LANSING, Mich. — Walking into Metro Melik 517 is like walking into a maze filled with Lansing merchandise.
"Being in Lansing, there’s not a lot of gift shops for Lansing. You go to New York and there’s an I heart New York T-shirt at each corner, so we wanted to bring some of that here,” said store assistant Isaac Godbey.
Inside the store, you’ll find piles and piles of T-shirts, drinking glasses, hats and colorful art.
Melik Brown, who also goes by Metro Melik, owns the store. He used to own the store Lansing Made on east Michigan Avenue. He said Metro Melik 517 is an expansion of his old store.
“It’s a bigger space, which means there’s a lot more merchandise,” Brown said.
And if you’re from the Lansing area, but rep another city, don’t worry because there’s a little something inside the store for you too.
“We have T-shirts that have St. Johns on them, Okemos, Grand Ledge, East Lansing, Lansing,” Brown said. “So that’s a whole series that we have.”
Brown said no city is perfect, but he thinks it's important to let people know that Lansing has a lot to offer like the parks, the Lansing community and the state Capitol building.
“We have a lot of positive attributes, and I’m just trying to emphasize that,” Brown said.
Metro Melik 517 is located at 513 east César E. Chávez Ave. and is open Monday through Friday from noon to 6 p.m. and on weekends from noon to 4 p.m.
