Our roundup of the latest news from metro Detroit and Michigan businesses as well as announcements from government agencies. To share a business or nonprofit story, please send us a message.
Joe Vicari Restaurant Group Opens Vito’s Bakery in Washington Township
The Joe Vicari Restaurant Group, headquartered in Warren, has opened a Vito’s Bakery in Washington Township.
The new bakery is located at 7839 26 Mile Road.
Vito’s Bakery, with its founding location in Clinton Township, has been providing fresh baked goods to guests all around Macomb County for more than 50 years.
Started by Vito Bommarito in 1970, Vito’s Bakery offers delicate Italian pastries that are prepared daily using old-world recipes. It offers a variety of cakes, including wedding cakes, traditional cakes, ready-made birthday cakes, and custom cakes for all occasions.
The bakery’s pastry selection includes cannolis, cream puffs, pasticcioti, eclairs, cassata, cartoccci, ding dongs, “lobster tails”, and a variety of fancy cupcakes. Handmade pies feature flaky buttery pastry crust and farm-fresh ingredients. The company also feature a variety of streetside favorites, new Italian American foods that create a sense of comfort and nostalgia that can be enjoyed for lunch or dinner.
“We are thrilled to be expanding Vito’s Bakery into a second location in Macomb County,” says Joe Vicari, president of the Joe Vicari Restaurant Group. “It’s an up-and-coming area and in a great location that will continue to allow the Vito family to have a strong hand in making it the perfect place to delight customers with their baked goods.”
The 1,700-square-foot bakery took over the space that most recently belonged to Jimmy Dimitri’s Family Dining and is located at the corner of 26 Mile Road and Van Dyke.
Vito’s says it is looking for people to join their team at the front counter. Applicants can apply in-store.
National Alliance for Black Business Launches First BBE Certification and Scorecard
The National Alliance for Black Business (NABB) today announced in Orlando, Fla. the nation’s first Black Business Enterprise (BBE) certification and scorecard program at the WCM Black Business Breakfast and press conference presented by Comerica Bank.
NABB was co-founded by the National Business League (NBL), which has an office in Detroit. The BBE program was developed by the NBL and the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), in partnership with the World Conference of Mayors (WCM) and the Historic Black Towns and Settlements Alliance (HBTSA).
The BBE certification and scorecard program, designed and trademarked by the NBL, will certify businesses that are at least 51 percent Black-owned to be eligible for mainstream public, private, and philanthropic contracting and procurement opportunities.
The BBE certification was created to address the fact that today, 59 years after the 1964 Civil Rights Act, fewer than 1 percent of the nation’s 3.2 million Black-owned Businesses are certified as U.S. Minority Businesses, according to a 2021 report published by the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC). Of 3.2 million Black-owned companies, only 5,881 Black businesses have an MBE certification.
Uncertified minority-owned companies are ineligible for U.S. government procurement equity programs, freezing them out of more than $100 billion in minority-designated U.S. government contracts according to data released by the White House. Also, fewer than 1 percent of Black-owned businesses are certified with any federal, public, private, or minority certification programs in the U.S., since the 1968 expansion of the Civil Rights Act.
The BBE certification is accompanied by the BBE scorecard, a digital accountability tool that will help organizations measure, publish, and improve participation and spend ratios with Black business, led by national Black business organizations.
The scorecard will hold all sectors and industries accountable, including the 1,100 private U.S. corporations that pledged an estimated total of $200 billion to Black equity efforts after George Floyd’s murder in 2020, with those promises still mostly unfulfilled, according to a 2020 McKinsey & Company report.
“The BBE certification and scorecard are designed to offer Black-led solutions after decades of economic equity programs have failed Black people,” says Ken L. Harris, president and CEO of the NBL and co-founder of the NABB. “The Black community can no longer depend on non-Black-led certification programs and non-Black-led business organizations that, in large part, have failed to produce the results necessary to change the economic conditions of Black people in America.
“Booker T. Washington had it right at the turn of the 20th century. It is time for the Black community to take ownership of their economic destiny, we are looking for ROI, a return on inclusion.”
The BBE certification is designed to address the barriers to certification unique to the Black business community and engage Black-owned businesses through established Black commerce channels, which broader diversity and minority certifications have failed to do.
“The illusion of inclusion is no longer an acceptable business model,” says Charles H. DeBow III, president and CEO of the NBCC and co-founder of NABB. “Today, we unveil a powerful tool to clear the smoke and mirrors from minority business data and keep score on our own Black economic progress.
“NABB will be the organization of the future that delivers measurable results to the Black community, while mitigating the dilution of diversity and benign neglect approach to addressing Black economic inequity. Living the Black experience, we are the only ones who can define what equal market access and accountability look like for us, by us.”
The NABB will introduce the pilot BBE certification and scorecard program to several historically Black municipalities, including Grambling, La.; Mound Bayou, Miss.; Eatonville, Fla.; Hobson City and Tuskegee, Ala., and other cities with Black mayors, before launching the initiative on a national scale.
General Motors Awards Northwood University $100K for Automotive Camp
General Motors Co. in Detroit has awarded Midland’s Northwood University $100,000 to host an automotive camp for high school seniors.
“Full Tank Automotive Camp will help students explore careers throughout the automotive industry, including design, development, manufacturing, sales, marketing, service, and aftermarket,” says Elgie Bright, who chairs the automotive marketing/management program at Northwood University.
The camp will take place July 11-16 at Northwood University, which is nationally recognized in the automotive industry for both its undergraduate automotive studies and graduate-level automotive management programs.
“Full Tank Automotive Camp is a tremendous opportunity for driven young students to grow their business skillset,” Bright notes. “With the guidance of current Northwood University students and faculty, campers will learn from industry professionals through hands-on exploration. The lessons and skills that campers learn here can start a future business leader’s career.”
