Coffee Beanery opens
first overseas location
The Coffee Beanery Ltd., based
in Flushing, opened its first international store in Seoul, Korea, in
December. The new coffee shop offers Coffee BeaneryÕs specialty beverages
and pastries.
Founded in 1976 by JoAnne and Julius Shaw, The Coffee
Beanery is a privately held company with nearly 180 company stores and
franchises in 32 states and Guam. Plans are in the works for further international
expansion in countries such as China and Qatar.
A Meijer family member is back at the helm of Grand Rapids-based
Meijer Inc. Hank Meijer, grandson of the company founder, became
chief executive officer, replacing Jim McLean. McLean headed the company
for three years after MeijerÕs father, 82-year-old Frederik Meijer, retired.
Paul Boyer, a veteran Meijer employee, will serve as president
and chief operating officer.
The Michigan Gift Mart in Northville has added
or expanded 10 wholesale gift showrooms since the beginning of the year.
New showrooms are Montage Marketing, Maggie & Me and
Rob Hackman. Expanded showrooms include Luv-On Enterprises, Davidia &
Associates, Josephson & Associates, Alger Sales and Jack Smith & Associates.
The new Target Distribution Center in Kalamazoo
County is scheduled to open in March. It will ship merchandise to Target
stores in Michigan, northeast Ohio and part of Indiana.
More than 7,000 job seekers applied for 600 positions
at the distribution center during a three-day job fair in December. Workers
began training in February. Up to 200 additional employees are expected
to be hired by summer.
 Paul
"Skip" Ungrodt was named a finalist for Citizen of the Year
by the Ann Arbor News. The newspaper presents the annual award to an individual
who displays outstanding citizenship and volunteer involvement. Ungrodt
is chairman and president of Ideation Inc., which publishes catalogs
for independent gift retailers, and owns Crown House of Gifts stores
in Ann Arbor and Dayspring Gifts in Chelsea. He served on the MRA
Board of Directors from 1991 to 1996.
He was recognized for his financial and volunteer support
of organizations such as the Ypsilanti Automobile Heritage Collection,
Chelsea Purple Rose Theater, Washtenaw United Way and the University Musical
Society.
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