The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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Wednesday, September 2, 2020 — 5
Pizza Bob’s moves to new location on S. State Street
After more than 50 years of
operation at its original location,
Pizza Bob’s will find a new home
this Tuesday just 110 feet north
at 800 S. State Street. The new
location, previously home to Red
Light Cafe, will offer both indoor
and outdoor seating.
According
to
owner
Pam
Pietryga, the move was largely
motivated
by
a
desire
for
more space. The seating in the
original location was limited
to a front counter and a single
round table, whereas the new
location offers space for both
indoor and outdoor dining while
maintaining appropriate social
distancing. Pietryga plans to use
the basement of the restaurant to
host larger parties when COVID-
19 restrictions no longer apply.
The
space
also
makes
it
possible
for
one
of
the
restaurant’s most well-known
items, the Chipati sauce, to be
prepared in-house. The owners
had previously rented a kitchen
in Ypsilanti to make the sauce.
Pietryga said another perk
of the new building is its public
bathroom, which the previous
space lacked. She also hopes the
placement at the stoplight on the
corner will increase visibility
and foot traffic.
Kailana
Dejoie,
LSA
sophomore
and
Pizza
Bob’s
employee, is hopeful that the new
location will improve business.
“I think it’s going to be a great
development for Pizza Bob’s and I
think it’s a good location in terms
of the community too,” Dejoie
said. “I know a lot of people were
sad that we switched locations
because that’s been there for 50
plus years, but I think for the
business it’s a good move.”
Pietryga said she plans to
retain as many aspects of the
original restaurant as possible
in the new space, including
its posters, frames, handmade
signs and the plexiglass wall
filled with postcards sent to Bob
Marsh, the original cook and
the restaurant’s namesake. The
restaurant will also be painted in
the original maize and blue color
scheme, with plans to recreate
the past location’s Pizza Bob’s
mural.
“All
the
different
things
people come to notice and point
out about Pizza Bob’s … we’re not
forgetting any of that,” Pietryga
said. “We’re taking as much with
us, and trying to find a good
way of displaying it, so that we
always have that memory and
history and stuff that people like
to see.”
Pietryga said while it’s hard to
say goodbye, the benefits of the
larger space outweigh the losses.
“I think the customers are
gonna like it much better because
… with all the renovations done,
we’re going to be able to seat
more than we ever could, and
then when all this passes and
we’re all back into our normal
life, we’ll definitely be able to
enjoy the customer interaction,”
Pietryga said. “We’ve missed
that now, the past four months.
One of the things we love about
Pizza Bob’s is the camaraderie
with the customers.”
Pietryga said Pizza Bob’s has
been able to stay open during
the pandemic due to the support
of loyal Ann Arbor customers.
According to Andy Lansing, a
University of Michigan alum and
Pizza Bob’s customer, it is this
companionship that sets Pizza
Bob’s apart.
“What makes it special is just
that it is today what it’s always
been,” Lansing said. “In a world
of chain restaurants and a world
of sort of similar concepts,
similar styles of restaurants, I
think Pizza Bob’s is a mountain
of its own… I think that the
environment and just their style
of service is really special and
there’s something about it that’s
really magical — and of course,
the sauce.”
ANGELINA LITTLE
Daily Staff Reporter
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
Challengers swept incumbents
in the Aug. 4 primary election for
open seats in each of the five wards
on the Ann Arbor City Council.
Each
candidate
is
currently
running unopposed in the Nov. 3
general election and will take office
later that month.
The Daily spoke with Lisa Disch
of Ward 1, Linh Song of Ward 2,
Travis Radina of Ward 3, Jen Eyer
of Ward 4 and Erica Briggs of Ward
5 to discuss their reflections on
their campaigns during a summer
of an unabating pandemic and civil
unrest, as well as their priorities
when inaugurated in November.
Lisa Disch, D-Ward 1
As a University of Michigan
professor
in
political
science
and women and gender studies,
Disch said she will bring a unique
perspective to city council after
her inauguration. In an email to
The Daily, Disch wrote she feels
very lucky to have the opportunity
to regularly interact with students
who
bring
different
political
viewpoints into the classroom.
