After a tumultuous summer scarred by the 1967 race riots, two Detroiters were not ready to give up on their hometown. Ronnie and Rosemary Bedway opened Ronnie’s Quality Meats in the fall of 1967, straying from the conventional wisdom of the time, with barely enough money for change and a cutting board; the rest is history. Today, my family’s business runs stronger than ever and satisfies the meat needs of Detroiters of various socioeconomic backgrounds.
Some of my earliest memories are working side by side with my family members at our store and at local festivals selling Ronnie’s World Famous Shish Kabob. I relive that childhood nostalgia daily as I walk to work, passing by beautiful Art Deco skyscrapers that characterized Detroit’s rise to power in the 1920s. Yet, the same skepticism that challenged my grandparents’ intentions to open shop in 1967 hinders progress in Detroit today.
Will Detroit run out of money? Is Detroit safe? How does a city that lost over a million people since its peak in the 1950s provide services with less tax revenue amongst dispersed neighborhoods? This only begins to touch the surface of preexisting negativity.
Luckily, the black shadow of darkness that ails Detroit is beginning to have light shed on it by countless organizations and individuals that believe not only that Detroit can be great again, but that Detroit will be great again. Such a transformation requires objective analysis and a willingness to let go of our pasts and take hold of building our futures.
Like my grandparents in 1967, I chose not to move to Chicago or New York, but to stay. Detroit is the same city of opportunity that created the auto industry, Motown, and Ronnie’s Meats. My goal is to chronicle my experiences living Downtown with hopes of not only giving personal insight but also catalyzing conversations of how to reinvent Detroit and make it great once again.
Some of my earliest memories are working side by side with my family members at our store and at local festivals selling Ronnie’s World Famous Shish Kabob. I relive that childhood nostalgia daily as I walk to work, passing by beautiful Art Deco skyscrapers that characterized Detroit’s rise to power in the 1920s. Yet, the same skepticism that challenged my grandparents’ intentions to open shop in 1967 hinders progress in Detroit today.
Will Detroit run out of money? Is Detroit safe? How does a city that lost over a million people since its peak in the 1950s provide services with less tax revenue amongst dispersed neighborhoods? This only begins to touch the surface of preexisting negativity.
Luckily, the black shadow of darkness that ails Detroit is beginning to have light shed on it by countless organizations and individuals that believe not only that Detroit can be great again, but that Detroit will be great again. Such a transformation requires objective analysis and a willingness to let go of our pasts and take hold of building our futures.
Like my grandparents in 1967, I chose not to move to Chicago or New York, but to stay. Detroit is the same city of opportunity that created the auto industry, Motown, and Ronnie’s Meats. My goal is to chronicle my experiences living Downtown with hopes of not only giving personal insight but also catalyzing conversations of how to reinvent Detroit and make it great once again.
Ronnie - cool post!
ReplyDeleteI love anything vintage Detroit. I was a year old in 1967. I love that your grandparents had a meat business here too.
Any time I can I still buy made in Detroit products - Better Made, Faygo, Town Club, Velvet Peanut Butter just to name a few.
Have you been to the Detroit Shoppe in Somerset Mall, or downtown? That's one of my favorite stores!
Keep The Love In The D!
Thanks Vyntage Dude! The Detroit Shoppe has a location on State and Woodward that is across from my building.
ReplyDelete