MY Eye Care refurbishes historic storefront in Dearborn's east downtown

metromode, 8/28/2008

Everyone loves reading about the big developments, the marquee projects that employ big budgets to breathe new life into prominent buildings.

But sometimes it's the smaller efforts that have the biggest impact, slowly transforming a block by providing inspiration for other smaller business owners.
Take Dearborn's east downtown. The pending redevelopment of the old Montgomery Wards site is the project holding everyone's attention, but the little improvements in places like MY Eye Care, just a hop, skip and jump away, are just as important to creating a vibrant business district.

Dr. Michael Younes, who used to practice at the Detroit Veterans Hospital, opened the business (the MY in the name stands for his initials) in December of 2006. He took over the site of a former pharmacy in a 2-story building that is almost 100 years old and has been steadily pumping money into renovating the space.

"This area is growing and I think the city has the right ideas," Dr. Younes says.

Dr. Younes, who grew up in Dearborn, has renovated the 1,800 square feet of the building's interior for his practice. He also is getting ready to refurbish the outside but installing new signs and awnings.

He choose Dearborn's east downtown because of its growing Middle Eastern population (he speaks Arabic) and how it's consistently reinvesting in itself. A trend he is taking part in himself.

Source: Dr. Michael Younes, owner of MY Eye Care
Writer: Jon Zemke

Entrepreneurship , Redevelopment , Wayne County

Dearborn