Ladies' Night Out

    1:38AM Nov 11, 2021

    Speakers:

    Ben Fogt

    Marie Pucak

    Keywords:

    macomb

    pajamas

    dda

    michigan

    ladies

    night

    street

    absolutely

    seal

    people

    island

    year

    chocolates

    events

    friends

    episode

    gazebo

    store

    district

    drive

    This is What's the Deal Grosse Ile seal. The podcast that explores the people places history and events that make crow seal unique. I'm your host, Ben fote. Now last year, I had hoped to be able to share the story behind grow seals holiday season kickoff event that's put on by the DDA known as ladies night out. But back in 2020, it was teetering because of COVID and was cancelled shortly before it was set to happen. But it's on for this year. And if you're listening to this when the episode comes out, it happens tomorrow, November 12. Now Marie pucuk is the owner of grocery pet and Garden Center, and is a very active part of gross eels Downtown Development Authority. She came back on the podcast to talk about the event, the DDA, and all the great things happening in her store. Well, it's a busy season for you, Maria, and well, thanks for for taking time to talk about ladies night out today.

    You're welcome. I'm happy to do so.

    So Ladies Night Out has become an annual event. Just recently, right.

    I think this is our fifth year. I'm pretty sure it's our fifth year.

    So that's, that's pretty well into it, then. So what is it? And how does it happen?

    Well, with the DDA, you know, one of the focuses is, you know, to create some activity and vibrancy, you know, on the cone street. That's, that's what we're chartered to do. I don't know if that's the correct word. But that's, you know, the DDA is the Downtown Development Authority. And we focus on the combs Street. And, you know, one of the fun things we get to do is to bring events and activities to the street. And, you know, Ladies Night Out isn't something we created. I mean, I'm sure we've everybody's kind of seen those, that were those were even thought of that title, I

    think I think even when don't they go? Yeah,

    in other cities. So I mean, basically, you know, we just anyone that wants to purchase, participate on Macomb street just kind of checks the box off, gives us a list of you know, what they're going to do that night, and we put together a map that you can get it registration and on the backside of the map, kind of lists, you know, what everybody's going to do you know, what their activities or giveaways are for the night.

    Looks great. And we'll have a link to that. And so we're publishing this on Thursday, so it'll be tomorrow night. What Where do people go to get started,

    I just counted at the moment we have 16 participants in years past we've had registration at the gazebo right there at the corner of Macomb and, and meridian and this year, we've moved it to Lions Park, which is simply the corner of lions and and, and Macomb Street. Okay, there were there will be a burn barrel with a fire there. And we have a giveaway bag that you can get when you when you just walk up and register. There's no fee if everything's free, can you get the red bag if you'd like and throw some of your goodies in it. As you're walking around that night. There'll be a fire pit going on if you just want to stand around and enjoy some camaraderie with your friends outside.

    Great. So where's the best place to park when you when you go there?

    Well, you know, there is public parking if you're if you're down by the old Nate's buildings in between the building that pop up planner and made says that the former Nate's there there is a public parking lot there. And also on Lions Park on lions drive right there. There's there's plenty of parking along, you know, along the side street there just outside of the high school. Okay, or you you could park you know, you could park at a participating business? I'm sure they would, they wouldn't mind. You do not have to start at Lions Park, or, you know, down at, you know, our end of the street and make your way if you

    went that bag right away. Stop in it. Yeah, exactly.

    Okay. Yes.

    So in general, do people normally walk the whole length of the street? Or do they

    think so? Yeah. Oh, no, I think and, you know, we've had, we've had some rainy nights. But I, you know, I know there's, there's just groups of ladies that they this is such an annual tradition with them and their friends. They bundle up, they dress for it, they come in, and they're just, I had a group one night, and as it was, we were ringing out at the register. And one gal said is just like the best night ever, you know, the kids are home with dad, and I'll get that with my friends. And you guys give me a glass of wine and things are on sale. So, you know, it's just, it's just a fun night. You know, people can shop if they want. They can. They don't have to shop and they don't want to but I think you know, I mean, this is kind of a kickoff to the holiday season.

    Sure. And I hear there's a bit of an art exhibition going on at the same time.

    Absolutely. Absolutely. Yes. I don't know 100% of the specifics of that. But we do have a piece in our building. It's hanging behind the register.

    Cool. And we'll I'll make sure to include all sorts of links for all this. So in the times how long what's what's the time for it on Friday night?

    five to nine?

    I've tonight. All right. This is we, as you said, it's put on by the DDA, the downtown development. I always forget the last port authority. Authority. I think a lot of us on the island think of the DDA, sort of as grow seals Chamber of Commerce. But it's not right.

