Saturday Extra: So long, summer

I always think a good summer should feel a little endless. But no matter what I do to make it last, Labor Day weekend inevitably gets here, the sun starts to set a little earlier, a cardigan chill sets in and summer — well, it ends. How could this have happened? 

I went back and checked the math, and it turns out there were only 14 Saturdays between Memorial Day weekend and today. Sheesh. Next year I hope we get at least 25. But I hope you did your best with the summer weekends we had — spent them well, stretched them out, saved up some sunny memories for the winter.   

To that end, for your holiday weekend reading pleasure, I’ve selected a few back issues and favorite historical sidenotes from the summer. 

The changing meaning of Michigan Central Station: A guest essay from our summer reporting intern Amelia Benavides-Colón.

A fond farewell to the Cass Cafe, and worries over the “long COVID” effects of inflation, labor shortages and supply chain snags on small businesses. 

It’s easier to get a job than an internship, but maybe that’s a good thing for recent college graduates.

Taking stock of Detroit’s disappearing gay bars after a fire at The Woodward, Detroit’s oldest-operating gay bar. 

What happened to all of those Farmer Jack stores? We explore 15 years after the last ones closed.

Detroiters love their model trains. The history of Lionel Trains, and other sidetracks. 

And as the season changes, so does the Saturday Extra: This will be my last issue, as I move on from Crain’s Detroit Business to a new opportunity. I’m excited, but it’s hard to say goodbye to this newsletter. Writing it, and getting to know its readers, has quite simply been the best part of my week for the past 18 months.

Don’t worry: You’ll continue to receive a Saturday newsletter, and the team has some exciting new things in store for you in the coming weeks and months. 

Thank you so much for reading.