Spring commencement is one of the 

busiest times of the year in Ann Arbor 

as large crowds visit town to celebrate 

with the year’s graduating class. For 

the past two years, commencement 

has looked a little different: the 

commencement was canceled in 2020 

and was closed to guests in 2021. 

This year, however, there will be two 

commencement ceremonies, one for 

the class of 2022 on April 30 and a 

special “Comeback Ceremony” for the 

class of 2020 on May 7.

Ann Arbor businesses typically rely 

on spring commencement as a way 

to drive in large amounts of traffic 

before students leave and foot traffic 

slows down. The cancellation of the 

2020 commencement ceremony and 

the pared-down 2021 commencement 

ceremony to graduates has put a strain 

on Ann Arbor businesses already 

trying to stay afloat.

For businesses like Ashley’s Bar & 

Grill on State Street, graduation leads 

to an increase in turnout. Ashley’s 

owner Jeff More said he expects a 

steady increase as individual schools 

and colleges within the University 

of 
Michigan 
have 
their 
own 

commencement ceremonies.

“It’s 
not 
just 
the 
Saturday 

commencement,” More said. “There’s 

different colleges. So they’re utilizing 

Hill Auditorium for an awful lot for 

different college commencements as 

well. (Ashley’s Bar & Grill) being right 

across from (Hill Auditorium) we see 

so much (business) throughout the 

week.”

Lauren Bloom, owner of Bløm 

Meadworks, a local mead and cider 

company located on Fourth Ave, 

said her business does not typically 

surge after commencement. Rather, 

restaurants and other food or drink 

related businesses in the city become 

the main attraction as families celebrate 

with a meal. 

“We see kind of an overall general 

increase in business, but it doesn’t end 

up being this huge surge,” Bloom said. 

“What we’ve found in the past is that the 

real spike in business tends to mostly hit 

restaurants in Ann Arbor because most 

people are looking to go out with their 

family, get a meal and sit down for a 

while.”

Lisa Bee, co-founder of Sweetwaters 

Coffee & Tea, which has seven 

locations 
throughout 
Ann 
Arbor, 

said quick service businesses are 

expecting demand to increase around 

commencement for a quick bite to eat 

or drink.

“It’s a mix of both (taking out and 

dining) in and then if it’s a nice day, they 

usually want to walk around … but if (it is 

not a nice day), then they’ll come in and 

sit down,” Bee said. “So we definitely see 

a lot more of the seats filled. Especially if 

it’s a nice day, then they’re sitting outside 

and this year, we’re going to have the 

street area closed off so the patio seating 

will be a lot bigger.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, 

the city of Ann Arbor expanded 

permits for patio seating, the city closed 

specific streets on the weekends during 

the pandemic to allow for increased 

outdoor seating. The city is continuing 

the program this summer after citizens 

spoke out in support of al fresco dining. 

More said he plans to reopen Ashley’s 

patio once the weather improves.

“During (the winter of 2021), we kept 

our little bit of outdoor seating, like six 

tables, open all last winter,” More said. 

“And we had a lot of 50 degree days on 

a Saturday and, you’d turn the heaters 

on and every table would be full all day 

long, even though we’re otherwise shut 

down.”

While Bløm does not usually 

receive large surges of business at 

commencement, 
Bloom 
said 
she 

is overstaffing her restaurant for 

the weekend to prepare for more 

customers.

“We usually ask one or two extra 

staff members to come on for the 

weekend,” Bloom said. “That usually 

tends to be a good balance of being 

prepared and making sure that we can 

see people quickly and serve people 

quickly.”

LSA freshman Daniel Silva works at 

Bert’s Cafe inside the Shapiro Library. 

Silva said he has been asked to pick 

up more shifts during the graduation 

season. 

This additional demand for shifts 

is not solely a result of graduation. 

Throughout the pandemic, businesses 

have reported having a harder time 

finding workers.

For businesses with fewer workers, 

there is additional strain on workers. 

Silva said this extra demand is even 

more stressful for full-time students. 

“I have the pressure of, ‘Oh, we 

need a shift covered,’” Silva said. “It’s 

just worse because you want to catch 

up, do your work, study for that exam, 

but also, you don’t want to let down 

your coworkers that you get so close 

with, and you become actual friends 

with.”

Preparation for graduation goes 

beyond simply adding more staff, 

however. Bee said Sweetwaters is also 

adding additional merchandise and 

menu items to prepare for the influx 

of customers.

“We’ll bring in more desserts, more 

treat items, celebratory items,” Bee 

said. “Students who are graduating 

usually want to take something with 

them. And because we’ve been in Ann 

Arbor for such a long time, and there’s 

multiple locations in Ann Arbor, they 

usually want to take a little piece with 

them whether it’s like a Sweetwaters 

t-shirt, or something like that.”

