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WEEK Comerica Hatch contest narrows finalists to 4 he Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest narrowed its field of startup finalists to four as voting began at HatchDetroit.com for the public to back one of the Detroit-based businesses: Eskimo Jacks Artisan Cookies + Ice Cream, Live Cycle Delight, Caribbean cuisine business Norma G’s and wine bar/home goods store The Royce Detroit. Voting continues through noon Friday. The winner, to be announced after business pitch presentations at the Hatch Off event Friday, will receive a $50,000 grant from Comerica Bank and legal, marketing, accounting and other support.
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ON THE MOVE 䡲 Larry Denton, former chairman, CEO and president of Auburn Hills-based Dura Automotive System, joined Dearborn architectural firm Ghafari Associates as president of its process group. Denton, 65, was most recently president of the Troy-based North American headquarters for Nobel Automotive Group. 䡲 Justice Mary Beth Kelly is retiring from the Michigan Supreme Court to join Bodman PLC. Kelly, 53, will be partner and vice chairman of the Detroit law firm’s litigation and alternative dispute resolution practice group, effective Oct. 15. 䡲 Executive Director Matt Clayson has left the Detroit Creative Corridor Center for an-
other position, the organization said. A Matt Clayson: spokesman Left Detroit Creative couldn’t say Corridor Center. where Clayson is headed; a search for a replacement has begun.
ON THE WEB AUG. 15-21
Detroit Digits A numbers-focused look at the week’s headlines:
4.5%
The yield on $245 million in bonds sold by the city of Detroit on Aug. 19. It’s the city’s first bond sale since emerging from Chapter 9 bankruptcy on Dec. 10, 2014. The bonds are reportedly 2 percentage points higher than top-rated debt, showing investors still remain uncertain about the city’s future.
$
211,000
The value of incentives New York City-based Chasing Light Entertainment is eligible to receive for its eight-part HGTV series that chronicles the renovation of the Ransom Gillis mansion in Detroit. The production company plans to spend $844,125 to film the project, including the hiring of 12 Michigan residents.
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The years Dave Dombrowski spent as the president, CEO and general manager of the Detroit Tigers. He was fired on Aug. 4, then hired by the Boston Red Sox on Aug. 18.
low-profit limited liability company, effective Oct. 1. The move is expected to help the organization cultivate new investment and new projects. 䡲 Sterling Heights-based Sunnybrook Golf & Bowling Inc. is closing, and the 140 acres of usable land it sits on is expected to be turned into a development for a large-scale user, possibly automotive-related, Crain’s sources said. 䡲 Southfield-based supplier Lear Corp. acquired intellectual property and technology of Autonet Mobile Inc., a Santa Rosa, Calif., software and device developer of automotive applications. Financial terms were not disclosed. 䡲 Ann Arbor-based Esperion Therapeutics Inc. said U.S. regulators won’t require a trial to determine the effects of its experimental cho-
lesterol drug on heart health, smoothing the path toward approval, Bloomberg reported. 䡲 A planned second metro Detroit location, in Birmingham, for the Roasting Plant, a New York City-based coffee shop chain, has fallen through. 䡲 A 500,000-square-foot logistics center for Linc, which serves auto equipment manufacturers, is coming to Detroit’s east side at the I-94 Industrial Park by 2016, AP reported. Linc is part of Warrenbased Universal Truckload Services, owned by Manuel “Matty” Moroun and his family. 䡲 The Zenith restaurant in the Fisher Building was to close Aug. 23 after a little more than a year in business.
OTHER NEWS 䡲 Restaurant and office space are planned for 565 Larned St. in Detroit after a $2.1 million July sale in which New Jersey developer Mitchell Mekles bought the 30,000-square-foot building from Bloomfield Township real estate company Princeton Enterprises.
䡲 Lawrence Technological University pledged $3.5 million in scholarship support to Sampson-Webber Leadership Academy students as it aims to prepare more Detroit Public Schools students for sci-
ence, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics careers. 䡲 The Urban Entrepreneurship Symposium will return Oct. 23 for its second year, this time at the A. Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. The brainchild of David Tarver, president of the Urban Entrepreneurship Initiative, the daylong symposium was at the University of Michigan last year. More information is at urbanei.org . 䡲 The Detroit Regional Chamber is challenging a ballot initiative to raise Michigan’s corporate income tax to pay for roads by discouraging voters to sign the petition by Citizens for Fair Taxes. 䡲 A federal appeals court upheld the corruption conviction and 28-year prison sentence of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, AP reported.
