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	Business News What's changing with Coldwater businesses

Summer 2010

• Four women from the Fiesta Salon have formed their own salon, the Grand Hair Parlor, now open in the old R.R. Passenger House building on Park Ave.
• A large new sign has been erected at the new Butler Body Shop but I have still not heard that they are officially open. Also, a sign at the same location was up briefly that said "Coldwater Car Detail Shop coming soon," but it was taken down shortly thereafter so plans for that secondary business may have been scrapped.
  

• (no news yet)
  

• Monarch Community Bank will be closing its Marshall St. walk-in branch office. The ATM and drive-thru, however, will remain open.
• Mr. Tunes - the new location on Marshall St. - has mysteriously vanished, and the building is for rent again.
• Signs on the Gliks store indicate that the store will be closing soon.
  

• Apparently the Sahara Nights Buffets was closed for a while, then re-opened in early August "under new management."
• Beltone Hearing Aid Service has apparently been sold to Phil and Kathy Wirtz, who have renamed the business Wirtz Hearing Aid Centers, Inc.
• The Southern Michigan Bank & Trust Conference Center at 2 W. Chicago St. has been renamed the Southern Michigan Bank & Trust Lending Center.
  

Spring 2010

• "The Sahara Nights Buffet," offering middle eastern cuisine, is now open for business. They are located at the old Big Apple Bagels location near Pizza Hut / Wing Street.
• First reported two years ago, the new El-A Taquila Mexican restaurant in the old SM Assessing office on S. Monroe has finally opened. It has been renamed the Hidalgo Mexican Restaurant.
• Coldwater Chiropractic Wellness Center has opened. They are located in a strip mall next to Joyce's Day Spa, just west of Great Lakes Chiropractic on Chicago St.
• A new business Blitz Hobbysports has opened at the old Tiffanie's location next to Tibbit's (28 S. Hanchett).
• Two new resale shops have opened: Our Father's Closet in the strip mall by Save-a-Lot, and Stuff-N-Things in the strip mall with the former El Halcon, Paradise Billiards, and Koach's.
• A new business called Butler Body Shop is moving in to the old Ferris RV location (Jonesville & Marshall Rd.). Various contractors have been repairing the property, and on May 28th, a formal "coming soon" sign was put up.
  

• Reese Hearing Aid Service has moved back to its original location at 327 S. Willowbrook (S. of RR tracks).
• Originally thought to have closed, Creative Kitchens has suddenly shown up at the old Riverside Motors location. (The old Creative Kitchens location at 13 Pierson St. has only a for sale sign with no sign directing customers to the new location.)
  

• El Halcon, Paradise Billiards, and Koach's - all in the same strip mall - have all suddenly closed. The landlord has just repainted the strip mall and is offering 2 months free rent in an effort to attract new tenants.
• The Centennial Wireless dealer at 455 Marshall St. (by Jim's Shoes & Boots) has closed and moved to Jonesville.
• Coldwater's Save-A-Lot has closed.
• With Creative Kitchens taking over the old Riverside Motors building, we assume Riverside Motors and Aunt Mally's BBQ Shack have both gone out of business (the Aunt Mally's trailer has not been seen open for business in any other location this year).
  

• National City Bank in Coldwater (and nationwide) has been renamed PNC Bank.
• Econolodge, which had just been renamed Economy Inn, has been renamed again, indicating that they have picked up a new franchise. The new name is Rodeway Inn. They have also repainted their facility to match the new franchise colors.
• Phil's Driving School, LLC, is renting the old Video Time store (by Felpausch) for its classes this summer, which start June 7th. I am not sure if the school will be using the store long-term.
• Coldwater Gun & Pawn has finished remodeling the exterior of the old Mr. Tunes building; only the old Mr. Tunes lit sign remains (not shown in photo).
• The Boat House Restaurant remodeled and expanded their kitchen in April.
  

Winter 2010

• A new business Coldwater Gun & Pawn opened in late March in the old Mr. Tunes location on Chicago Street. As shown in the photo, the large street windows were replaced in mid-December with smaller windows. The old Mr. Tunes awning still has not yet been replaced.
• Michigan's Chemical Bank opened a new branch in Coldwater on March 29th in the location of the recently-closed Coldwater Banking Center (by the CHC Community Care & Conference Center).
• Build-out is underway for a new restaurant in the old Big Apple Bagels location: "The Sahara Nights Buffet" (middle eastern cuisine).
• A new "Sportsman's Shack" bait and tackle store has opened in the old Midwest Fleet building (695 W. Chicago, next to C/W Marine & Power).
  
• The old Salvation Army store by CVS has been totally refurbished into some nice offices, but there's no indication yet of what the new business will be.
  

• The Community Health Center billing office has been razed; it has been moved to the old location of CHC Family Medicine Clinic on Chicago St. (The Family Medicine Clinic moved to the new Community Care and Conference Center at the end of last summer.)
• Reese Hearing Aid Service has moved from S. Willowbrook (S. of RR tracks) to 372 1/2 Marshall St. (next to Ford Realty).
  