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
2 — Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Local businesses prepare for first fully in-
person UMich commencement since 2019

PHOTO

MATTHEW SHANBOM 
Daily Staff Reporter

SELENA SUN/Daily
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 Restaurants, companies say they expect higher demands, will increase staffing in coming weeks 

Downtown Ann Arbor District Library 
installs free Narcan vending machine

RILEY HODDER
Daily Staff Reporter

 Home of New Vision leads effort to support individuals with substance abuse disorders

A new vending machine now 

stands outside the Ann Arbor 

District Library that dispenses 

free 
Narcan, 
the 
brand-name 

version of the overdose-reversing 

drug naloxone, according to an 

April 1 tweet from AADL Director 

Eli 
Neiburger. 
The 
vending 

machine was installed by Home 

of New Vision, an organization 

devoted to supporting those with 

substance abuse issues.

According to Rackham student 

Derek Frasure, policy director 

for Students for Sensible Drug 

Policy (SSDP) at the University of 

Michigan, the vending machine 

supplies resources that could be 

vital in saving someone’s life.

“(The 
vending 
machine) 
is 

something 
that 
can 
mitigate 

that tide of deaths, which has 

currently outpaced car accidents 

for common fatalities,” Frasure 

said.

Lieutenant Mike Scherba of 

the Ann Arbor Police Department 

(AAPD) said that in 2021, the 

AAPD received a total of 68 calls 

recorded in their system as drug 

overdoses in Ann Arbor, which 

averages out to about one call per 

week. While all AAPD officers 

and supervisors are required to 

carry naloxone, Scherba said the 

vending machine has the potential 

to create faster distribution of 

the drug to those experiencing an 

overdose.

“Provided 
that 
the 
person 

has the ability to administer 

(naloxone) properly, I think the 

potential, at least, is there for 

faster administration,” Scherba 

said. 

Public Policy graduate student 

Alyshia Dyer is a former law 

enforcement 
officer 
for 
the 

Washtenaw 
County 
Sheriff’s 

Office and a member of SSDP. 

Dyer said she has responded to 

many previous 911 calls involving 

an overdose and expressed how 

critical naloxone is in overdose 

situations.

“The times that I’ve used 

naloxone, it really felt like you were 

saving someone’s life, because it 

wasn’t looking good before that,” 

Dyer said. “It showed me how 

important it was to make naloxone 

readily available.”

Dyer 
also 
said 
quick 

administration of naloxone was 

integral to ensuring the recovery of 

the person overdosing, and that by 

making naloxone readily available, 

the community was saving lives.

“I 
have 
done 
research 
on 

opioid response in Michigan, and 

basically, making naloxone widely 

available is one of the best public 

health initiatives that you can do 

to save people’s lives,” Dyer said.

Though the vending machine 

can 
provide 
quicker 
access 

to 
naloxone, 
Scherba 
said 

the primary concern with its 

installment is that it could create 

a false sense of security among 

those 
experiencing 
substance 

abuse.

“(People who are witnessing 

an overdose) may not call for help 

as soon as they could or would 

have 
otherwise, 
which 
could 

potentially put the user at risk,” 

Scherba said.

However, 
Brianna 
Dobbs, 

Recovery 
Opioid 
Overdose 

Team coordinator for Home of 

New Vision and coordinator for 

the vending machine project, 

expressed 
that 
the 
vending 

machine will help beyond just 

saving lives.

“Having (the vending machine) 

in such a public place will raise 

awareness, reduce barriers and 

increase access to a life-saving 

medication,” Dobbs said.

Dobbs added that Home of 

New Vision is trying to decrease 

the stigma around naloxone, as 

it is not just to be given to those 

experiencing 
substance 
abuse. 

Dobbs 
emphasized 
naloxone 

can also be used in cases when 

prescribed 
medication 
is 

inadvertently 
misadministered. 

She said every household should 

have naloxone in their first aid kit.

“People can have an opioid 

overdose because they took too 

much of a prescription medication, 

they read the bottle wrong or a 

small child gets into someone’s 

medication,” Dobbs said.

As for the future, Home of 

New Vision hopes to expand 

the vending machines to other 

libraries in Washtenaw County. 

Dobbs said they are trying to 

expand these vending machines 

to 
the 
areas 
in 
Washtenaw 

County that experience the most 

overdoses. The organization told 

The Daily that their priority is 

challenging the stigma around 

drug overdoses, and there is still 

more to do.

“I think there’s so much that 

can be done,” Dobbs said. “I think 

the starting point is to provide 

empathy and passion and support 

for people.”

Daily Staff Reporter Riley Hodder 

can be reached at rehodder@umich.

edu.

ANN ARBOR

BUSINESS

