes for the best costumes. The cost is $4, and tickets should be purchased by October 25th. Clawson residents can call the center to arrange free transportation for any of their programs or for lunch. Please call (248) 583-6700 for more information.

AOK Acting & Improv Workshop & Halloween Party

Do you want to act like a goblin or a ghoul? Acting Out Kids Community Theatre Kids is hosting a Halloween event for youngsters ages 7 to 18. Costumes are welcome but not required for this evening of acting, improv, and Halloween games and activities.

Acting Out Kids Community Theatre is an inclusive, youth-centered performing arts theatre and production studio that works to build confidence and emphasizes creativity in all aspects and all types of stage and video production.

The Halloween event will take place on Friday, October 26, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Hunter Community Center in Clawson. The price is $10.00 per child and there will be concessions available for purchase. Space is limited, so advance registration is required.  To register, please contact actingoutkids@yahoo.com.

Ciot in Troy Readies State-of-the-Art Warehouse/Showroom for Nature’s Masterpieces – and Much More

Ciot in Troy Readies State-of-the-Art Warehouse/Showroom for Nature’s Masterpieces – and Much More

by | Oct 17, 2018 | Detroit Ciot, LBN Community Series, Troy

Ciot in Troy Readies State-of-the-Art Warehouse/Showroom for Nature’s Masterpieces – and Much More
17
OCTOBER 2018
BY HONEY MURRAY
LBN Community Series
Troy
Jeff Glasener, Vice President of Detroit Ciot in Troy, grins, rubs his eyes, and quickly straightens his sport coat — a tweed that blends some of the same colors as the majestic slabs of stone that surround him.
“We closed a very important deal early this morning, and I just received the contract. Luckily,” he chuckles, “our lawyer will help with those 50 pages!”

Ciot, the stone, tile, and specialty design company begun in Montreal 68 years ago, is celebrating the tenth anniversary of Troy’s Detroit Ciot, its first showroom in the United States, and they’ve been so successful here that they are constructing – and have almost completed – a 55,000 square-foot warehouse and showroom, dedicated only to slabs (man-made, or of stone, glass, composites).

JEFF GLASENER

VICE PRESIDENT OF DETROIT CIOT IN TROY

“Though we offer an endless variety of tile for builders and homeowners,” says Glasener, “our focus area is primarily stone and slabs. Our current, 10,000 square-foot slab gallery is beautiful and holds 1000 slabs. We also have inventory in four other buildings. Our new warehouse will house 10,000 slabs.”

“In states like Florida or California,” Glasener explains, “slabs can typically remain outdoors. Some suppliers store them in Quonset huts or other dingy structures. But in Michigan’s freeze-thaw environment, the material needs to be protected. And our new warehouse-and-showroom is definitely state-of-the-art!”

The outside walls will be clad in slabs and glass.

“It’s designed with a whole new standard of displaying and showcasing the slabs,” says Glasener.

These exotic natural and manufactured slabs are used by over 200 local fabricators to offer designers, builders, and homeowners the precise material to personalize and beautify anything from a countertop, wall, furnishing, floor, or door frame to a corporate lobby, exterior structure, or even to create a work of art.

“We love our fabricators.” Glasener says. “The projects they complete with our products and designs are amazing!”

Glasener also loves the business of stone, which he has been in since he was sixteen.

“My dad, who owned a Chicago ad agency and had several factory owners as clients, always got me summer jobs at those factories when I was a teenager,” he explains. “One day, after I’d been crawling around inside a boiler, cleaning it out, my dad had me run an errand for him to a tile and stone company.”

“We’re not a typical tile or slab company,” says Spielmann. “Ciot is a fashion-forward, trendsetting powerhouse. We sell exquisite hard surfaces instead of fabric and cloth.”
“When that owner saw me in the state I was in,” he continues, “he said, ‘Hey! How would you like a different job? You can start here tomorrow!’  So, I did. After two weeks I was on the floor selling stone and, eventually, was president of a national stone company for 25 years. Now I am here, and it is great to be working at Ciot during such growth.”

Company-wide, Ciot imports over 2500 containers of stone and slab per year – and each container’s area is 5000 square feet.

The stone is gathered from more than 30 countries. Several times a year, owner and architect Benny Spielmann travels to Spain, Brazil, Israel, Italy, India or Africa and works with his team of stone buyers, who help make mining and purchase decisions.

“Our buyers not only need to be geologists, but they have to understand design and trends. They also help maintain our great relationships with quarries around the world,” Spielmann says. “We hand-select the quartz, granite, marble – and even semiprecious pieces of tiger eye, jasper, amethyst – and often buy it in the shape of large blocks. It’s like jewelry in large scale!”