The camp is aimed at students entering high school or currently in high school for the following school year. For more information and to sign up, visit here.
NGK Spark Plugs in Wixom to Change Company Name, Logo April 1
NGK Spark Plugs Inc., the Wixom-based ignition and sensor specialist, announced that effective April 1 the company name will become Niterra North America Inc.
The name change, announced late last year, will include a new corporate logo and identity as the organization follows a strategy to unify the global brand and promote efforts to transform the organization’s business portfolio. Accordingly, the global brand NGK Spark Plug Co., LTD also will begin operating under the English tradename Niterra Co., Ltd. on April 1.
“It is an exciting time in the long and storied history of NGK Spark Plug LTD,” says Michael Schwab, president and CEO of NGK. “We are becoming an increasingly progressive corporation as we strive to meet our vision for the future. A future where we expand our core ceramic technologies, explore capabilities beyond our traditional areas, and challenge ourselves to develop solutions and services that use technologies to resolve social issues while contributing to a sustainable society.”
Niterra, a coined word, combines the Latin words Niteo, meaning shine, and Terra, meaning planet Earth. The corporation chose the new name, logo, and colors to present a broader image of its modern identity.
The company will continue to use the trusted NGK and NTK brands for its spark plug and ceramic-related product portfolio.
Suburban Collection Announces Winners of Student Video Contest
The Suburban Collection in Troy has announced the winners of its sixth annual Focus on the Road initiative — a video competition between high school students geared toward raising awareness about the dangers of distracted driving.
This year, the Suburban Collection received a record number of video project submissions from area high school students with more than 150 videos considered for the cash prizes.
“With distracted driving becoming a leading cause of vehicle crashes in the U.S., it’s more important now than ever that drivers are reminded of the dangers,” says Mike Cavanaugh, regional vice president for Lithia Motors and The Suburban Collection.
According to the most recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 3,142 people died as a result of distracted driving in the U.S. in 2019. Thirty-nine percent of drivers recently surveyed by AAA admitted that in the month prior they had read a text or email while driving, while another 29 percent admitted to drafting a text or email while driving.
The goal of The Suburban Collection’s Focus on the Road video competition is for students to conceptualize and produce a video that embodies how dangerous it can be to drive distracted. The videos are then reviewed against pre-determined judging criteria focused on concept, creativity/originality, message content, impact, and production quality to select three winners.
2022-2023 competition winners are:
- First Place: “Get Rid of the Distraction” by Michelle Nartey of Troy Athens High School ($2,500 cash prize).
- Second Place: “Focus on the Road” by Aiden Coffer of Romeo High School ($1,500 cash prize)
- Third Place: “Distracted Driving Kills” by Eli Iacovoni of Plymouth-Canton Schools ($1,000 cash prize).
- Additional: Romeo Public Schools was awarded for the most student video submissions ($1,000 charitable donation).
To view the videos, visit here.
“The Focus on the Road video competition asks young drivers to be self-reflective and inspire others to practice safer driving habits,” Cavanaugh says. “We congratulate the winners for their creativity and thoughtful entries to encourage us all to place a greater focus on the road.”
Community Choice Credit Union Wins Award from Mastercard
Community Choice Credit Union, which has several branches throughout Michigan, was awarded the Doing Well by Doing Good Award by Mastercard in January for its philanthropic and community efforts as part of Mastercard’s Community Institution Segment Awards.
This award recognizes Community Choice’s community service, philanthropy, and charitable contributions in 2022.
Community Choice President and CEO Rob Bava says that much of the charitable and community efforts are driven by team members who have strong connections with the communities where they live and work.
“This is a tremendous honor from Mastercard because it acknowledges the exceptional effort our team members put into our charitable culture here at Community Choice,” says Rob Bava, president and CEO of Community Choice. “We are invested in our purpose of helping our neighbors live the lives they desire. Giving back is an inherent focus for anyone associated with the credit union. Our members and team members are the reasons we receive recognition for these types of awards. They are the ones who prove that giving big is a sincere and cherished calling.”
Among the nonprofits Comm unity Choice works with are Forgotten Harvest, Blessings in a BackPack, and The Macomb Foster Closet.
Greek Orthodox Church in Westland Planning Greekfest 2023 Feb. 18-19
The Hellenic Cultural Center of the Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Westland (36375 Joy Road) is hosting Greekfest 2023 Feb. 18-19.
The cultural center halls will be filled with traditional Greek food, live Greek dance and folk music, Greek merchandise, and costumed Greek dancers.
The Aegean Roots will headline the live music at the event, with area Greek dance troupe performances on both days. Festival guests also will have opportunities to learn traditional Greek folk dances and join the action on the dance floor.
Greek food is the centerpiece of the festival, with offerings ranging from a traditional Greek dinner — souvlaki, spanakopita, pastitsio, and fresh Greek salads to Greek street foods.
Guests can warm up from the cold temperatures outside with a cup of traditional chicken lemon rice soup. There also will be a wide array of Greek sweets and desserts available for sale, including made-to-order warm, sweet loukoumades (fried donuts drizzled with honey). Adults can enjoy a Greek beer or shot of Ouzo at the taverna, or a Greek coffee or frappé at the coffee house.
Tours of the Saints Constantine and Helen Church sanctuary and newly installed iconography will be offered throughout both afternoons. A marketplace with Greek gift items, jewelry, cookbooks, icons, books, and things for the home also will be available for those who enjoy shopping. There’s plenty for kids to do, too — with fun crafts and other activities in the children’s area.
GreekFest 2023 runs from noon-8 p.m. Feb. 18 and from noon-6 p.m. Feb. 19. Admission is $3 per person, which includes free valet parking. All activities will take place indoors.
