© Jerimiah B. Brown

Ellie Serras, Main Street pro

She's retiring to work on sustainability

by Lois Kane

posted 10/4/2008

Ellie Serras calls Main Street “the community’s front yard.” Since her husband, Dennis, and his Mainstreet Ventures partners opened the Real Seafood Co. in 1975, she’s seen the street blossom from a gray, mall-ravaged area to its tree-green heyday as restaurant row. Now Serras is stepping down as events coordinator for the Main Street Area Association. Since taking the position in 1993, she’s tripled the number of events in the area and infused the street with her own sprightly character, deploying fire-hydrant and banner art, the Rolling Sculpture car show, Taste of Ann Arbor, and lots of other doings intended, she says, to make sure that “things always change and there’s always something different to see. That’s what makes downtown visible.”

Serras says her assistant of three years, Maura Thompson, is ready to take over the job—and she herself will still be on the scene. “There are worries I have about downtown,” Serras says. “In my present job, I didn’t have time to work on them. I love downtown and want to help assure its viability, sustainability, and visibility. I want to leave something behind. I can’t say just how I’ll go about it—but I’ll keep you posted.”   

[Originally published in October, 2008.]