䡲 United Shore Financial Services LLC in Troy promoted Melinda Wilner, 40, to its new COO posi-
tion. She had been executive vice president of underwriting. 䡲 Dan Austin, 34, a Detroit Free Press assistant editor who has documented the history of the city’s buildings, was named Mayor Mike Duggan’s deputy communications director.
䡲 Data Driven Detroit, the data collection and analytics service for foundations, governments and other clients, will spin out from a nonprofit to become a
RUMBLINGS Even with injury,Tigers rookie has promising future in retail
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etroit Tigers pitcher Daniel Norris, who has become a
media darling thanks to his eccentric story of living in a VW van during spring training in Florida, crushed a two-run home run at Wrigley Field last week in a victory over the Chicago Cubs. It was his first career at-bat. No other American League pitcher has hit a home run at Wrigley in its 101-year history. History! But in this star-crossed Tigers season, Norris later had to leave the game, a 15-8 Tigers win on Wednesday, with a strain in his right oblique muscle. He was put on the 15-day disabled list the next day, likely ending his season. The 22-year-old bearded lefty who surfs and reads Jack Kerouac novels, electrified fans in his Tigers debut Aug. 2 by allowing one run in seven innings in a four-hit victory. His performance was more pedestrian in his next three starts. The Tigers and their concessionaire at Comerica Park, Buffalo, N.Y.-based Sportservice, said they talked about ordering some Norris merchandise Daniel Norris: Hit but didn’t end a home run in his up selling the first career at-bat. prospect’s No. 44 jersey or Tshirt at the stadium. If he heals and performs well in spring training, Norris is expected to have a spot in Detroit’s 2016 starting rotation, and his gear will show up for sale at the ballpark and in metro Detroit stores. At least one third-party seller has Norris apparel now. DetroitAthletic.com sells a Norris No. 44 jersey from official Major League Baseball apparel supplier Majestic Athletic for $109.99. Also, the Toronto Blue Jays — the team that traded Norris to Detroit in return for ace pitcher David Price on July 30 — still has Norris’ former No. 32 T-shirt for sale at the club’s online store (jaysshop.ca). It’s discounted to $26.24 from the original $34.99 price.
Aretha Franklin wants to open Detroit nightclub
COMPANY NEWS NATALIE BRODA
The Detroit Fire Department on Friday unveiled five of its 10 new fire apparatus trucks, built for the department by Snyder, Neb.-based Smeal Fire Apparatus Co. Charlotte-based Spartan Motors Inc. supplied the chassis and cabs.
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Aretha Franklin says she wants to open a Detroit entertainment venue that would include a nightclub and fine dining. The Queen of Soul told WWJ 950 in an interview broadcast Thursday that she’s “glad that Detroit came through the bankruptcy with flying colors.” She said that she loves how the city is enjoying
Aretha Franklin: Wants to open a Detroit entertainment venue. a renaissance and that she’s “going to be part of that renaissance.” Franklin says the venue would include “a five-star nightclub for dining and dancing, the band, the whole nine yards” as well as a museum. Franklin says she’s found a potential location downtown, with details to be announced. She was scheduled to perform Saturday at Detroit’s Chene Park.
Madison Heights biz builds swanky beef jerky trailer Madison Heights-based Triune Specialty Trailers has built a
tricked-out display trailer for The Beef Jerky Outlet, a rapidly growing chain based in Seymour, Tenn. The $200,000 yellow trailer, called “The Experience,” has custom stairs, removable sign panels, a generator and Internet capabilities for retail sales, Triune said in a statement. It also has a rear door with a 12volt lift to allow disabled access to the trailer’s retail and display space. Additionally, it has a fold-out stage with a custom-lighted tent that expands the trailer’s retail space for use at large consumer events and trade shows. The Experience is outfitted with custom stainless-steel-accented graphic wraps and rivetless aluminum skin, Triune said. “The idea for the trailer started as a back-of-the-napkin sketch by the customer and evolved into a knock-your-socks-off shopping experience,” Harry Kurtz, president of Triune Specialty Trailers, said in a statement. “No detail was too small, and the latest in trailer design and options were utilized.” The chain is growing rapidly as America’s lust for salt-preserved lean meat snacks has ballooned into a $1 billion-plus industry. It has 37 stores, with plans for 63 more. Triune Specialty Trailers manufactures customized, expandable mobile trailers. Clients have included NASCAR teams, Mit subishi Electric, the Library of Con gress, Cleveland-based Lincoln Electric and rapper Jay-Z’s Ro cawear .