    No, no, um, I guess, and, you know, I'm, I've been here 10 years, and I came from a Chamber of Commerce. So we used to have a business association, which totally different animal, that's a member organization, you can join it, you know, whether there was a fee for it or not, I don't know. But, you know, whether it's a business association or a Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Development Authority, you know, our focus is because, you know, with a business association, we could involve people off of Macomb Street. I mean, we are chartered to, I mean, that is our mission. And we have to file reports that that's what we're doing. We're focusing on Macomb street and we do improvements, you know, a few years back, if anybody remembers, there was a lot of cement poured between the streets and you know, parking lots to, to make improvements, you know, to, to the road, we take care of the lamp posts that are there. That's financially our responsibility. We also, you know, pay the company that comes in and puts the snowflakes that are, you know, lit up for the holiday season. But it's it's not just about events. It's kind of, you know, maintaining and making sure that, you know, Macomb Street is is attractive. And

    yeah, and if I understand, right, is it a tax increment finance district? Yes. Is that how it's funded? So? So the, you know, the long and short of that, is that that the property taxes along in that district as as the value of the property goes up, a portion of the taxes go toward this, this project? And, and that's where the money comes from. Right?

    Exactly. Because some of you know, I'll have a friend say, oh, I should join the DDA. There is no joint. We have meetings, basically, the third, I'm sorry, the fourth Thursday of every month, and they are open to the public. Anyone can come there's always public comments. You know, when we have a master plan in place, there's some some things that we're working on that that that we'll be working on for the future. But, again, it's not a member driven organization. It's my understanding that the, you know, the big Zeebo was, you know, in part or all, and I don't mean to misspoke, Miss speak, because of the DDA, and you know, the pretty, I don't know what to call it. Now, the business district sign, right, that is there. And we, you know, we we pay to maintain the gazebo, I know we have some work scheduled to improve the, or fix the roofing of that, and, you know, rip out some dead shrubs and put in new shrubs, etc, etc. That comes from those tax dollars.

    Sure. And so that's, that's specifically from that district. So the merchants that are benefiting are actually paying for it to you. Yeah. Yeah. Which is great. It's a it's a great tool that a lot of places use for a lot of different things. And so it's good to have it here. That's for sure. So let's see. So obviously, the the DDA is involved with the ladies ladies night out and paint the town red is one of the big ones too. And yeah, trick or treating after the parade. That's, that's part of DDA, if I remember. Right.

    Well, I don't know if I believe I, you know, and we do a lot of things, you know, our worlds coexist with the right department also. Sure. And I, you know, in the past, we've done a chocolate walk, which is, you know, Valentine's Day in February, we did a, a dog days of summer event, about four years ago. We did that in August, I'll get to do that. Some things get. Some things get repeated. Some things don't. But

    yeah, well, that's great. And so I'll make sure to include some stuff about about DDA, too, and how do people get on the so the DDA is a commission then or something similar to that with the township? Yes. Does that need to be are people appointed to that then?

    Yes. And you know, our bylaws, you know, designate, you know, how many, like I I'm, you know, I'm a business owner, on Macomb street and you can be a residential person that's on Macomb Street. I think we have two spots for people that are I don't know if the word would be a liaison, but I mean, no, they're their actual, you know, board members, but they don't they don't specifically have to own property on the combs. straight. Okay. But yeah, I wouldn't you know, when I applied there was an application process and, you know, it was reviewed and they voted on me. And that's how I got.

    And anybody can go to the meetings. So, absolutely, yes. And they're probably even televised occasionally, but maybe not,

    I think. No, I mean, I think at one point in time ours kind of conflicted with another commission that was meeting at the same time. And yeah, by law had to be tailored.

    Yeah, yeah. Well, excellent. And of course, we can't we can't go on without talking about what's going on in your store this season. I know. You're super busy getting things ready for the holidays for Friday night for sure. What what are we looking forward to it? grisaille. Patent garden?

    Well, um, you know, it actually Ladies Night Out. It forces the hand to say we must be ready by the second Friday in November. Yeah. So, you know, we know on the calendar that this past weekend was decorating weekend. And, you know, we close the store down on Friday night, a couple of us I actually have friends from Ohio that come in and we kind of rip the store apart, move some things around, and we stay there till no one to three o'clock in the morning and come back the next day. And the staff comes in and everybody kind of just takes a section and it's it's overwhelming. And then it just all comes together. And oh, here's our Michigan display. Here's our gnome display. Here's, here's our food table with it's featuring, you know, fabulous Michigan products from American spoon and cheeses from Pennsylvania and we have Mississippi Bloody Mary mixes that are phenomenal chocolates from Alpena, Michigan. The chocolates are great. And every time I hope I hope I hope that in 2022 I get to go to a live show again. Sure where I meet vendors and know who they are and, and are proud to bring their products into our store because they're Michigan made and we're Michigan proud. That's where I met you know, North Coast Country candy and gifts. Fabulous chocolates and coffees and things from Alpena, Michigan. And at that same show, I met Mario and Bobby that that are with aroma scents candles and soap. And at this moment, for the past three orders I drive from here to Canton. I do I pick up my order from their garage, and I drive it back to you know to grow seal. It's just it's you know, it's a beautiful hands on relationship with different people. There's a couple of gals from Fenton, that green Daffodil we have you know, there are soaps and candles and lotions. So it's some we do as much Michigan made American made the Michigan mitten, there's two ladies that own that company and they do a fabulous job promoting Michigan. They you know, they always their mittens this, you know, they it has the map of Michigan. The left hand is the mitten and the right hand up. And their slogan in their slogan is always have a map on hand. That's great. Yeah, they're, they're really creative people. So yeah, and of course we we have just tons of ornaments. You know, I when, you know, I watched some national news, I can't take a lot of it because it's kind of depressing. But number one, I have a fabulous staff. Everyone that's on staff is just committed to the store and to our community. I have no staffing issues whatsoever. And number one, number two we have product you know we have ornaments, we have clothing, we just we just got in some really cute animal themed you know cats and dogs themed pajama bottoms along with our spirit wear and scarves. I a fan of scarves. I don't have a product shortage and I don't have a staffing shortage.

