Something to toot about: Kalamazoo has its own Mastodon server
Mastodon has arrived in Kalamazoo! Is it a large extinct mammal or a local ‘instance’ that’s part of the fediverse? Correspondent Mark Wedel will help you decide.
Entrepreneurship
Latest in Entrepreneurship
Apples of John Claridge’s eyes: Marcellus heirloom apple farm boasts 80 varieties
For a living taste of history, visit Marcellus’ Spirit Springs Farm started by the late John Claridge. The 70-year-old orchard features over 80 heirloom apple varieties. A new generation of the family is keeping the spirit alive in the orchard. And those who tour the land appreciate its unique offerings.
Food innovation in Battle Creek set to accelerate through collaboration
Battle Creek has secured its place as a national and global food innovation leader in part because former Kellogg Co. employees decided to stick around and create their own food businesses once they parted ways with the cereal maker.
Soulful events center offers a new concept for food, drink, song, and dance in downtown Kalamazoo
Kimberly Guess wants to create the type of social experiences that she would like to go to in Kalamazoo. So she works with individuals and organizations to plan and organize parties, receptions, meetings, reunions, and all sorts of private gatherings at The Xperience by Luxury Escapes, a 3,200-square-foot venue downtown.
Coffee anyone? Water Street Coffee Joint opens new location on Harrison St. in downtown Kalamazoo
Efforts to develop and redevelop properties in Kalamazoo’s Northside Neighborhood got a fresh-roasted jolt recently with the opening of the sixth location of the Water Street Coffee Joint.
Battle Creek Branch of the NAACP gets ready for annual Freedom Fund Dinner
This year’s dinner, the first in-person gathering in two years, will be held at 5 p.m. Oct. 28 at the Burma Center, followed by dinner and a program at 6 p.m. Prior to the dinner, there will be a Black Business Expo. Karen Boykin Towns, Vice Chair of the NAACP National Board of Directors, will give the keynote address.
Old industrial building becomes shared business location on Kalamazoo’s east side
The former detailing shop can accommodate Patrick Hershberger's and Chad Burke's respective businesses with room for paint storage and studio space, maybe a gallery space to show his work; it also has high ceilings for multiple shelves of bikes, and areas for bike mechanics, painting, and bodywork.
Issue Media Group relaunches Upper Peninsula publication
Issue Media Group is excited to announce the relaunch of its online, community-informed, digital publication in the Upper Peninsula. UPword will focus on innovation, talent, entrepreneurship, social innovation, and community development, while featuring U.P.-based talent.
$300,000 in Micro-Enterprise Grants is set to help 60 Kalamazoo-based businesses
The third round of grants to help small businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 shutdown – announced on Aug. 18, 2022 -- will help 60 local enterprises clear hurdles like those, and many others. Each business is set to receive a $5,000 share of some $300,000 allocated in the Kalamazoo Micro-Enterprise Grant program.
A can-do spirit is helping Can-Do Kalamazoo and its small business users to expand their horizons
Moving from Can-Do Kitchen to Can-Do Kalamazoo is more than a name change. The nonprofit organization that started 14 years ago as an incubator for food-based businesses is now focused on growing and scaling businesses of all kinds. And it is set to expand into a new location in 2023.
Apples of John Claridge’s eyes: Marcellus heirloom apple farm boasts 80 varieties
For a living taste of history, visit Marcellus’ Spirit Springs Farm started by the late John Claridge. The 70-year-old orchard features over 80 heirloom apple varieties. A new generation of the family is keeping the spirit alive in the orchard. And those who tour the land appreciate its unique offerings.
Food innovation in Battle Creek set to accelerate through collaboration
Battle Creek has secured its place as a national and global food innovation leader in part because former Kellogg Co. employees decided to stick around and create their own food businesses once they parted ways with the cereal maker.
Soulful events center offers a new concept for food, drink, song, and dance in downtown Kalamazoo
Kimberly Guess wants to create the type of social experiences that she would like to go to in Kalamazoo. So she works with individuals and organizations to plan and organize parties, receptions, meetings, reunions, and all sorts of private gatherings at The Xperience by Luxury Escapes, a 3,200-square-foot venue downtown.
Coffee anyone? Water Street Coffee Joint opens new location on Harrison St. in downtown Kalamazoo
Efforts to develop and redevelop properties in Kalamazoo’s Northside Neighborhood got a fresh-roasted jolt recently with the opening of the sixth location of the Water Street Coffee Joint.
Battle Creek Branch of the NAACP gets ready for annual Freedom Fund Dinner
This year’s dinner, the first in-person gathering in two years, will be held at 5 p.m. Oct. 28 at the Burma Center, followed by dinner and a program at 6 p.m. Prior to the dinner, there will be a Black Business Expo. Karen Boykin Towns, Vice Chair of the NAACP National Board of Directors, will give the keynote address.
Old industrial building becomes shared business location on Kalamazoo’s east side
The former detailing shop can accommodate Patrick Hershberger's and Chad Burke's respective businesses with room for paint storage and studio space, maybe a gallery space to show his work; it also has high ceilings for multiple shelves of bikes, and areas for bike mechanics, painting, and bodywork.
Issue Media Group relaunches Upper Peninsula publication
Issue Media Group is excited to announce the relaunch of its online, community-informed, digital publication in the Upper Peninsula. UPword will focus on innovation, talent, entrepreneurship, social innovation, and community development, while featuring U.P.-based talent.
$300,000 in Micro-Enterprise Grants is set to help 60 Kalamazoo-based businesses
The third round of grants to help small businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 shutdown – announced on Aug. 18, 2022 -- will help 60 local enterprises clear hurdles like those, and many others. Each business is set to receive a $5,000 share of some $300,000 allocated in the Kalamazoo Micro-Enterprise Grant program.
A can-do spirit is helping Can-Do Kalamazoo and its small business users to expand their horizons
Moving from Can-Do Kitchen to Can-Do Kalamazoo is more than a name change. The nonprofit organization that started 14 years ago as an incubator for food-based businesses is now focused on growing and scaling businesses of all kinds. And it is set to expand into a new location in 2023.
