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Metro Detroiters anxious, living on edge -Detroit Free Press
From hairstyles to nachos, wedding photos to auto show parties -- all in doubt

Metro Detroiters anxious, living on edge | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press

Elias-Porter, 53, has owned her salon in two locations near Ford Motor Co.'s Dearborn base for 21 years. Many of her clients have been with her from the beginning, she said. But as the Detroit Three have suffered, so, too, has her business.

"We used to get between 10 and 20 walk-in clients for the new hairdressers. We had one last week," she said.

Through the end of September, John Forte thought his Troy-based catering business was headed for a really good year.

Then Wall Street imploded. And now his Forte Balenger business will be lucky to finish just above break-even for the year. Next year looks worse, a lot worse.

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Already, the automotive worries have dealt Forte a big hit. Normally January brings Forte's firm its busiest time of year as he caters major parties and corporate events during the North American International Auto Show. Last year, Forte Belanger hired 300 on-call workers for auto show-related parties, served 4,000 meals on 27,000 pieces of china, filled 10,000 glasses and checked 2,100 coats.

For the upcoming show in January, Forte Belanger has booked only about 8% of last year's business.

Think a restaurant owner in trendy Royal Oak might be immune to automotive anxiety?

Think again.

Tim Castaneda feels it on two fronts. His business, a hip and fairly inexpensive Mexican eatery called Zumba, is losing customers. At home, Castaneda's wife, an engineer at Chrysler LLC for 18 years, carries constant fear of job loss.

"I talk to 100 people a day," he said this week, as his roster of customers getting laid off from auto jobs seems to grow ever longer. "It has really, really affected me in the last two to three months," he said. "People really close to me have started getting laid off."

If the auto industry collapses, he doesn't know how he'll survive, said Castaneda, 44, of Troy, who has two children, one in college.