Carol Medford smiles as she recalls the time when, at the age of 46, her vision began to change.
“All of a sudden, the print of my morning newspaper was blurry. I found myself squinting and, of course, positioning the paper further and further from my eyes, but my arms are only so long!” she laughs.
“I’d always gotten regular eye exams and had contacts for nearsightedness, but I’d just moved to the Royal Oak area and did not yet have an eye doctor. My dad suggested I visit his optometrist, Dr. Ray Salerno.”
“When I went for my first visit, I felt like I was seeing an old friend,” Medford says. “When I shared with Dr. Salerno that I liked my contacts and didn’t want to have to fuss with reading glasses – because caring for three toddler grandchildren kept me too busy to keep track of glasses – he carefully fit me with mono-vision contact lenses that allowed me to see wonderfully, both far and near, with no glasses needed.”
In the newly remodeled Royal Oak office on Main Street between 11 Mile and 12 Mile Roads that he shares with Dr. David Chorney, Ray Salerno (OD Diplomate, American Board of Optometry) talks about his practice and his recent move to Royal Oak from his previous location in Bingham Farms.
“As independent optometrists, I love what we do,” Dr. Salerno explains. “We are able to get to know our patients and to take time with them. We correct vision with glasses and lenses of all types. We diagnose and treat minor pathologies and injuries. And, importantly, because we know our patients, we can detect changes in their general and visual health and make proper referrals to appropriate specialists.”
One of the tools that Dr. Salerno uses is the Optos retinal imaging camera, which provides a diagnostic map of the patient’s retina, the sensory layer in the back of the eye.
“When you take that picture, you can see if the patient has glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration, diabetes effects – and you can refer them to the proper neurologist, internist, or glaucoma or retinal specialist.”
“And here,” he adds, “we can prepare patients for that visit by explaining what the specialist might not have time to address.”
Another condition that the Optos detects is retinal detachment.
“It’s important for people to know that if they ever start to experience sudden ‘flashes’ and floaters, or loss of vision, retinal detachment may be occurring and immediate treatment is necessary,” Dr. Salerno says. “The Optos camera can confirm such a diagnosis.”
As a neighborhood practice, Dr. Chorney and Dr. Salerno are able to make other types of recommendations for patients, also.
“We are able to ask them, ‘What do you like to do?’ And they say, ‘I knit!’ or ‘I play golf,’ ‘I’m always on the computer,’ or ‘I play hockey.’ And we can provide the perfect glasses, lenses and eye care for them.”
“It’s such a thrill,” Dr. Salerno says, “to have patients who actually walk here for a visit from their homes and offices. Royal Oak is such a wonderful destination location. People can fit in a great lunch, dinner or shopping around their appointment.”
“And,” he adds, “We have free parking in the back, convenient metered parking right in front – and a team of the friendliest, hand-picked staff including a certified optician, Val Mason, as our office manager.”
“As independents who, in the wake of more department and even grocery stores offering vision centers with what we consider to be assembly line-type service,” says Dr. Salerno, “at Main Street Eye Care, we are glad to be here to serve this easily accessed area and its children, parents, and grandparents: our community — and our neighbors.”
Main Street Eye Care
817 N. Main Street
Royal Oak, MI 48067
248-973-7821
When master plumber Raymond Oatman, owner of A-OK Plumbing, Inc., in Plymouth, received his first letter from the IRS stating that he owed over $150,000 in back taxes, he sought help from three different tax professionals to resolve his problem.
“None of those accountants came up with any solutions, and I was getting letters from the IRS saying they were going to seize my house, my vehicles, my business. My life was on hold. It was collapsed,” Oatman says.
The recession of the early 2000s had challenged the nature of small businesses, including Oatman’s.
“The industry changed,” Oatman says, “and I was losing money.”
“Tax problems can originate in many different forms. It could be a divorce, a bankruptcy, a loss of job, a failed business,” says Mike Franskoviak, certified public accountant, and president and chief executive officer of Franskoviak Tax Solutions in Troy.
“One out of twelve American taxpayers has serious tax problems,” he says, “and that includes anybody who owes the IRS over $20,000, has two or more years of unpaid taxes, is being audited or is facing the threat of property liens or seizures.”
“When Raymond Oatman came to see me, we found an offer in compromise and resolution with the IRS. Raymond owed about $150,000 in back payroll taxes, and we settled it for $8,500. I thought that was a pretty good tax deal.”
