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After 42 Years, Ann Arbor's Downtown Kilwins To Close

After 42 Years, Ann Arbor's Downtown Kilwins To Close

August 18, 2025

Morning, Ann Arbor! Fun state story to start this morning’s newsletter. In 2014, Richard Guilford was working on a 2015 Ford Edge at a Ford factory in Michigan. While working on the car, he lost his wallet.

11 years and 151,000 miles later, a mechanic in Minnesota found Richard’s wallet sitting in the engine of that Ford Edge and mailed it back to him.

Here’s a link to the wholesome 2-minute video on the story.

Read Time: 2.5 minutes

Reader Count: 4,029 townies

Percent of Ann Arbor Reading: 3.36%

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Apple Maps

🍦 Goodbye Kilwins: After 42 years in business, the downtown Kilwins (107 E. Liberty) will close at the end of the year. Owner Chera Tramontin says everyday foot traffic has thinned since the pandemic (gross sales are roughly a quarter of what they once were) while costs keep climbing. Opened in 1983, Ann Arbor’s shop was the company’s first official franchise after the original Kilwins launched in Petoskey in 1947.

a2gov.org

🎨 New Mural: The City and Ann Arbor DDA are installing a new multi-level art mural on the walls of Liberty Plaza. The mural will be created by Orlando-based artist Christian Stanley and draws inspiration from the Huron River and the local wildflowers. The project started last week and is expected to be complete in early September.

TheRide

🚌 TheRide: It’s your money. Catch TheRide with low or no-cost fares and enjoy Fixed-Route service from 6am until midnight on most routes throughout the Ann Arbor / Ypsilanti area. Visit TheRide.org for schedules, planning, fares and more information.

a2gov.org

🍸️ Rooftop Bar: The Graduate Hotel (615 E. Huron) has submitted a formal proposal to the city to add a floor to the 14-story hotel to create a rooftop bar and private event space. The plan is currently in the city’s development review pipeline.

Shutterstock

👀 Armadillo Watch: A new U.S. Geological Survey-backed study found amaradillos in Indiana (did anyone know Indiana had armadillos?) are steadily expanding north - with the northernmost siting just 5 miles south of the Michigan border. Scientists say Michigan winters will limit the species expansion, but burrows may help them ride out the cold.

NealFrancis.com

🎸 Thursday’s Sonic Lunch Concert: Neal Francis

Style: Alternative/Indie, Rock
Popularity: 279,000 monthly Spotify listeners
Top Song: “Changes, Pts 1 & 2” with 12.9 million streams
Links to Listen: Spotify or Apple Music
Concert Details: 11:30 am - 1:30 pm on the corner of Liberty and Division in downtown Ann Arbor