Under the Canopy

Hannah Wen
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Society & Culture

What does it truly mean to bring people together? Well, here on Under the Canopy, we answer that very question. We will explore what it takes to build a community from conversations with local leaders, business owners, and entrepreneurs who are shaping the place we live in. From menial decisions to big risks, we will dig into the stories behind the people who are building something for the greater good. Hosted by Hannah Wen, a high school student based in Ann Arbor!

Episodes

  1. 4h ago

    Literati | Bookstore | Hilary Gustafson

    Data centers. Most Ann Arborites have strong a aversion to them. But before these facilities that promise of the future through extreme water usage came, there were books. Today's guest has owned a real data center since 2013. That is, a bookstore. When starting up, people told her and her husband that it was a graveyard for the industry. Borders had just shut down and E-books were supposedly going to kill print for good. Despite this, Hilary Gustafson and her husband Mike decided the answer wasn't to avoid the risk — it was to start writing a business plan almost as soon as they got engaged. Hilary is the co-owner of Literati, a bookstore that began after she moved from Brooklyn to Ann Arbor, talked to over a hundred people about what a bookstore should even look like, and then built in a way that was modeled after the ones that had shaped her own life. More than a decade later, Literati is known for hundreds of in-store events a year, deep partnerships with other local independent businesses, and even a public typewriter in the basement that turned into its own published book. We cover: What a regular day looks like at LiteratiWhat Literati offers that a chain fundamentally cannotWhat community engagement looks like in practice, day to dayHow Literati’s partnerships with other local spots formedHow she decides what’s worth building an event aroundWhat a truly special in-store experience looks like, one where a reader connects with writing they’d never have found otherwiseWhy the typewriter stayed, and how it became a connective thread for the communityWhat she’d tell herself back in 2012, preparing to launch a bookstore and sitting down for those first 100 conversationsWhat she hopes people remember about Literati, beyond the book selection

  2. Sep 27

    Detroit Housing Commission | Public Housing Agency | Arthur Jemison

    Today’s interview is different from the rest. It doesn’t exactly fit the theme of third places or local community business. Instead, Today's guest has spent over 30 years weaving the tapestry that these very things rely on: housing. Arthur Jemison is the Executive Director of the Detroit Housing Commission, but his journey here has spanned across the nation. From serving in the the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington D.C. and serving as the Chief of Planning in Boston, he has dedicated his career to city development and affordable housing. When he took lead at the Detroit Housing Commission in October 2024, the agency was in crisis. Now, that picture looks very different: vacancies are down and every property has passed inspection. We delve into: What the DHC does day-to-dayWhat "quality affordable housing" means to him in practiceHow he thinks about the community side of housingHow gentrification and rising housing costs intersect with DHC's workA detour into urban planning philosophy — inspired by Jane Jacobs's The Death and Life of Great American Cities — on whether cities should be consciously designed or shaped more organically by the people who live in themand more!

  3. Aug 30

    Black Diesel | Cafe, Roastery, and Barista School | Nick Ferris

    In this episode, I sit down with Nick Ferris, founder of Black Diesel Coffee in Ann Arbor — a truly multifaceted company spanning a café, barista school, wholesale roastery, and dry goods distribution. Nick's path to coffee started far from the espresso machine, in corporate and food consulting in 1980s California, before he took the leap to build something of his own. I also delve into Nick's philosophy around what it means to bring the "universal language" of coffee to Ann Arbor and how he's built Black Diesel to function as a true third space — somewhere to reconnect, recharge, and meet up. Topics covered include: How Nick would describe Black Diesel to someone who's never heard of itThe lessons from his consulting days that still shape how he runs the businessWhat motivated him to leave the corporate route and take the risk of starting Black DieselWhy he started the Black Diesel Barista School, and what he's learned running itWhat "third space" means to him — and why it was worth fighting forWhether that meaning has changed in a world of remote work and phonesHow Ann Arbor has shaped Black Diesel, and how Black Diesel has shaped the community in returnWhat he'd tell his younger self, looking backWhat he hopes people remember about Black Diesel — beyond the coffee

  4. Aug 16

    Vault of Midnight | Comics | Curtis Sullivan

    In 1996, two best friends took a leap most people would call reckless: one had just had his second child, the other was just starting a career in finance — and together they opened a comic book shop in Ann Arbor. Thirty years later, Vault of Midnight has grown into a beloved pop culture destination with locations in Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, and Detroit, built on an unlikely combination of hospitality experience meeting an accounting and finance background. In this episode, co-founder Curtis Sullivan joins us to talk about that original risk, how two very different skill sets shaped a business built to last, and what it's meant to grow from one shop into three cities while staying true to a philosophy that comics should be "for everyone." We cover: The origin story behind Vault of Midnight and the risk it took to open in 1996How a restaurateur and a finance background shaped a business that's lasted three decadesWhat's changed — in the shop and in Curtis himself — between year one and year thirtyMaking comics and pop culture feel accessible to newcomers, not just longtime fansHow the store's investment in community has shaped its relationship with the cityExpanding to Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, and Detroit, and what makes each location distinctWhat Curtis hopes people remember about Vault of Midnight Whether you're a longtime comic shop regular or just curious how a local business survives — and thrives — for 30 years, this conversation is a great look behind the counter.