Oatman says, “I have never been to an accountant before Franskoviak Tax Solutions who used direct phone contact for ongoing negotiation: true interaction! Then we didn’t have to wait weeks for each letter, etc. I’d been working with those previous three accountants for seven or eight years!”
“By the way,” Oatman adds, “I owed the state $110,000, and Mike settled that for $1,600.”
Oatman has been able to rebuild and expand his business, and it is flourishing.
“I’m paying
my taxes on time and I hope,” he says, chuckling, “to never have to deal with the IRS that way again!”
Franskoviak, who received his graduate degree at Eastern Michigan University and his master’s degree from Colorado State University, and has worked as a tax manager for several firms (including Deloitte Touche in Denver, PricewaterhouseCoopers in Chicago, United Artists Communications in Denver, Volkswagen in Auburn Hills) says, “I was about five years into my CPA business when I noticed how many clients were getting tax notices.”
“It so happens,” he adds, “that I received a flyer for a seminar in Denver teaching CPAs, attorneys and enrolled agents how to best solve tax issues, so I attended.”
“The first day of the seminar,” continues Franskoviak, “I was enthralled and ecstatic to learn more of how to solve clients’ problems – and I made the complete commitment and joined the American Society of Tax Problem Solvers.”
In 1996, he opened Franskoviak Tax Solutions in Troy.
“We are a small, hands-on firm,” Franskoviak explains. “Unlike firms who compete against us, we have no high employee turnover. We have consistency in service and are excellent with communication. “
“The biggest complaint against our competitors is from clients who feel like they are a number or are ignored. We return every phone call within 24 hours.”
In addition to specialty tax services, Franskoviak provides many other accounting and tax services for individuals and businesses, including: preparation of business and personal taxes, tax planning and consultation, tax-favored retirement and financial planning, financial statements for business budgeting and loans, bookkeeping and payroll services.
“For small businesses – those making under five million annually – we are a one-stop shop,” says Franskoviak.
One of the services he is offering to established and new clients is explanation of the impact of the new Tax Law of 2017.
“For small businesses, if you operate a C Corporation, your top tax rate will decrease from 35 to 21 percent. If you run an S Corporation, you are allowed to take a deduction equal to 20 percent of your business net profits from your taxable income,” he says.
“For regular taxpayers, there are changes, too,” he continues. “It’s wise to check your withholdings to make sure they’ve been adjusted properly. On their website, the IRS has a tax withholdings calculator.”
“It’s important for people to see their tax advisor. Or, come to see us,” Franskoviak says. “Let’s not wait until next April, especially people who own a small business. Their changes will be dramatic. Most of the time it will be favorable – but not always.”
Meanwhile, Franskoviak and his staff continue to bring “dramatic and favorable” solutions to their clients who are faced with serious tax problems.
“Sometimes I feel like a social worker,” Franskoviak shares. “People meet with me. We give them hope. We give them a roadmap to the resolution of their problem.”
“And,” he says, “what we always hear after our first consultation is, ‘I feel better already.’”
Jane Miles of Clawson’s American Flag and Banner shakes her head and laughs as she recounts how, in 1978, she came to own the long-standing business.
Jane Miles, Owner – American Flag and Banner
“Yes, we’ve been around for 101 years, though I haven’t been here all that time,” she quips.
“It was time, after college graduation, a B.F.A., and unrelated jobs, for me to find work in my artistic field. I didn’t want to teach, so I was considering other outlets and saw an ad for a ‘sew-er’ for American Flag and Banner, located in Detroit, and owned byRobert Erdman.”
“During the employment interview, which was the weirdest of my life, Mr. Erdman asked me several personal and what I thought to be bizarre and, maybe, inappropriate questions: ‘Did I want to start a family? If so, when? How much education did my husband have? How much money did he make?’”
“I was offered the job on a Friday afternoon and thought about it all weekend, but decided not to take it.”
“When I called Mr. Erdman on Monday morning with my decision, he said, ‘that’s too bad … I was thinking you and your husband might like to buy the business.’ Well, my husband’s dream was always to own his own business. So soon after that interview, we did end up buying it.”
First located in Detroit on Fort Street and called Detroit Flag at that time, what is now American Flag and Banner finished, in 1923, the original flag that draped across the J.L. Hudson store on Woodward for Armistice Day and other patriotic holidays. The world’s largest flag at 3700 square feet, its stars were six inches tall, and a mile of rope was required to hang it. Its replacement, made in 1949, was seven stories high and needed 55 men to put it in place. Stars for Alaska and Hawaii were added in 1960 by six seamstresses and in 1976, after being hung a final time, the flag was donated to the Smithsonian Institution.