• According to the Grand Haven Tribune, Michigan Gas is closing its Coldwater office (70 Sauk River Dr.) on March 12. However, I am not sure of the accuracy of this report.
  
• Three MyColdwater.com users have reported that Ohio Marine, Inc., on US-12 west of Coldwater, has closed sometime over the winter.
• The Coldwater branch of Sturgis Bank & Trust, a.k.a. Coldwater Banking Center, has closed. However, Chemical Bank has come in to immediately take its place.
• Martin Transportation Systems (MTS) has closed its Coldwater terminal.
• Maude's Quality Used Furniture has gone out of business.
• Carla Quimby, a popular local Stampin' Up! rubber stamp demonstrator, has decided not to continue her business. However Kathe Deck is available as another local Stampin' Up! rubber stamp demonstrator.

• In April 2010, National City Bank in Coldwater will be renamed PNC Bank. In fact, the signs have apparently already been replaced, with bags being placed over them saying "National City" until the official unveil.
• Econolodge has apparently dropped its franchise (bags still covering the old signs as of late March) and, according to their answering service, has been renamed Economy Inn.
  
• A new business Hippy 2 Xtreme opened very briefly in the old Manpower office (499 Marshall St.), offering TShirts, candles, tobacco accessories, etc. However, Coldwater police also found marijauna paraphernalia in the store. Although Michigan voters recently approved the use of marijanua for medical reasons, the sale of paraphernalia within the city limits of Coldwater violates a local ordinance. On March 7th, protesters were seen on Marshall St. protesting the ordinance. No doubt this will be a hot local issue for months to come. In the meantime, Hippy 2 Extreme relocated to U.S. 12 near Quincy [then in May or June it left Branch County and relocated again to Battle Creek].
  

  Fall 2009


Summer 2009


Spring 2009


Winter 2009


Fall 2008

• The Jay's Pontiac Buick GMC Truck dealership has been sold. Most likely the new owner will continue the business, but this is not known for sure. In the meantime, Jay's is having an inventory clearance sale.
  
• Halloween USA will not be returning to Coldwater this year, according to the Halloween USA website.
• The entire parking lot in front of CVS/Pharmacy is being torn up. It is not clear yet if they're just re-doing the parking lot or if they're going to build. It would seem though that they're spending an unusually large amount of money on the project. We'll watch and see what they do next. UPDATE, November 2008: It's just about done, and it's just a parking lot upgrade (but a nice one).
  
• With the Branch County Habitat for Humanity moving out of the old Kmart location, the Coldwater Health Center, which now owns the facility, plans some major renovations. Baker College, however, will stay there.
• Fiesta Hair & Tanning has been renamed Fiesta Salons.
• Pizza Hut has recently been changed to a Pizza Hut / Wing Street combination restaurant.
  
• The old Piefer's Grand Rental Station building on Marshall Street is being refurbished, possibly indicating that a new tenant may be moving in. A sign on the door says "Taxes Latino", but it is unclear whether this is a new business name or just a recently uncovered remnant from a past tenant. It does seem to be a new door, though.

  Summer 2008


Project "K" - 2008 / 2009

• Here's some exciting news for downtown: According to the Downtown Development Authority, a new restaurant will be constructed in the old Kerr Hardware Building (which closed 10 years ago and currently hosts a mural). Construction will happen all summer, and the restaurant could open as early as September.
  
• Update, July 2008: The Ann Arbor Business Review and Crain's Detroit Business both report that the Willis Building Company of Saline has been awarded the contract for the renovation. Interestingly, this will include four connected buildings, so in the long term future we may see more than just a new restaurant. The contract award implies that the developer has successfuly completed the purchase of the downtown property, so we should see work beginning soon!
• A reliable but anonymous local source claims that the two articles mentioned above are incorrect. I'm not sure what that means - that the company won't be Willis, that it won't be four buildings, or that the contract has not been signed. What is clear is that there is going to be a LOT of secrecy associated with this project, so rather than trust the rumors we're just going to have to observe what is going on from the outside in order to piece together the puzzle as it unfolds.
• Update, September 2008: Still NO progress at the Kerr Hardware site. My guess is that the Willis Building Company's contract is contingent on the sale of the property to the new owner, and that the potential new owner is still trying to get funding for the project.
• Update, November 2008: Still nothing. My guess is that with the current national mortgage crisis, the financing for the project fell through.
• NEWS FLASH (April 2009): According to the Daily Reporter, the project did not fall through at all; it's still in the works, just very slow. The purchaser (who is probably JM Wingard, LLC) is applying for state government funding for part of the project, which is apparently going well but is a slow cycle. Expected completion is now set for early 2010.
  

Spring 2008


  Winter 2008


Fall 2007