People who buy an Element Electronics flat screen television in the near future will be able to watch Chrysler’s “Imported From Detroit” commercials on a television that was actually made in Detroit. When production starts up this March, Element Electronics will be the only television manufacturer assembling their televisions in the United States.

Sure would be nice if we start to see a trend of a return to companies manufacturing here in the U.S. instead of overseas.

Full Story

Aside from having the niftiest vintage neon sign I have seen in a while – Henry’s Hamburgers offers an array of tasty treats served up with a smile. I dropped in a couple weeks ago on the way to take pictures of the waves at the St. Joseph Lighthouse. The basic Brown Bag Special is a double cheeseburger, fries, and a drink for $3.99. It is not merely the “Brown Bag Special” in name only – it actually came in a brown bag .

I knew the cheeseburger was going to be good when I opened the brown bag and the delicious aroma escaped. In retrospect, I wish I had bought a couple of Brown Bag Specials – it was that good. I’m going to try and head back up there while there is still color on the trees and before (hopefully) the snow flies.

This year, 2009, marks Henry’s Hamburgers 50th anniversary of opening for business in Benton Harbor. I’ve tried finding some hard facts to support my conclusion, but without anything definite I can merely surmise that this is the last Henry’s Hamburgers still in operation. While at other old Henry’s Hamburgers locations the building still remains – they are no longer operating as Henry’s.

From the Henry’s Hamburgers website –

Henry’s Hamburgers began as a part of the Bressler’s Ice Cream Company’s efforts to get in on the drive inn business in the 1950’s. In the early 60’s, there were over 200 Henry’s (more stores than McDonalds at the time!) from coast to coast, with the operations headquarters in Chicago, IL.

Don Bishop and Harold Shook opened the Benton Harbor Henry’s in April of 1959, in the new Fairplain Plaza Shopping Center. They established a reputation for service and value, listening to their customers instead of the franchisor, which enabled them to remain in business after the Henry’s chain ceased to be a player in the 1970’s. This was strictly a carryout business until the addition of drive thru service in 1988, which now accounts for over 70% of sales.

Wayne Senecal and Dave Slavicek bought out the Bishop/Shook family in 1983, embarking on a major updating of the facility. The drive thru service system was updated in 1999. With a change of ownership in the Fairplain Plaza and an obsolete building to content with, Henry’s decided to build a new, state of the art “hamburger factory”, almost directly across the street for the original store. Dave Slavicek bought out Wayne Senecal in 2006.

If you go:

1832 M 139
Benton Harbor, MI 49022
(269) 926-6757

Open Mon-Sat 6:30am – 10:30pm

Wasn’t the weather simply gorgeous across Michigan over the weekend? I certainly enjoyed working on a few late summer projects and spending part of the day on Saturday attending a local harvest festival. One of our favorite farm market vendors, Crooked Creek Farms, wasn’t at the harvest festival so we drove on over to their produce stand and picked up some wonderful heirloom tomatoes, green peppers, and potatoes.

They have delicious locally-grown produce at excellent prices. I don’t think we paid more than we would at a local chain grocery store that was trucking in the produce from across the country. In addition to the great prices and tasty food we’re supporting a local business and I believe that is important.

Who knows how many more weekends we’ll have that were as beautiful as this past one? I hope everyone enjoyed some time outside .

The last Dog n Suds drive-in that remains in Michigan is in Montague. Built in 1963 this location has been owned by the same family since 1965. Dog n Suds is open April through September from 11am to 10pm Monday through Saturday and 11am to 9pm on Sundays. Here is their full menu with prices.

If you are ever in the neighborhood I strongly recommend stopping in for some Coney dogs or a burger. Of course, you have to have some Dog n Suds root beer to make the meal complete. Great food and fun for the entire family.

A few more of the photos I took of Dog n Suds.

A great set of photos taken at night with vintage cars and trucks parked at the drive-in.

SeekingMichigan.org has a great post today about Faygo and Vernors which included a link to this commercial. I thought the commercial was too interesting to not post, so here it is:

Can you imagine going to Detroit and where you used to see burned out buildings and vacant land parcels you now see thriving farmland, recreational centers, and wind turbines generating the farm’s energy needs. If John Hantz’s vision comes to fruition that will be the case. If the logistics and red tape can be handled this could be a tremendous boon for Detroit.