“I have developed skills of
communication
and
habits
of
listening and working in the
classroom that I hope will make me
a more effective representative,”
Disch wrote. “I’ve also always
thought that my job is more about
learning things than it is about
knowing and ‘professing’ them.
This is a political moment when
openness to learning in the face of
unprecedented challenges might be
a very good thing to have.”
Disch wrote she was excited
about her win considering it was
her first time as a candidate.
“Nobody does systematic polling
in an election like this one, and
my excellent campaign manager
and advisors had warned me
throughout the campaign that
Council elections are often very
close,” Disch wrote. “I can honestly
say that the results surprised me
and my team — and thrilled us.”
On
her
platform,
Disch
cites urban and environmental
stewardship, civic engagement and
safety as some of her top priorities.
Disch wrote she wants to
improve the tone of council
meetings and work collaboratively
with other council members to put
problem-solving ahead of personal
and political differences. She plans
to push for more affordable housing
and the redevelopment of North
Main Street.
“There
are
many
pressing
issues in Ward 1 that I want to be
prepared to take up right away
with staff,” Disch wrote. “Such as
traffic management on residential
roads like Pontiac Trail and
Barton Drive that have become
major commuter through-ways,
and implementing the parts of the
City’s sustainability plan that help
reduce the disproportionately high
costs of energy for lower-income
households.”
Disch said the unavailability of
affordable housing intersects with
so many other challenges that Ann
Arbor faces.
“It means that too many people
in Washtenaw County are paying
too much of their incomes for
rent and that too many people are
commuting too far to their jobs,”
Disch wrote. “It is a top priority
for me because it is a contributing
factor to economic stratification, to
structural racism and to the climate
crisis.”
Linh Song, D-Ward 2
Throughout Song’s campaign
for a seat on council in Ward 2,
which her former opponent Jane
Lumm first held in 1993-1998 and
again from 2011 to the present,
Song emphasized Ann Arbor’s
national ranking as the eighth
most
economically
segregated
community in the U.S. As the Black
Lives Matter movement swept
the nation with renewed energy
following the killing of several
Black men and women at the hands
of police, Song said her campaign
shifted gears from an emphasis on
affordable housing to focusing on
issues of racial justice.
“So if I keep saying, ‘We are
the eighth most economically
segregated community in the U.S.,’
that’s what we’re talking about:
that history of racial economic
segregation,” Song said. “And we
need to own up to it.”
Song said knowledge of Ann
Arbor’s racial history — from
restrictive housing covenants to
the political pushback following
the election of Ann Arbor’s first and
only Black mayor Albert Wheeler —
must guide any conversations about
the future of the city, including
conversations around affordable
housing and policing. In 2014, police
officer David Ried fatally shot Aura
Rosser, a Black woman living in Ann
Arbor, and faced no charges. This
prompted protests and the creation
of a police oversight commission.
Mark Bernstein and Shauna
Ryder Diggs, both Democratic
incumbents and University of
Michigan alum, were nominated
to defend their seats on the
University’s Board of Regents
at
the
Michigan
Democratic
Convention this weekend. Both
have served as regents since 2012.
U.S.
Rep.
Rashida
Tlaib,
D-Mich.,
spoke
to
nominate
Bernstein,
while
University
Regent Denise Ilitch spoke to
nominate Ryder Diggs.
In a video posted online earlier
this month, Bernstein detailed
his previous work as a University
regent, including advocating for
making college more affordable.
“It is an honor to have run and
won eight years ago with my friend
Shauna Ryder Diggs,” Bernstein
said. “We’re eager to continue
serving as Democratic regents
at the University of Michigan …
As a regent, I have aggressively
advanced our Democratic vision
for affordable, accessible and
excellent public higher education,
while
embracing
diversity,
honoring labor and protecting the
environment.”
In another prerecorded video,
Ryder Diggs also discussed the
importance of college affordability,
noting her own experience with
student loans.
“As a daughter of two university
professors, I believe in the power
of higher education to improve the
lives of us all,” Ryder Diggs said.
“I’m a physician in solo private
practice, and I attended Michigan
for college, medical school and
residency.