  5. Aug 2

    Skyline Crew and Washtenaw Rowing Center | Rowing Team and Regional Hub | Kit Bennett

    In this episode of Under the Canopy, I sit down with Kit Bennett, the founder and longtime head coach of Skyline Crew (my own sports team!), for an insightful conversation about the last two decades spent building one of the most respected rowing programs in the Midwest. Originally from London, Kit found home in Ann Arbor. At twenty-four years old, he started an entire high school rowing program from scratch. We discuss the pillars of the team — hard work, compassion, and legacy — and how Kit has worked to pass them on to generations of athletes. I find myself reflecting on the "legacy" aspect heavily, as it influences how I will approach the next chapters of my life. In addition to this, Kit has expanded beyond high school rowing, to building a regional hub for rowing (Washtenaw Rowing Center) and a fully buoyed 1500-meter race course (Katherine Bennett Race Course - with a jumbotron!) to share his passion with an even larger community. Rowing is often known to be a sport with limited accessibility—Kit has challenged that since day 1. This is a conversation about what it really takes to build something lasting — one stroke, one season, one person at a time. In This Episode: Kit's journey from coaching in London (2000) to settling in Ann ArborBuilding Skyline Crew from scratch at age 24The team's core valuesBalancing elite athlete development with accessibilityExpanding beyond the high school program: the Washtenaw Rowing Center and the Kathryn Bennett Race CourseWhat makes a good athlete beyond physical abilityCommon mistakes young coaches make, and advice for early-career coachesThe future of rowing in Ann Arbor and the Midwest over the next 5-10 years

  6. Jul 26

    RoosRoast | Coffee and Cafe | John Roos

    Carpe Diem. In this episode of Under the Canopy, I sit down with John Roos, the founder of RoosRoast — one of Ann Arbor's most beloved and recognizable coffee shops. John is a chef, a drummer, a self-taught artist, and a storyteller. He cheffed about in restaurants around the world, started a creperie in France, fell in love with coffee in Oregon, came home to Ann Arbor, roasted beans out of his garage until the Department of Agriculture shut him down — and kept going anyway. This episode isn't about the origin story of RoosRoast — John's website has a wonderful video for that, and I'd encourage everyone to watch it. This conversation is about something bigger: what it takes to build something from nothing, how to pursue multiple passions at once without losing yourself in any of them, and what role a coffee shop can play in the life of a city. This one is for anyone who has ever felt pulled in too many directions, anyone who has ever talked themselves out of a risk they should have taken, and anyone who has ever wondered if it's possible to build a life that's both meaningful and fun. The answer, according to John Roos, is yes. In this episode: What RoosRoast really is and what it stands forThe moment John traded a safe job for a coffee roaster and never looked backNavigating doubt and uncertainty in the early years of building a businessHow to pursue art, food, music, and entrepreneurship all at onceThe role journaling has played in John's life and creative processHow Ann Arbor shaped RoosRoast — and how RoosRoast shaped Ann ArborWhat John hopes his legacy really looks like

  7. Jul 19

    Fuller and Mack | Pools | Gayle Hurn

    In this episode, I sit down with my boss — Gayle Hurn, Recreation Supervisor for the City of Ann Arbor and the woman who has kept Fuller Park Pool and Mack Indoor Pool running for this community for decades. I attended summer camp at Fuller Pool when I was a kid, and Gayle was there even then. Now I work for her. So getting to have an in-depth conversation with her about her story was something that I'd been excited to do for a while. Gayle started with Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation at eighteen years old, skating around Buhr Park ice rink as a college freshman. She worked her way up through part-time roles during college and grad school until she landed the full-time position she holds today — overseeing the city's only indoor public pool, a beloved outdoor 50-meter pool that draws hundreds of swimmers on a hot summer day, swim lessons, Masters swimming, youth swim teams, day camp, lifeguard training, and a staff made up largely of young people. We talk about what it's like managing two completely different facilities at once, how she thinks about serving everyone from toddlers in the tot pool to Masters swimmers at 5:30 in the morning, and why accessibility has always been at the core of everything she does. We get into the parts of the job nobody sees from the outside — the weather, the rule-benders, the long days — and what it really means to build a community around a public pool. And we open with something that stuck with me when I came across it: a professor once told Gayle that because of her tattoos, she'd never get a job and never be successful. Her response? "I think people will give me a chance." This episode is proof that they did. In this episode: How an eighteen-year-old ice rink monitor became a career Parks and Recreation leaderManaging two wildly different pools — and which one is harderBuilding a staff of young people in a world where teenagers are increasingly squeezed out of the workforceWhat accessibility really looks like at a public pool and why it mattersThe hardest parts of the job nobody sees from the outsideAnd yes — does she ever want to jump in the pool at the end of a long day?

