Appliances & Electronics

Big-box stores like Best Buy and Circuit City have taken their toll on Ann Arbor’s locally owned shops, but a handful of spirited independents give the chains a run for their money. In the West Stadium shopping district, Big George’s Home Appliance Mart goes toe-to-toe with the big guys, while the smaller Campus TV & Hi Fi and Loy’s TV Center have served generations of loyal customers. For sophisticated home audio and entertainment systems, there are Overture Audio, on South Main, and Paragon Sight & Sound, in the Village Centre. Egismoz, in the Colonnade, is the prototype for a proposed chain of discount electronics stores. The Learning Center, on South State, supplies and serves the area’s many Macintosh users. Computer Alley, with locations on Jackson and South State; CP&U, on East Liberty; and Computer Medic, on South State, among others, build and service PC-compatible systems.

In recent years cellular phone dealers have been popping up like coffeehouses. There are lots of chains and a handful of local folks, including Ann Arbor Wireless, on South State; Custom Communications, on West Stadium; Wireless Toyz, a small chain headquartered in Ypsilanti; and Wireless Giant, with two local locations and a headquarters in suburban Detroit.