History of Clarkston--An Interview with Buck & Joan Kopietz

Interview with Buck & Joan Kopietz:
March 2005—interviewed by Geri Batt

Buck and Joan moved to Clarkston in 1973 opening their first business, Tierra Arts and Design at 3 S. Washington Street.

In 1975, they moved their business to 20 N. Main Street.
They recall the downtown area doubling in retail businesses between 1975 and 1980, hitting its peak in the early 1980’s. The current Prudential Building, the apartment building across from the current Tierra, and Mill Street Mall housed a number of small shops and a large restaurant. Clarkston was booming!

The Kopietz’s referred to this time frame as the “Camelot Era”. There were approximately 45 stores in downtown during that time frame and visitors came from all around including Birmingham to shop in Clarkston. The business district at this time was primarily between Washington and Church Street.

Some examples of stores included: Clarkston Auto Parts in the Clarkston Travel Building, Reekwald Realty where the Village Grill is, Hallman Apothecary in the Essence on Main space, Yea Coffee Shop, Pam’s Sewing Basket, Pat’s Beauty Salon, and the Clarkston Bar, where the Clarkston Café is today. Across the street there was a clothing store owned by Fred and Sheila Ritter.

The Kopietz’s described this era as a time when the resident primary shopping needs could be met in downtown Clarkston. It was a busy small town atmosphere with the streets filled with local walking traffic and visitors. The current Summit Place Mall, then known as Pontiac Mall, was available for more extensive shopping. During this time frame, Concerts in the Park were sponsored by BAIT (Business Association of Independence Township), which later started the Clarkston Area Chamber of Commerce. Joan Kopietz, a BAIT member, was responsible for Concerts in the Park for 10 years before they were taken over by the Clarkston Area Chamber of Commerce.

Business changed drastically in the early 80’s due to a financial crunch in the United States and local government. Interest rates soared and small businesses in the Clarkston area folded. Retail buildings were sold and converted to office space, primarily Real Estate. The morale of the business community suffered and the draw of residents and visitors to Clarkston for shopping decreased dramatically. Tierra Arts and Crafts moved to 64 N. Main in 1982 upon the closing of one of the towns hardware stores. Buck recalls town folks thinking he was crazy for moving south of Church Street. However, in time this extended the downtown area of Clarkston. The building across Main from the new Tierra which was mini mall was sold and converted to apartments. The Mill Street Mall building on Washington also gradually changed from a restaurant and retail shops to offices.

The Clarkston Union Bar and Kitchen was opened in 1996 when the Catallo Family converted an old church into the current restaurant. The Kopietz closed their art and office supply in the late 90’s and concentrated their efforts on the Tierra Fine Jewelry portion of their store renting additional space out to other small businesses. The Hallman’s Apothecary also closed in the early 90’s and after remaining vacant for awhile became a gift store and is now Essence on Main. The Kopietz opened the Millpond Bed and Breakfast at 155 N. Main Street in the 90’s.