City Institute, best known for its guided tours and educational programs about Detroit, is hosting its first suburban small business walking tour series in Mount Clemens, Dearborn, Berkley and Pontiac.
The tours are free and the next one will take place Saturday, Aug. 16, in Mount Clemens.
“With the Mount Clemens tour, people will sometimes say, ‘What’s there?’ and the answer is a lot that people don’t realize.” said Jeanette Pierce, president of the City Institute. “We’re always driving by things, so getting out walking and seeing what’s in our own backyard is great.”
Other upcoming tours will take place in Dearborn, Berkley and Pontiac. Here’s a full schedule of the free downtown walking tours:
The walking business tour series, sponsored by Visit Detroit, kicked off in west Dearborn in July. That tour visited small businesses along Michigan Avenue and West Village Drive, including Westborn Market, Black Box Coffee Shop & Art, L.A. Bistro, Turkish Village Cuisine and Galata Sweets.
“People know Dearborn, or they think they do because they’ve been to Henry Ford Museum which is an amazing asset, but don’t always think about it as this small business hub of the region,” said Pierce. “And that’s one of the things that we want to make sure people realize.”
American Arab Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Bilal Hammoud worked with City Institute to bring the tours to Dearborn.
“Not only do we have hundreds of businesses and one of the highest concentration of small businesses in the state, but a rich culture history and something that when folks come to a city like this and get exposed to a community like this, they fall in love,” Hammoud said.
Tour guides are local residents who are rooted in their community. Max Aghili, who has lived in Dearborn for 28 years and has guided tours for seven years, will lead the Dearborn tour.
“Residents know what they hear in the news, whether it’s good or bad, but they really have not experienced Dearborn,” Aghili said. “This gives them a chance to come and walk around with somebody who knows Dearborn.”
Since City Institute launched 20 years ago, its small business program has gained attention from cities across the country.
“We have been doing this in Detroit since 2005 but in the last few years, other cities around the country were asking for our help,” Pierce said. “I’ve worked with El Paso, Chicago, Akron, Vegas, Portland and a whole list of places to bring tours like these to their cities.”
In addition to its small business walking tours, City Institute also offers private tours for groups and companies year-round. Learn more at cityinstitute.com/public-tours.
“I’ve had the pleasure of going on some of their guided tours before,” Hammoud said. “It’s more than just exposure to local business. It’s more than just that cultural component that you get to capture from the local culture, it’s the history.”
Julia Roeder, a recent graduate of Grosse Pointe South High School and a rising freshman at Michigan State University, is a 2025 Detroit Free Press summer apprentice.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: City Institute offers free walking tours of Berkley, Dearborn, Mount Clemens and Pontiac
Reporting by Julia Roeder / Detroit Free Press
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