BUSINESS
Elaine and Mark Blumenfeld and Ariana Carps
REAR ENDS FACEBOOK
Changes at Rear Ends
continued from page 30
Owners handing reins to daughter, closing West Bloomfield Store. DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
A
fter nearly 43 years of owning and running Rear Ends, a women’s casual apparel boutique, Mark and Elaine Blumenfeld will be handing over the reins to their daughter, Ariana Carps. Due to the pandemic and personal reasons, a decision was also made to consolidate Rear Ends into its Bloomfield Hills store and to shutter the West Bloomfield location. The closing date for the West Bloomfield store is Dec. 12. Merchandise is on sale with most things well under $100, with the goal of clearing out the inventory. “It’s the times we live in; you have to be smart about it,” said Elaine Blumenfeld. According to her, about 50% of their orders had been canceled by vendors because of the pandemic, and they didn’t feel they could effectively merchandise two stores. The consolidation is a positive move for Carps. “I’ll be able to leave a little early to pick my kids up from school,” Carps tells the JN. “I think it’ll give me a work-life balance. COVID has shown me how important that is. “It allows me to be the businesswoman I’d love to be, and it
32
|
DECEMBER 10 • 2020
allows me to be the mom I want to be who’s present when I’m with my kids.” Carps has worked in the store since she was just a kid. In 2005, Ariana became a full-time manager and buyer, and by 2012, she was given a stake in the business. “This is the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do, and the only job I’ve ever had,” Carps said. “I can’t imagine doing anything else.” The plan was always for the Blumenfeld’s to hand the business off to their daughter, but the pandemic accelerated that decision. “My daughter is unbelievable,” Blumenfeld said. “She grew up here, she was doing stock when she was 10 years old.” It won’t be a full retirement for the Blumenfeld’s though. In-season, they’ll be at the store more often. They’ll step away a bit more when it’s not as busy. “It’s comforting to say we’re going to step back, and we’ll come in when she needs us. We might come in a little bit when she doesn’t need us,” she added. “It’s been a good run,” Mark Blumenfeld said. “I’m leaving this location with my head held high, and everything’s good in life. How much more can I ask than that?”
RESTRICTIONS ARE “DEVASTATING” President Jeremy Sasson of the Heirloom Hospitality Group, whose restaurants include Townhouse Birmingham, Townhouse Detroit and Prime + Proper in Detroit, argues that the coronavirus restrictions have been devastating for the restaurant industry. Summing up his company’s experience, Sasson said, “In the last eight or nine months, we’ve had catastrophic layoffs of employees. We’ve gone from 350 employees to 15, rehired to about 300, and now we’re back to eight employees at our organization. ... This time around, there’s no economic stimulus to support workers on unemployment. After 20 weeks from the first shutdown, there’s not a lot of time left for laid-off workers to get unemployment money. “The hidden issue in this situation is that some employees are going to be forced to look for other jobs,” he added. “We’re the only industry singled out twice in this entire year, with two shutdowns now tied specifically to restaurants. I can’t blame employees for not betting on the restaurant industry for their livelihood. There will be a gap for finding restaurant and hospitality professionals when things have come back.” Catering has been important during the pandemic, according to partner and Executive Chef Matt Prentice at Three Cats Restaurant in Clawson. “Thankfully, because I’ve been around for a long time, we’re doing an incredible volume.” His location in a suburban neighborhood is an advantage he does not see for many of his colleagues starting out “or
located in areas like Detroit that have seen a huge number of restaurants open but are now struggling.” Prentice is concerned about restaurant staff, including his own 22 employees on furlough. “Shutting down restaurants and bars is an unwinnable hand for a lot of people,” he said. “How do you survive on $360 a week at the max for unemployment to pay for things at Chanukah and Christmas? People are hurting. No financial relief is in sight either.” Bill Roberts of the Roberts Restaurant Group, whose restaurants include Beverly Hills Grill, Bill’s, Cafe ML, Roadhouse B&G and Streetside Seafood said, “The uncertainty is awful. “Our team stuck with us through the (initial) threemonth shutdown and worked hard to rebuild our business and their lives. Now their reward is to have their jobs and our business (shut down) just before the holidays.” As a past-president of the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association, Roberts said he was “thrilled that our Association sued the state to ask for our industry to be reopened” (a ruling is expected Monday). His feeling is that most of the (virus) transmissions occur at home gatherings, “where people are not distancing, nor wearing masks, like they are in our restaurants.” With outdoor dining not going in earnest until May 1, “one needs to have a strong financial situation or government help to make it until spring,” Roberts said. “Please ask your state government to reinstate dining. And, please, support your neighborhood restaurants.”