We might witness the rebirth of the greatest industrial city into a diversified and beautiful high-tech innovative hub. The renaissance of Detroit could spread across our wonderful state.

Ahh, but perhaps I’m being a bit too Pollyanna-ish here.

Before this even has the chance to get off the ground it will probably be poo-pooed by “experts” and other pundits. The Detroit City Council will balk at merely giving away this “valuable” vacant land that is currently not generating tax revenue. For a trip down memory lane check out this exclusive audio I was able to obtain from one of the Detroit City Council’s meetings a few years back – Exclusive Detroit City Council Audio.

I hope that this plan is able to succeed in some form or another. It’s going to take visionaries such as John Hantz and others that see a unique solution to a constant problem and don’t just talk about fixing it – they go out and do it.

Read the story about Farms in Detroit.

The USDA defines a small farm as one that generates less than $250,000 in annual revenue. Michigan is home to some 34,621 such small farming operations. These range from small greenhouses to simple fruit and vegetable producers.

I found it interesting that there has been growth in the number of small farms in Michigan. This is due to a couple of different factors. One, a lot of people are wanting to grow their own food and be a provider of locally grown produce for others. The other factor is that technology is making small farms profitable, even those run on a part-time basis.

Agriculture is Michigan’s second largest industry generating an economic impact of $71.3 billion annually. “If Michigan’s agri-food sector appeared on the Fortune 500 list, it would rank 55th,” Don Koivisto, Michigan Department of Agriculture director.

How about that? Something to feel good about in Michigan.

Read the article on small farms at the Detroit News.

Special thanks to Bella for giving Gift Baskets From Michigan a nice mention in her article on How to Buy Michigan Products. When I read her article I saw that she also mentioned a Made In Michigan group on Facebook. So, if you’re on Facebook be sure to join and show your support for Michigan products and businesses.

Made In Michigan Facebook Group

Today, January 23rd, is National Pie Day. As my grandfather was fond of saying, “I like to spell cake p-i-e.” I couldn’t agree more. Plus, you can’t go wrong with one of the numerous tasty pies from the Grand Traverse Pie Company.

They’re handing out a free slice of pie with each purchase of a slice of pie today only in celebration of National Pie Day. If you order online you can get $5 off your order today using a coupon code provided at the Grand Traverse Pie Company website, www.gtpie.com.

When we lived in Lansing we were always enjoying one of there super delicious pies. Too bad they haven’t expanded into southwest Michigan. They used to sell them at Meijer, but I’m not sure if they still do – it’s been a while.

Thanks to the heads up on National Pie Day from CharlieCurve and Rumblstrip via Twitter.

When I was a kid the Riviera Theatre was one of the only places around to see first-run movies. This was before the multiplexes popped up in all of the larger towns. Even though the Riviera was already past its prime you still see glimpses of the grandeur that it once had.

The seats were uncomfortable and felt like they could have been the originals from when it was opened in 1925. The carpeting was worn and sticky from decades of spilled soda and candy. All of the ornate and intricate details that were put into the theatre in 1925 had either been covered up or painted over with black paint.

A new multiplex opened up on the north side of Three Rivers and the Riviera quietly passed into a faded memory in the scrapbooks of locals’ minds. It lay dormant for five years before Bruce Monroe (who practically grew up in the Riviera) purchased it in 2005. Three years and about $1 million later Three Rivers if home to a true gem in the Riviera Theatre.

I love westerns, especially John Wayne movies, and when I saw that “The Searchers” was playing at the Riviera this past Sunday I convinced my wife to go so we could see the movie and as a bonus – check out the renovations.

I was blown away by how beautiful the Riviera is now. I can appreciate it because I know what it looked like back before it closed and this is a night and day difference. Gone is the black paint and nasty old shag carpeting. A wonderful mix of gold, shades of red, and other lighter tones now add class to a wonderful old theater.

Do yourself a favor and take in a movie or one of the other shows/concerts that the Riviera is now home to. This Sunday, January 25, is the last Sunday that westerns are featured and they are showing “Unforgiven“, starring Clint Eastwood.

You can keep up to date on all of the upcoming concerts and movies via the Riviera Theatre website, trriviera.com.