FERNDALE, Mich. – To survive, you need to adapt. That’s what hundreds of small businesses across Metro Detroit are working to do.
For some businesses -- it’s really working. Three small businesses in Ferndale are managing to make it work despite the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
May 5, 2020 -- Michigan coronavirus (COVID-19) cases up to 44,397; Death toll now at 4,179
The Ferndale Project used to be a taproom -- and now it looks like a warehouse. It’s just one of the many places that are changing.
It opened in February and was supposed to be a place where people could enjoy craft beer.
“When COVID-19 came we had to just turn everything upside down and rethink what our business looked like,” Dayne Bartscht, managing partner at the Ferndale Project, said.
They now offer a drive-thru produce market with hot coffee and donuts. They’ve also started a pizza business.
“Detroit style pizza has been a huge success. We make frozen pasties, so we have a frozen food business. Our beer delivery, I’d say, is probably the largest success that we’ve had so far,” Bartscht said.
They’re now making between 50 and 100 beer deliveries a day.
Treat Dreams, originally an ice cream and sweet shop, is turning their 4,000 square foot space into a farm-to-market model. You can buy fresh cut meats, prepackaged meals and locally sourced groceries.
Detroit Cookie Company started shipping their cookies to their customers, but they realized their clientele started to grow. They had just purchased a new building to use for cookie dough production but now with the success of their new business model they plan to make that into their shipping department.