Popular Fresh Food Restaurant Coming to Michigan

During the pandemic, tons of restaurants and delis closed, which was heartbreaking. Now that things are returning to normal, or at least to as normal a state as possible, one popular national deli is opening up its very first Michigan location.

This New Jersey-based spot has more than 100 locations throughout the U.S. They specialize in fruit bowls and smoothies, but also offer a range of deli-type foods for breakfast and lunch.

That spot is Playa Bowls. It's first Michigan location will be in downtown East Lansing at 225 E. Grand River Avenue. Popular items include oatmeal bowls, power bowls, green bowls, acai, iced coffees, smoothies and pressed juices, will all be on the menu. The restaurant is expected to open in May.

Playa Bowls was founded by Robert Giuliani and Abby Taylor, who both hail from Jersey Shore and are long time surfers. "They were inspired by chasing summer on surf trips to Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, California & Hawaii," they state on their official website. "Almost every exotic surf town they visited offered their own unique version of an acai or pitaya bowl. They decided to recreate their favorite recipes with their own twist at home at the Jersey Shore."

So, they made a deal with the owner of the pizza shop they lived above on 8th Avenue in Belmar, New Jersey. "They bought a blender, a patio table, a fridge & a freezer and set up a makeshift pop up stand on the sidewalk in front of the pizza shop," the story states. "They spent a lot of time and effort telling their story and educating customers on the benefits of acai. As word spread of this creative and intuitive pop up stand, more & more people stood in line on the side of Ocean Avenue to see what Playa Bowls was all about." For more information, go here.

If you're curious which cities in Michigan have residents with the highest median household income, we have the list for you. It's surprising how much median household income differs from one city to the next. For example, the highest median household income in Michigan is $108,432.33, and the lowest is $11,667. I guess that just goes to show how diverse Michigan is demographically and how some areas of the state have a higher cost of living.

The crew at Zip Atlas has published an updated list of those median household incomes using a variety of data. The site offers a "structured collection of zip code, area code, city and state demographic, social and economic profiles," according to their official website. They add, "Here you will find employment and unemployment rates, industry statistics, household and personal income reports, property value assessment, housing unit occupancy and vacancy breakdown, mortgage and rent analysis, age, gender, ancestry and racial profiles, education attainment levels and school enrolment among many others." In other words, they've complied a range of data in different areas in one locale, including what Michiganders across the state are bringing home in their paychecks.

According to the Zip Atlas study, none of the top 10 cities in the U.S. with the highest median household income are located in Michigan. No. 1 is Short hills, New Jersey, at $185,466, followed by Purchase, New York and Villa Maria, Pennsylvania. In fact, Michigan doesn't even have one city in the top 100 cities in the U.S. That said, Michigan does have some cities that fall inside the top 200 and 300 cities with the highest tally.

So, which Michigan cities have the highest median household incomes? View the list of cities below all the way up to No. 1, and see if your city made the cut. For more information, visit the Zip Atlas website here.

$65,308.00

$65,667.00

$65,688.00

$66,224.00

$66,500.00

$66,667.00

$66,802.00

$66,875.00

$66,940.00

$66,979.33

$67,360.00

$67,463.00

$67,593.00

$67,670.50

$67,875.00

$68,465.50

$68,783.00

$69,180.00

$70,133.00

$70,282.00

$70,527.33

$71,964.00

$72,828.50

$72,983.00

$73,051.00

$73,230.50

$74,069.50

$74,280.50

$74,377.00

$74,932.00

$75,452.00

$75,671.50

$75,680.33

$76,491.00

$77,274.00

$78,982.00

$79,262.00

$79,579.00

$80,555.00

$81,108.00

$81,864.00

$82,886.00

$83,585.33

$83,902.00

$87,062.00

$87,507.00

$89,508.00

$93,950.67

$97,437.00

$108,432.33