    And that helps with having everything come from Michigan or at least a lot of it.

    Right a lot of it in you know, to be honest. I mean we did have you know, a healthy amount of some ornaments left from last year. We do have a 40% off ornament tree set up right now. Because we just got to move some things on we didn't have any events last year I did we didn't have the jammy luncheon that was an offset event that we did we didn't have ladies night out. I honestly don't remember if we did Island glow or not. I can't remember. I can't either. I think we just want we want to forget right?

    That's true and all bleeds together.

    Put it in a bubble let it go.

    Well you mentioned the Christmas Jamie drive and we talked with Wendy mocha about that last year too. And and she's one of your dependable employees. Absolutely. So I've seen signs up and up and down Macomb street that different places are collecting for the the Jamie drive and You're one of those spots. Yeah, absolutely. Yes. And people drop off pajamas. Yes.

    And you know, and she's they've done the social media thing. It's, it's out there. And you know, the the really cool thing about that about it is it is so local. It is a group of ladies that got together 13 years ago for lunch. And they just, you know, looked at each other and said, you know, we're so blessed. What do we need? Let's, you know, let's go out and buy pajamas for needy children. And it has grown to where they they literally collect 1000s of pajamas. Yeah, I don't know if they work with 10 or 15. Agencies, they, they it's all volunteer. It's, you know, to sister in laws, who take this on every year, Wendy moko Susie Williams, and they have a relationship established with all these agencies. And they, they've got it down, Pat, you know, they, they hear from the agencies, these are my needs, these are the sizes I need, and they make it happen.

    And everything from little kids through young adults. So,

    absolutely. And the size, you know, and Wendy will always say that, you know, it's always fun to go and buy the little toddler pajamas, because they're super cute. But, you know, we have to remember that there's, you know, teens and young adults, and even moms and dads that need pajamas. So if you're so inclined, it's the bigger sizes that that they always have the shortage of. And I know that there's a way I'm pretty sure there's a way you can donate if you you know if you don't have the time to get out and get the pajamas. Yeah,

    I remember she had an Amazon amazon link, so you could send them through that to you. So

    absolutely, yeah, she she bought so many pajamas from Old Navy last year, I don't think was like one of their star. She she achieved a level of we love you. Old Navy because she purchased so many pajamas through them. So

    they're they're affordable there. That's for sure. So well, that that was really great. And of course, I'll include links to all this stuff in the in the Episode Notes there. So we just we just connected about this just last couple days. And so you've probably not had a lot of time to think about it. But do you want to leave us with another wish for grow seal? Last week, we had somebody missed for sturgeon. So

    Well, I I just I hope for just a healthy and you know, vibrant community as we move forward. It's been a little rough. You know, I we all want this to be over and it's not over yet. You know, we still have they'll have cases popping up on the island. And we just like, I wish for a happy and healthy 2022.

    Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, thank you so much, Marie. It's always great to step in and see all the new stuff that you've got at the store. And I just appreciate you in general, and thanks for everything.

    Thanks. I appreciate that. I appreciate you.

    Thank you very much. My thanks also go out to everyone involved with the DDA and Gruesel recreation. It certainly takes a township to make Grossie of what it is links to everything we talked about, or in the Episode Notes. We're getting pretty close to it. So I'm going to ask you a favor. I'm going to do another Thanksgiving episode with listener segments, just like last year, calling to the number the telephone number in the Episode Notes or on the Facebook page and leave a message telling the rest of Grossie oh, what you're thankful for this year. If you're listening from off the island, and especially if you're one of our listeners from far far off, like in Europe, which we do have, by the way, ring us up or email a message and I'll get it in their email addresses. What's the deal? gi@gmail.com and we'll have another great Thanksgiving episode for anyone traveling to or from the island for Thanksgiving, even if only in our dreams. What's the Deal Grosse Ile seal is a production of food Media Productions and it's edited by me Ben fote Take a look at the Episode notes for links and ways to share all the special things we're discovering about our island in the Crossroads. Thanks for listening to What's the Deal Grosse Ile