Sava's State Street Cafe owner to launch high-end market shop in downtown Ann Arbor
Sava Lelcaj, owner of an Ann Arbor restaurant that took off when it expanded into a new space on South State Street less than two years ago, is now set to open a high-end grocery market in one of the city’s newest developments.
Lelcaj, who owns and operates Sava’s State Street Cafe, signed a lease on Tuesday to launch a market in a 3,800-square-foot space on the first floor of Sterling 411 Lofts on the corner of Washington and Division streets.
Sava Lelcaj, shown last year at Sava's State Street Cafe, plans to open a 3,800-square-foot market at Sterling 411 Lofts at the corner of Washington and Division.
Janet Miller | For AnnArbor.com
“The lease is done, it’s signed and we’re ready to get her into the space,” said Mark Foraker, senior vice president of The Dinerstein Companies, which bought Sterling 411 Lofts on Dec. 30. “It’s absolutely a fantastic amenity for the building and for the residents that live there.”
It was not immediately clear what the new store would be named. Employees of Sava’s State Street Cafe said Lelcaj was busy handling the heavy influx of restaurant customers on the University of Michigan’s commencement weekend.
Bodman attorney Harvey Berman, who handles legal work for Lelcaj and also contributes articles to AnnArbor.com, said the market would offer high-end groceries, beer, a wine bar and espresso bar.
The market will face the Division Street side of the former Ann Arbor News building, which is now owned by the University of Michigan Credit Union.
Foraker said that architects and contractors have already met with construction crews to map out a plan for launching renovations soon. It's a 10-year lease, he said.
“She’s got a build-out allowance from us that’s generous enough that’s going to allow her to do a fantastic” space, he said. “I think her plan is to have first drawings for comment and review and approval in the next three to four weeks. She understands that getting the property open as close to the (start of the fall semester) is critical.”
The space the market will occupy has been empty since the student apartment high-rise opened two years ago.
Sava Lelcaj's new market will be located on the Division Street side of the Sterling 411 Lofts building at the corner of Division and Washington.
File photo | AnnArbor.com
Neal Warling of real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle, which brokered the deal for both Sterling and Lelcaj, predicted that the market would be well received. Former Jones Lang LaSalle broker Newcombe Clark, who recently joined the Ann Arbor office of personalized recommendation firm MyBuys, also worked on the deal.
It will “serve not only the student population but the working population like myself that drives by there twice a day on my way in and out of town,” Warling said.
The deal comes as Sava’s State Street Cafe has flourished since moving into the former Zanzibar’s space on the west side of State Street near Liberty in August 2009.
The restaurant, which opened in 2007, had been located in a much smaller space on the second-floor of a building located on the plot across the street that CVS Pharmacy now occupies. The restaurant has nearly 10,000 square feet and seats up to 300 customers during peak times in the summer.
In October, Lelcaj told AnnArbor.com that her restaurant was serving about 650 people a day.
“She’s such a wonderful person and she’s such a successful operator of her restaurant and catering business,” Warling said. “I’m absolutely certain she’s going to be successful” with the new market.
The lease signing leaves Sterling with just one vacant retail space on the first floor of the apartment building, which has 96 apartments and 342 beds. The company recently signed a deal with sandwich chain Subway, which opened its doors on the Washington Street side of the first floor a few weeks ago.
Foraker said Sterling has already gotten “a lot of interest” in the remaining 3,500-square-foot bay of retail space. But he said the company decided not to sign a deal with any new tenants until Lelcaj agreed to launch her market there. He said he believes that Lelcaj’s market boosts the value of the empty space.
“It was a no brainer at the end of the day” to wait, Foraker said.
Contact AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's newsletters.
Comments
Will Warner
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 10:42 p.m.
At her restaurant, Sava has crafted a very nice menu and respectable wine list for the price range she has chosen. Her business plan seems to be working. I suspect that her market will be equally well conceived and executed. I wish her great success.
Goofus
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 7:26 p.m.
Sava's is pretty reasonable, price-wise, the service is usually very good (more of a urban style service...not the fly-ny-night college student service one gets in most restaurants in town...Ann Arbor has some of the worst table service in the country, in my opinion, generally) and they also seem to do alot for the community. They are not a chain. I applaud them for expanding. I do hope that the new market has a suitably original name that isn't spelled almost exactly like another restaurants tho...hah. That Seva/Sava thing gets people every time.
Pilgrim
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 8:50 p.m.
I think we have been able to cope with those 2 names just fine--since Sava is her name, she gets to name her restaurant after herself. And with this next venture, she can call it just anything she wants--she deserves it!!
John
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 4:57 p.m.