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The blocks are sent to specialty processing facilities to be cut and polished into slabs.

“We’re not a typical tile or slab company,” says Spielmann. “Ciot is a fashion-forward, trendsetting powerhouse. We sell exquisite hard surfaces instead of fabric and cloth.”

And now those exquisite, hard surfaces – many of them brilliantly jewel-like – will soon have a new, light-filled, multi-million-dollar, elegant space of their own, at Detroit Ciot in Troy.

Ciot Detroit
1080 Coolidge Hwy.
Troy, MI  48084
248-288-8888
ciot.com
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October 10th, 2018

October 10th, 2018

by | Oct 14, 2018 | Clawson News

Chicken Talk

On Wednesday, October 10, at 7 p.m., there will be a public town hall meeting to discuss the current animal ordinance and chickens in particular. The meeting will be at City Hall at 425 N. Main Street.

It May Be You

Clawson is one of those walkable, hometowny kinds of places. And the mission of The Clawson Downtown Development Authority is to keep the downtown area strong and vibrant. In celebration of the city and the people in it, the DDA recently completed the first phase of a permanent public art installation consisting of steel silhouettes that represent what DDA Director Joan Horton calls “the very best of Clawson – its people.” Several two-dimensional steel figures represent a woman and her dog, a man holding a child, a woman with a shopping bag and a youngster with a backpack. The DDA is currently looking for sponsors for the next phase of the installation. Contact Joan Horton at (248) 435-5299 or ddadirector@cityofclawson.com for sponsorship information.

Free College Savings Talk

College doesn’t have to break the bank. John M. Dyer, a Financial Advisor with Royal Oak Financial Advisors, LLC, will help you learn how to invest in your child’s future without sacrificing yours on Saturday, October 13, 10 – 11 a.m. at the Blair Memorial Library. My Dyer can help you figure out how much college will cost, understand your savings options and decide which is best for you, while avoiding common college savings pitfalls. Call 248.588.5500 to register.

Kids Don’t Have to be Spooked by Allergies this Halloween

Although we don’t quite know why food allergies are on the rise, we do know that they can take the fun out of Halloween. To put the treat back into Halloween for kids with allergies, Clawson’s Downtown Development Authority created Trick-or-Treasure, their annual allergy-friendly trick or treat event.

Kids are invited to come out on Saturday, October 27 from noon until 3 p.m. and visit downtown businesses to gather allergy-friendly treat. Little witches, wizards, super-heroes and monsters will get treats from participating businesses as well as the Clawson Police and Fire Departments.

Halloween Isn’t Just for Little Kids in Clawson

The Great Pubkin Crawl for the over-21 set is a team event that combines a scavenger hunt, trivia, games and silly tasks. On Saturday, October 27, players will visit at least five of the eight venues while completing a game booklet solving puzzles, completing tasks and finding scavenger hunt items or snapping a photo. Booklets will be turned in at the end of the night for the prize drawings. Wear a costume and enjoy food and drink specials at downtown spots such as Mojave Cantina, Moose Winooski, Fifty Four West, Black Lotus Brewing Company, Old Detroit Burger Bar, Montage Grill, Tavern on the Main, Renshaw Lounge, and the new Zeoli’s Italian. Proceeds will support the Downtown Public Art Fund. Space is limited, so the organizers suggest pre-registration. Visit the DDA site for registration and more information. Registration will also be open the evening of the event at Three Cats Cafe, 116 W. 14 Mile, from 6-7pm.

Halloween Isn’t Just for Little Kids in Clawson

Halloween Isn’t Just for Little Kids in Clawson

by | Oct 11, 2018 | Proof

The Great Pubkin Crawl for the over-21 set is a team event that combines a scavenger hunt, trivia, games and silly tasks. On Saturday, October 27, players will visit at least five of the eight venues while completing a game booklet solving puzzles, completing tasks and finding scavenger hunt items or snapping a photo. Booklets will be turned in at the end of the night for the prize drawings. Wear a costume and enjoy food and drink specials at downtown spots such as Mojave Cantina, Moose Winooski, Fifty Four West, Black Lotus Brewing Company, Old Detroit Burger Bar, Montage Grill, Tavern on the Main, Renshaw Lounge, and the new Zeoli’s Italian. Proceeds will support the Downtown Public Art Fund. Space is limited, so the organizers suggest pre-registration. Visit the DDA site for registration and more information. Registration will also be open the evening of the event at Three Cats Cafe, 116 W. 14 Mile, from 6-7pm.

Greek Islands Coney Restaurant in Birmingham: 24 Years of Food, Families, and “Opa!”

