Joan and Raymond Bittner knew they wanted to expand their Polish Art Center in Hamtramck, not move to the suburbs like some other businesses. So they waited for an opportunity.
Many years later, that opportunity came when the pants store next to them on Jos. Campau Street closed, giving them room for more cards, stoneware imported from Poland and folk art classes and demonstrations.
Photo by Jennie Warren Joan and Raymond Bittner’s Polish Art Center on Jos. Campau in Hamtramck features cards, stoneware imported from Poland and folk art classes and demonstrations.
Other merchants and residents have waited a long time for a revival of fortunes for Hamtramck’s main retail and restaurant thoroughfares. Finally, they say, a comeback is underway with an array of shops and bars opening this year.
On the list are Wheelhouse Detroit, a bicycle shop that is scheduled to open a new location in Hamtramck in August, plus a pet supply shop, a photo gallery, a coffee shop and a garment maker that also will provide consulting to young designers.
“There’s a sense of opportunity here,” said Mayor Karen Majewski, who has lived in Hamtramck since the late 1980s. Three years ago, she bought a storefront on Jos. Campau and, after renovating it, opened Tekla Vintage two years ago.
To read more of this story, visit http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20160731/NEWS/160739996/lower-rents-opportunity-diversity-draw-businesses-to-funky