Nothing shocking about all the negative comments here, as expected for Ann Arbor. Sava has done a great job with her restaurant, starting across the street from a tiny room and expanding into the old Zanzibar. Not sure where all the negativity comes from, but has anyone noticed that this place is packed every day? It is the only restaurant in town you actually hear people talking about. If complaining about water or your slow service is something you like to do, I guess that is fine. I can tell you one thing, if I complain about a place, I don't go back to it like a few of the posters say they have done. Only tends to show the motive behind your remarks. Second, I did a little looking into this, several articles on here show that Sava is self funded. No investors at all. She has obviously been successful in the community and what does she do, she turns around and adds a second business instead of running out of town. That isn't greedy, that is commendable. Her prices are reasonable compared to everywhere else in town. She is creating jobs, leasing large amounts of space in two buildings - one that was vacant for over year, and helping grow the community, and we have room to complain. Last, from what I hear she runs a very tight ship and that is why she is successful. I've seen her seat tables, cooking, cleaning, you name it, she does it, and best of all, she is approachable. The second time I spoke with her she asked my wife and I about our daughter that had moved away to school, knew her name, school, etc... Very approachable and warm with her customers, far cry from other owners in town. Entrepreneurs like Ms. Lelcaj should be applauded for staying in Michigan while all of our other young talent leaves in masses. From a local that knows what is going on, thank you for supporting local - Knights Beef, Frog Holler, Michigan Theatre and all the other businesses and organizations we don't know about that I'm sure you contribute to.
Pilgrim
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 5:57 p.m.
I applaud your comments, spoken like a true professional! Thanks!!!
Pilgrim
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 3:49 p.m.
I love Sava's breakfasts--they are great; and are so much cheaper than Zola's. In addition, we often see Sava making rounds, greeting customers, and asking how they feel about their service.
dairy6
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 3:42 p.m.
Funny, someone starts another business in Ann Arbor, helps create a few jobs, and half of the comments disparage her. Well not surprising, it's what I've come to expect here. So many people so full of themselves. Welcome to Ann Arbor!
ViSHa
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 3:05 p.m.
High-end/hard to find groceries like fresh seasons used to carry or that the produce station carries? Or "organic" stuff like whole foods?
Bonsai
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 2:58 p.m.
this article doesn't address WHY the first floor of this brand new development has been empty for so long (although it alludes to a "build-out allowance") -- or talk at all about the similar situation that has been going on at Ashley Terrace -- I expect more context and depth Nathan
Tom Joad
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 2:18 p.m.
High-end groceries, high-end rent...no thanks I already shop at the People's Food Co-op
Goofus
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 7:22 p.m.
Lol. This is a joke, right? People's Food CoOp has the highest prices in the county!
xmo
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 2:13 p.m.
Its good to see that some of the "Greedy" Business owners are welcomed in Ann Arbor. Who knows, one day Ann Arbor may want to embrace business owners!
Forever27
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 12:42 p.m.
This will be great! Sava's is one of the best restaurants in town and I'm confident that this development will be as well done as the restaurant is. For those commenting that they've had bad experiences at Sava's you should really try it again. It's the best bang-for-your-buck place in town. They have really creative (and healthy) food at a very good price.
RTG
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 12:18 p.m.
Sava is the most exciting and youthful entrepreneur that I know. Her restaurant Sava's is fabulous with unique and tasty dishes never seen on other menus anywhere. Fresh products, attention to detail, cool environment to enjoy a meal with a friend, food reasonably priced. There is no doubt her store will equal the quality of the restaurant. P.S. I have eaten at Sava's many times and never was charged for a glass of water per post below!
DDOT1962
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 3:54 p.m.
@RTG- You wouldn't happen to be employed by or an investor in Sava's, would you? Your post reads more like an advertisement, lol.
jtwilkins
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 3:08 p.m.
"Sava's is fabulous with unique and tasty dishes never seen on other menus anywhere." You poster need to get out more.
Wolf's Bane
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 11:46 a.m.
I wish Sava Lelcaj the very best and want nothing more than to be proved wrong that we won't end up with Dollar store at Sterling 411 Lofts! Good luck!
Carl
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 11:22 a.m.
I went once when she first opened in the old location, and I had really bad service and even got charged for a glass of water. People tell me I should try again, but I haven't
Marty
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 2:02 p.m.
No kidding. Charge for water? Try and exaggerate a little more because I've never been charged for water there. Not to mention your comment has nothing to do with her new business. I'm pretty sure Sava wouldn't want a customer like you. Amazing how people come out to insult as quickly as good news is released. This is good for our community, local jobs, local company, local everything. And this guy and others sit around complaining about nonsense.
MyOpinion
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 1:24 p.m.
Talk about snap judgments. I too was warned that the service was bad and I even went on a Monday night where sliders are $1 each. We had good service and I like the variety of small plate orders. She is certainly doing way more service than Zanzibar was in its final year - typical Monday night was perhaps a dozen per hour. Change is happening. Not every restaurant will be like it was in the old days. Menus, policies, etc. will be different.
Linda Diane Feldt
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 11:13 a.m.
The article doesn't mention if there is any parking associated with the new market. I am curious to hear the plan for that frequently mentioned concern.
Adam Jaskiewicz
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 12:26 p.m.
Well it's a block from the new Library Pit, across the street from the Tally Hall structure, and two blocks from the deck that goes over Maynard behind Borders. And there's five bus stops within a block. But if she's trying to get business from downtown employees, they're already downtown and parked. Anyone in the Old Fourth Ward, downtown, or on central campus is within easy walking distance.
rsa221
Fri, Apr 29, 2011 : 10:39 a.m.
Excellent news! :)