Ypsilanti Township Ram's Horn closes, Kerby's Koney Island takes its place
Moe Chami said he got caught in the crossfire and was unable to overcome the bad feelings attached to the Ram’s Horn restaurant in Ypsilanti Township he purchased last fall.Â
After less than six months in business, Chami closed the franchise on Whittaker Road earlier this week. By mid-week, he re-opened the location as a Kerby’s Koney Island.
Shortly after Chami bought the Ram’s Horn franchise from Sam and Nabil Berry last fall, he learned of a community boycott of his 180-seat restaurant in the Paint Creek Shopping Center.Â
Customer traffic wasn’t nearly what he expected and Chami eventually learned former Berry family employees had organized a boycott of the Ram’s Horn over the Internet.
The Berry family last summer was evicted from two Big Boy restaurants they owned in Washtenaw County - one on Lohr Road and the other on Zeeb Road - leaving a trail of 75 unhappy employees suddenly left without work.
While he was able to rebuild some of the lost business, it became too little too late, Chami said.Â
That, combined with the weak economy and a menu that was too large, made it impossible to keep the Ram’s Horn afloat, Chami said. Customers, he said, felt the Ram’s Horn was too expensive for their tight budgets.Â
So, since his contract for the Ram’s Horn franchise  expired, Chami closed the Ram’s Horn on Monday and opened the Kerby’s on Wednesday.
Chami said the Kerby’s franchise will be a better fit: Price points are lower and he has years of experience with the company as an employee. Most recently, he managed the Kerby’s Koney Island at Briarwood Mall, which closed.
“A coney island will be a lot easier,” Chami said. “There’s a lot of combinations to chose from, a lot of variety, so it will fit everyone’s need.”
Once he gets his first Kerby’s grounded, Chami said he would like to open a second location in Washtenaw County.
Kerby’s has about 23 locations around the Detroit area, many of them in shopping malls.
Comments
Life in Ypsi
Tue, Mar 9, 2010 : 12:01 a.m.
That parking lot and area is a nightmare! Maybe that is why it didn't get a lot of business. Every time I turn left I fear for my life. A few weeks ago I was trying to wait for traffic to clear so I could turn left and I had a long line of cars behind me honking impatiently. Feeling pressured I quickly pulled out thinking it was clear enough and almost was sideswiped. I'm usually a very cautious driver. Now I turn right and pretty much drive in a huge circle to get home or find someplace to turn around.
Paul the Malcontent
Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 7:54 p.m.
@metoo: I agree about the problems turning left out of that parking lot. When the roundabout is finished, you can always just turn right and use the roundabout to turn around and head the other direction. But that construction will be a nightmare.
metoo
Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 3:09 p.m.
What is the future plan for drivers trying to get out of the Paint Creek parking lot, especially those trying to turn left? At least with the light there at the Whittaker/Stoney Creek split it puts a gap in the traffic flow and gives you a chance to turn left out of the lot. Maybe the plan is to put a light there at the main entrance to Paint Creek and allow the roundabout to free flow cars through it. Hopefully that is the case. I find myself turning right out of Paint Creek, especially with my child in the car, just to stay safe and I take the detour around onto Textile to get to my home on Ford Lake in Ford Lake Hts subdivision. This is especially true around 4-6pm on weekdays.
Barb
Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 2:54 p.m.
That's a great place for a traffic circle. That whole area is a mess.
dading dont delete me bro
Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 2:33 p.m.
@jessica, i meant to avoid the area during construction. it'll be a wonderful summer of construction AGAIN. kroger's shouldn't buy it for a gas station, but for parking. kroger gas? would the area of the parking lot (which is tight already) support such an endeavor? the site for the ypsilanti area credit union, across the street, has been there for MONTHS. the hold up? the wonderful responsible township powers involved. therefore, i see no immediate gas station going in there.
Bob
Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 2:03 p.m.
Don't forget Leo's, also an excellent Coney nearby.