“There’s another flag we are known for, too,” says Miles. “During the initial year or so after we bought the business, we created the first flag for the African country of Liberia.”
Flags for every state and from every country – as well as items for schools, sports teams, and the armed forces – are available, and American Flag and Banner continues to create custom items.
“We just made the ‘Roaring Lions’ flags for the Detroit Lions,” says store manager Emily Dancy, “as well as their ‘WCF’ flags, the initials for William Clay Ford.”
“We also repair flags,” Dancy adds. “And if they can’t be repaired, we can dispose of them properly.”
Longtime customer Marc Secontine, owner of The Varsity Shop on Adams Road in Birmingham,says, “This is such a nice business. It was great to buy the American flags, flagpoles – and flagpole lights – from them for our business.”
Currently, spread out on tables in their store’s adjacent workshop, are fabric, patterns, tools and “goop” for making a special-order sports banner for Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.
Though at one time American Flag and Banner had ten employees who did the sewing of flags, there is now one main sewing staffer, Claudia Geiger, who is also a commercial artist, the store’s design manager and Miles’ longtime friend and schoolmate.
Working in perfect unison as the team they’ve been since their days at Cass Technical High School in Detroit and as BFA students and sorority sisters at Wayne State University, Miles lays out the pattern pieces that Geiger has made, applying the sticky liquid over them that transfers the outline to the underlying fabric.
“It’s easy for people to order inexpensive, computer-printed flags online from China, for example,” Miles shares. “But our handmade flags and banners are gorgeous, hang beautifully, and they last.”
“My computer’s up here,” Geiger adds, chuckling as she points to her head. “And it seems that when we make their flags and banners, the team really does win more often!”
With a wall of storage for patterns that she has drawn as a testament to their work, Geiger recalls past projects.
“Years ago, we had a whole room full of patterns, and we made the most amazing, hand-sewn felt and appliqued flags and banners. It was art. Now, clothes are so inexpensive, and there aren’t that many people learning or wanting to sew. And fabric and patterns do cost a lot! But I meet people and ask, ‘How do you live without a sewing machine?’”
“We’ve been so fortunate with our sewing machines,” says Miles, pointing to the wall-length sewing table. “These are the original machines that came with the purchase of the business. They have old-school ball bearings. We maintain them, and repairmen are in awe of how well-made they are. And parts for them are still out there!”
Many of their other tools and supplies were also included with the business’s purchase by Jane Miles and her husband, Bill, who passed away early this year, and were brought with them when the business was moved to Clawson in 1980.
“Clawson is a great spot for us,” Miles says, “a most wonderful and patriotic town and place to be.”
The Star-Spangled Banner still waves – and has been waving for over a century – at American Flag and Banner, located in Clawson since 1980.
And in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 national tragedy, hundreds of people, in a line that circled their building, waited in the rain to purchase flags and show their patriotism.
“The people were amazing. They were patient and supportive as we made each sale – which, for those who needed flagpoles, took extra time, then, to drill the proper holes for installation,” explained Miles.
“There were no planes flying, either, so luckily Bill found an empty truck that was able to bring us products. Meanwhile, customers were buying everything we had and stripped the place of U.S.A. knickknacks – and even bought my own patriotic clothes off of me!”
“But the best thing was the sense of community as those in line became acquainted during their wait. You could hear people wishing those behind them, ‘Good luck with that wedding!’ or ‘I hope your mom recovers quickly!’ as they entered our store.”
“It’s a wholesome business. Through all of our years, even though a good flag can be a luxury item, no one has ever written us a bad check or lied about their history to receive our veterans’ discount. And that,” concludes Miles, “is just another form of patriotism.”
Kevin Hamilton, general manager of MOD Pizza on Big Beaver Road in Troy, smiles in awe as he stands in the midst of his restaurant’s frenzied, first-day activity.
“Opening this store has been a wonderful, uphill roller coaster,” he says. “This team is amazing. Their personalities bring the MOD experience to life as we serve the freshest, fastest pizzas while also serving the community with employment opportunities and local philanthropy.”
MOD Pizza, with over 330 locations around the United States and Canada, was founded in Seattle in 2008 by Ally and Scott Svenson as they sought out places with healthy, quick and delicious food to eat with their own family of four children.