Those
years
were
wonderful and I built long lasting
friendships and was trained by
the best doctors in the nation, but
they were costly. Even when my
family supported me, I still had to
take out large loans to pay for this
extraordinary education.”
Ryder
Diggs
emphasized
several policy issues she has
focused on over the past eight
years,
including
support
for
more equitable funding across all
three University campuses and
organized labor.
“I believe in the power of
collective
bargaining,”
Ryder
Diggs said. “That is why I’ll
continue to support the faculty
and staff doing the work on a daily
basis … but there is still much more
work to be done.”
The two will appear on the
ballot for the general election in
November.
According to campaign finance
documents filed prior to the
convention, Bernstein’s campaign
has raised a total of $25,964.25 in
contributions and other receipts.
Of that, $20,000 came from a
direct
contribution
Bernstein
made to his own campaign on Aug.
3.
Meanwhile, Diggs’ campaign
had a total of $4,799.65 in
contributions and other receipts.
On Aug. 19, Diggs reported a late
contribution of $2,500 to her
campaign.
While both are Democrats, they
have not been in lockstep with one
another in their time as Regents.
Over the summer, as the Board
debated a tuition increase to help
the University deal with a budget
crunch brought on by the COVID-
19 pandemic, Diggs voted against
the initial budget proposal while
Bernstein
supported
it.
That
proposal, which failed with a split
vote, would have increased tuition
across all three campuses while
providing additional funding for
the Flint and Dearborn campuses.
The move drew swift criticism
from students, who argued that
classes will not be as valuable
as they would be under normal,
pre-pandemic circumstances and
that the heightened monetary
burden was a blow to people facing
financial straits of their own.
At another meeting several days
later to consider a new budget
proposal, Diggs and Bernstein
maintained their initial positions:
Diggs voting no and Bernstein
voting yes. That budget passed
in a 5-2 vote and included a 1.9
percent increase in tuition for
the Ann Arbor campus; a 3.9
percent increase for UM-Flint
and UM-Dearborn; a 1.9 percent
increase in room and board fees
and a $50 COVID-19 student fee.
In
February,
Bernstein
announced the Board of Regents
would reevaluate the University’s
policy on investing in fossil fuel,
freezing any new investments
during that time. The decision
followed
months
of
public
commenters
highlighting
the
threat of climate change and the
University’s
responsibility
to
combat it.
At that same meeting, Bernstein
also advocated for ensuring that
major capital projects undertaken
by the University align with
its goal of achieving carbon
neutrality by 2030.
In
December
2019,
when
the Climate Action Movement
and One University members
expressed frustration at a lack of
direct response from the Board
regarding climate change, Diggs
was the only Regent to respond
to their questions. She noted that
the Regents do take into account
public commenters’ arguments
and sympathize with their views.
Bernstein’s efforts to support
the University have not always
been well received. In July
2016, he withdrew a $3 million
donation he had made to the new
Trotter Multicultural Center due
to concerns about naming the
building after Bernstein.
The
Trotter
Multicultural
Center, which honors activist
and newspaper editor William
Monroe Trotter, is the only
building on campus named after
an African American. Bernstein
said his intention was not to
minimize Trotter’s legacy, adding
that the decision came after
feedback from the University
community.
BRAYDEN HIRSCH &
JULIANNA MORANO
Daily Staff Reporters
Democratic incumbents nominated
to defend seats on Board of Regents
Following state convention, Mark Bernstein and Shauna Ryder Diggs will seek
re-election in the November general election after first being elected in 2012
Courtesy of Mark Bernstein and Shauna Ryder Diggs
Mark Bernstein and Shauna Ryder Diggs were nominated to seek relection at the Michigan Democratic Convention this week.
A2 City Council
primary winners
look ahead to the
future of the city
Challengers swept incumbents out of
office with victories August elections
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
SARAH PAYNE
Daily Staff Reporter
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
Local eatery expands seating with increased space; owner says move will allow restaurant to accommodate more patrons
PENNY LAM/Daily
Pizza Bob’s, a popular spot for U-M students, will move to a different location on S. State St this coming Tuesday.