JG
Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 1:53 p.m.
I think this owner is suspect, who's franchise agreement is for less than 6 months? give me a break! I will keep eating at Stoney Creek Koney - or Aubree's - or Great Wall, all great spots for a bite.
Jessica
Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 1:11 p.m.
Roundabouts aren't great traffic areas to avoid. I personally find them better than traditional intersections and they're actually kind of fun! I hope Kroger can put in a gas station. I'd rather get gas at Kroger, like they have in Port Huron, than go to the Huron Fuel Plaza with a Marathon. A few Marathons closed in the Ann Arbor-Ypsi area. I prefer Speedway out of all choices, but Kroger is much better than Marathon.
Rob MI
Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 1:03 p.m.
I'm disappointed by the closing of the Ram's Horn. Given the sudden changeover, I figured that the franchise had expired. Familiar with their menu and their prominence in Metro Detroit, I had hopes that it would last. It was certainly superior to the nasty Baker's Square that inhabited the building first. Two things conspire against this restaurant, and both have already been mentioned below. THREE coney restaurants within one mile of roadway, in an area with that level of population density? What was he thinking when he decided to pursue that franchise, and why didn't the franchiser stop him, knowing there were two essentially identical restaurants in the immediate area? A good franchiser would have never allowed him to purchase a franchise in that environment. Also, if the name of the restaurant changed but the owner remained the same, the restaurant is doomed to fail before it even opened because the boycott will still exist--it was against the person, not the chain, per se. I give it until September and the building will then sit vacant for another 2 years while someone tries to do something with it. Anyone that thinks Ram's Horn is overly expensive has no business eating in a casual dining environment. As such, I disagree with the owner's comment regarding price points making any difference in the number of patrons he'll see.
glimmertwin
Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 12:47 p.m.
A bad franchise combined with a terrible parking lot design (courtesy of Ypsilanti Township government) certainly didn't help. I remember when the first Coney opened in that plaza. They had an agreement in their lease that no other restaurants could open. Then they were fooled because it turns out the stores were detached so it wasn't the "same shopping center". Curious how that has all played out. Personally, I don't see how any of them can survive. The vacant, empty stores in that plaza are evidence of that. Regardless of what the Ann Arbor News reported years ago, that shopping complex has never been 100% occupied. Ever.
dading dont delete me bro
Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 12:12 p.m.
@loser, round-a-bout starts late spring...it will be a great traffic area to avoid. it will be completed in three phases.
loser
Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 12:06 p.m.
i heard krogers is trying to buy the property to put in a gas station...and when is that roundabout being put in near there?
lisasimpson
Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 10:58 a.m.
Does the boycott of Berry-family owned restaurants stop with the name change? Also, Stoney Creek is the best Coney Island for miles around. I can promise you I will never pass up Stoney Creek to go to another Coney Island.
dading dont delete me bro
Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 9:23 a.m.
i wouldn't care to see an applebee's or some chain go in there. i'm fan of the smaller guy's. i told my wife, another coney?!?
metoo
Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 8:36 a.m.
I was hoping something more like an Applebee's would have come to that location. Maybe the location is just not a good one for this type of business. I heard that Wendy's wanted to put a location right across the street on the corner of Huron River Drive but the ground is contaminated from the shop that once stood there. We tried Ram's horn and I agree, it was below average.
Ignatz
Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 7:47 a.m.
That's too bad, sort of. I lked going to the Ram's Horn. I suppose I'll give Kerby's a try.
Bob
Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 7:41 a.m.
Just what we need, a third Coney Island in the immediate area. Are all the marketing firms out of business or do restaurant owners just not use them?
Michelle
Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 6:45 a.m.
what I question is how 2 koney's in the same shopping center are going to survive
Jeff lehman Sr
Fri, Mar 5, 2010 : 6:37 a.m.
I sure hope the food and service get better with the name change, because it was horrible when it was Rams Horn. My 8 year old daughters did not even want to go back there and eat.