Having traveled to Italy and enjoyed the thin, crispy, freshly made individual pizzas of the street vendors, the Svensons decided to try the “individual pizza” concept in their hometown of Seattle.
They also wanted to develop a business that would provide special support to its workers and its neighborhood.
Opening at the start of the recession, the Svensons hoped to feed families affordably and to provide jobs for those having trouble finding work, including people with special needs and people rehabilitating from addictions or with past crime records.
“The last thing the world needed was another pizza place,” Ally says on the MOD Pizza website, “but maybe this one could be different…and everyone could get what they wanted, made fresh on demand, for as little as possible with employees paid as much as possible, with opportunities for real growth – and even second chances.”
And, as customers approach the counter to order their pizzas made assembly-line style, they can see and get exactly what they want from a choice of crust sizes, dough type, sauce, cheese and over 30 fresh meat and vegetable toppings, temptingly displayed.
“I’ve just come from a performance I gave at Rochester Schools,” says professional storyteller Barbara Ann Poelman (storiesandplay.com). “I don’t eat carbs, so all these toppings on my pizza are actually like a hot salad, and the crust is my plate.”
“I predict,” Barbara Ann adds, “that one day MOD Pizza will have an almond crust on the menu, for those of us who eat ketogenically.” A ketogenic diet, sometimes referred to as “keto,” is very low in carbs and high in fat, producing ketones (broken-down fatty acids) instead of the glucose that would be produced from the metabolic breakdown of carbohydrates.
Bill Thompson stopped in on his way home from work and looks around at all the balloons and jovial staff members.
“I didn’t realize this was their grand opening today,” he says, waiting for a six-inch pizza to eat in the store and a nine-inch pizza to take home in a specially designed, recyclable box that keeps the pizza straight-from-the-oven fresh for twenty minutes.
“It’s my first time at a MOD Pizza,” he continues, “but it won’t be my last! It’s hard to believe that you can get as much of as many toppings as you like for one, set price. And I don’t think I waited even five minutes!”
The pizzas cook quickly in a large, 800-degree brick oven.
“I like my pizza a little more well-done, so that’s how they cook it for me,” says Maureen Neil, who usually goes to the Rochester Hills store with a daughter and grandkids. “And I love the chance to have very light cheese and lots of greens – or anything I’m in the mood for. The salads are fantastic, too. Made-to-order, and just like I’d do at home.”
The Mod Pizza locations in Troy and Rochester Hills are owned by TEAM Schostak (teamschostak.com). They also own locations in Brighton, Canton, Chesterfield Township, Livonia, Northville, Shelby Township, Southgate and Woodhaven, and they have plans to have 25 Michigan locations within the next five years.
Paul Whitmore, general manager of Livonia’s MOD Pizza for three years and a Schostak team member for seventeen years, helped with the opening of Troy’s MOD Pizza.
“Our best asset is our team of workers,” Whitmore says. “We hire for personality and train for skill. One of our core values is ‘individuality with responsibility.’ And, we empower our staff to go above-and-beyond in their service.”
“I love working here,” says Jen Hayton, who has worked at the Rochester Hills store for almost two years and helped with Troy’s grand opening. “We have the best boss ever! I love the environment and the people. It’s incredibly fun making the food, and it’s like a second family here.”
“We offer the opportunity for workers to truly be themselves – like butterflies out of their cocoons,” says Hamilton. “And our staff really enjoys our giving-back efforts, when we have events and make donations and thousands of meals for the needy and homeless.”
“Every experience here is special in its own way,” Hamilton says. “And so is every pizza!”
In 1949, Harry S. Truman was sworn in as president and unveiled his Fair Deal program; the first Emmy awards were presented; the first Volkswagen car was brought to the U.S. and sold; world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis retired; Israel was admitted to the United Nations; Hopalong Cassidy, the first television western, aired – and The Barber Pole barber shop opened in Birmingham, Michigan.
Now in its 70th year, The Barber Pole is Birmingham’s oldest, still-operating business.
And every Monday through Saturday, from morning until night, men of all ages and from various locations and walks of life gather at that long-standing shop (now owned by Stephen Trachsel) for haircuts, straight razor shaves, beard trims, shoe shines and an atmosphere that hasn’t changed much at all through seven decades and three generations of owners.
Opened by Max and Marie Ege, The Barber Pole was eventually run by their son Keith until his death in 1997. Keith’s wife, Helen, then managed the shop until their daughter, Sue Ege White, took ownership in 1999.