  8. Jul 12

    TeaHaus | Tea Store and Cafe | Lisa McDonald

    When was the last time you went to a cafe — no laptop, no Wi-Fi, no agenda — and just talked to someone? In this episode, I sit down with Lisa McDonald, owner of TeaHaus in Kerrytown. Lisa is one of the very few European-trained tea sommeliers in the United States and the author of Tea for Dummies — but what she's really built at TeaHaus goes far beyond a great cup of tea. We open with a concept that's been on a lot of people's minds lately: the third space. Not home, not work — but the places in between where relationships form naturally, where you might bump into someone who changes your life, and where you're allowed to just exist without obligation. Many communities are losing those spaces. TeaHaus is fighting to keep one alive. In this episode: What a "third space" is and why so many communities are losing themLisa's path from professor and consultant to European-trained tea sommelierHow TeaHaus evolved from tea store to café to tea bar and loungeThe no-laptop, no-Wi-Fi policy and what it's done for the communitySourcing tea from around the world and the relationships behind itAdvice for young women with entrepreneurial dreamsWhat Lisa hopes people remember about what she's built

  9. Jul 5

    Red Barn Realty | Brokerage | Merrill Guerra Pt. 2

    Before Dragonfly and Birch, there was Red Barn Realty — and for Merrill Guerra, real estate has never just been about closing deals. In part two of our conversation with Merrill, we dig into the brokerage that's been the backbone of her career for over a decade. She rose to Top 250 out of more than 2,000 agents at one of Michigan's largest brokerages, then eventually founded Red Barn Realty LLC, a local boutique brokerage dedicated to serving the Ann Arbor area. We talk about what drew her to real estate in the first place, what it really feels like to be the first person a family meets when they're planting roots in a new town, and the client stories that have stayed with her long after the papers were signed. We also get into how running a real estate brokerage and a community boutique at the same time isn't as different as it sounds — because at the core of both is the same question: how do you help people feel at home? And we close with something close to our hearts here on the podcast — Merrill's advice for young women who want to build something of their own, and what she hopes people remember about everything she's created in Manchester. In this episode: What pulled Merrill into real estate and kept her thereRising to the top 250 of 2,000+ agents — what she did differentlyThe client stories that go far beyond the closing tableWhat it means to be a community gatekeeper as a RealtorAdvice for young women with entrepreneurial dreamsWhat Merrill hopes her legacy in Manchester really looks like Hope you enjoy! Stay tuned for the next episode (you'll love this guest!).

  10. Jun 28

    Dragonfly and Birch | Bookstore, Gift Shop, Event Space | Merrill Guerra Pt. 1

    What does it take to build not just one business, but a whole ecosystem of community-driven ventures? In this episode, we sit down with Merrill Guerra — entrepreneur, Realtor, and owner of both Dragonfly and Birch and Red Barn Realty in Manchester, Michigan. Here, we focus specifically on Dragonfly and Birch, which is a bookstore, gift shop, event space, and bar, among many things all at once. In this episode: The story behind Dragonfly and Birch's name and conceptExploring the Unique Blend of a Gift Shop and Gathering PlaceCuration Philosophy and Product SelectionThe Importance of Community GatheringChallenges and Unexpected Joys of Business Ownership On the next episode, we delve into RedBarn Realty, a real-estate brokerage that Merrill has owned for a decade. Stay tuned!

  • 10 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

What does it truly mean to bring people together? Well, here on Under the Canopy, we answer that very question. We will explore what it takes to build a community from conversations with local leaders, business owners, and entrepreneurs who are shaping the place we live in. From menial decisions to big risks, we will dig into the stories behind the people who are building something for the greater good. Hosted by Hannah Wen, a high school student based in Ann Arbor!

Information

  • Creator
    Hannah Wen
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    10
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Hannah Wen
  • Show Website
    Under the Canopy

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