Greek Islands Coney Restaurant in Birmingham: 24 Years of Food, Families, and “Opa!”

by | Oct 11, 2018 | Birmingham, Greek Islands, LBN Community Series

Greek Islands Coney Restaurant in Birmingham: 24 years of food, families, and “Opa!”

11

OCTOBER 2018

BY HONEY MURRAY

LBN Community Series
Birmingham

“Opa!” exclaims John Kotsogiannis as he stops by a booth to greet a long-time customer with a warm handshake and a clap on the back. “Where’s your daughter? Still in New York?”

As the two men chat for a moment, John nods his head and smiles at other lunch patrons who are picking up or ordering carry-outs or looking at menus, seated in his restaurant’s newly renovated booths and tables.

“We’ve been in Birmingham for 24 years,” says John. “I’ve seen families grow up here.”

JOHN KOTSOGIANNIS

OWNER OF GREEK ISLANDS CONEY RESTAURANT
IN BIRMINGHAM

Kelli and Mark Stebbins and their four children are one of those families.

“Mark and I walked here today from our home in Bloomfield Township, three miles away,” says Kelli. “We’ve been customers for 20 years! I’d ride my bike and meet Mark here when I was pregnant with our first child.”

“It was so cozy,” she continues. “We’d talk about what our child might be like while we ate what are still our favorites today: a hamburger for me and a gyro for Mark – though we’d often come for breakfast, too!”

“Yes, and with the kids, breakfast always included Mickey Mouse pancakes, which was exotic for them,” Mark chuckles.

“Part of the reason we come,” Mark says, “is the people: John and his fantastic staff. John always has a really positive outlook and a big smile.”

“And,” grins Kelli, “he always let us take four suckers!”

“If kids want to go to a place – even for the suckers,” John laughs, “the parents will follow. It’s about good, fresh food but, also, all about the nice experience.”

“I had a customer yesterday who was in from Miami,” John shares. “He said, ‘We have upscale restaurants, European places, fine dining – but nothing comfortable like this, with good atmosphere, food, and price.’ We just like to treat people the way we like to be treated while serving food we enjoy eating, ourselves.”

“All of our Greek dishes are made from scratch,” states John. “People especially love our homemade spinach pie and our lentil or chicken lemon-rice soup.”

“A lot of people now like to get home quickly after a long day and then eat at home,” Bill says. “So carry-outs—especially salads — are a very large part of our business.”

“And we sell a lot of chicken here. We have a lady who works cleaning chickens all day and then marinating them for 24 hours.”

Their most popular menu item is their Greek Islands Special Salad, with grilled chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, beets, cucumbers, feta cheese, and Greek dressing – which they make themselves and sell in bottles, along with their homemade Ranch dressing.

“We have customers who come from New York and Chicago and buy three, four, five bottles of our dressing,” John says.

Manager Bill Gikas, who grew up with John in Thiva, Greece, adds, “The dressings have no preservatives. And we have low-cal versions, too.”

“All the area schools – the students, parents, teachers — come here to get salads for meetings and to take home, and for catering their all-night parties and other events.”

“A lot of people now like to get home quickly after a long day and then eat at home,” Bill says. “So carry-outs—especially salads — are a very large part of our business.”

“People love that our foods are so fresh. We get produce and other deliveries five times per week,” shares John. “Nothing in our walk-ins is older than two days.”

“And now, our décor is fresh, too,” he continues. “My wife, Mary, chose the colors, the materials: everything! We were closed for eleven days and completed the work, including brand-new bathrooms.”

“I wanted to give Greek Islands a more modern feel, up-to-date and elegant,” explains Mary. “I’m not a designer by trade, so it took me a while…I had a vision and, after lots of tile and paint samples, we got it to work!”

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John’s whole family is involved in the business, along with his original partner, George Stefanakis, and his kitchen manager and newest partner, Ali Zacellari.

“My daughter Marisa, who studied graphic design and product packaging at Michigan State, created our menu,” John says. “And daughter Ana, a true family leader and a nurse anesthetist, keeps us all healthy and in line,” John laughs. “She’s always calling to say ‘Add more salads to the menu!’ And ‘Did you exercise today?’”

“I’ve worked a lot of jobs,” John relates, “starting at American and Lafayette Coney Islands as a teen. I treat people, staff and customers, the way I’d like to be treated. Most of my staff has been with me for years. We do the right thing, always, and we have done so for 24 years.”

“I’d like to be around for another 50,” he jokes. “Well, maybe 25….”

Greek Islands
Coney Restaurant
221 Hamilton Row
Birmingham, MI 48009
248.646.1222
www.greekislandsconey.com/birmingham/

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