In 2007, Sue sold The Barber Pole to Stephen, one of its barbers.
“I originally started barbering because of my ministry,” says Stephen, who is also the senior pastor of Grace Apostolic Church at 700 E. Elmwood in Clawson. “I knew, from the time I was thirteen, that I was called into ministry and was looking for a job that was flexible and would allow me to still fulfill my church and community duties.”
“When I was in bible school,” Stephen recounts, “a guy in our dorm would cut peoples’ hair and I thought, ‘That seems like a good idea!’”
Owner Stephen Trachsel
“I went to Meijer,” Stephen chuckles, “and bought a haircutting kit, and it had an instructional video. For a year, I cut hair for friends in my parents’ home and then, in 1999, I went to Barber school.”
After getting engaged and then married to his wife, Dana, Stephen began working at The Barber Pole in 2001.
“It’s such a great place to work and visit,” Stephen says. “The other barbers are fantastic people and extremely skilled. And as a barber here, I found myself getting many ideas for the business. I was blessed to be able to become its owner in 2007.”
One of the first things Stephen did as new owner was to extend The Barber Pole’s hours.
“We’d been closed on Mondays,” he says, “but recognized the need to be open. We also extended Saturday’s closing hours from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. And we installed a flat-screen T.V.”
“But essentially,” he says, “nothing else has changed, and we are still the old-fashioned, downtown barber shop where people stop in to talk, grab a haircut, shoe shine or beard trim, maybe play a game of checkers, and feel very comfortable.”
The antique cash register clangs as the drawer opens and closes with each transaction, and some pedestrians wave to the customers and barbers they know as they pass by.
Burt Bryson, a local businessman walking by, recognizes a friend who is just about to have his face wrapped in hot, white towels in preparation for a beard trim by barber Ryan Alsup. Bryson enters the shop, high-fives his smiling friend and decides to have his own hair cut and beard trimmed.
“That’s what I like about working here,” says Alsup, who has been at The Barber Pole for eleven years. “It’s a great area with great people.”
“And,” he adds, “you should see this place when we are having a groomsmen’s shave party, when every chair has a guy with his face slathered with pre-shave lotion or wrapped in hot towels, getting their shaves for a wedding.”
Michael Sparks, from Bloomfield Hills, has been coming to The Barber Pole for over ten years, and he often brings his twelve-year-old son with him for a haircut.
“They all do a great job,” Sparks says. “The haircuts are good, and the experience is even better.”
“I have been to a salon, but the feeling was more uptight, like being on display. Here,” he explains, “it’s very comfortable and enjoyable.”
Sparks, sitting in a red leather barber chair, smiles as Stephen completes his haircut.
In March of 2017, Stephen retired from full-time barbering but, on the last Thursday of each month, he sees his regular customers from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m.
“My congregation at Grace Apostolic Church is growing,” Stephen explains. “And the Clawson Food Pantry that I separately run has taken off and is now feeding between 80-100 families per month. I feel very lucky to be able to pastor my church and be very involved in my hometown Clawson community – and to be employing seven full-time barbers here.”
Stephen, the son and grandson of ministers, brings his own eleven-year-old son Lincoln, the oldest of his three children, to the shop on Saturdays.
“Lincoln cleans up, gets pop and food for the barbers, and helps take care of things. We don’t believe in child labor laws,” Stephen laughs.
And, with Stephen’s encouragement, a 21-year-old member of his church is attending barber school.
“We’re very happy here and doing everything we can to make sure that The Barber Pole can be here for another 70 years.”
The Barber Pole
164 S. Old Woodward
Birmingham, MI 48009
248-644-9849
NOTE: Currently there is road construction on South Old Woodward with a projected ending date of July, 2018. Please feel free to call The Barber Pole for updates or directions.
“As independent optometrists, I love what we do,” Dr. Salerno explains. “We are able to get to know our patients and to take time with them. We correct vision with glasses and lenses of all types. We diagnose and treat minor pathologies and injuries. And, importantly, because we know our patients, we can detect changes in their general and visual health and make proper referrals to appropriate specialists.”
“It’s important for people to know that if they ever start to experience sudden ‘flashes’ and floaters, or loss of vision, retinal detachment may be occurring and immediate treatment is necessary,” Dr. Salerno says. “The Optos camera can confirm such a diagnosis.”
Kevin Hamilton, general manager of MOD Pizza on Big Beaver Road in Troy, smiles in awe as he stands in the midst of his restaurant’s frenzied, first-day activity.
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