Linda Yellin leads strolling culinary tours through Eastern Market in Detroit. “When three out-of-town sisters descend on Barbara Simons apartment near Belle Isle, they want her to plan a fun tour with delightful food and a culinary education. She seldom disappoints.”

Recently, she invited her sisters from Philadelphia, Syracuse, N.Y., and Prescott, Arizona, to sample a “Feet on the Street Tour,” a day before Barbara was scheduled to sing with the choir at Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church in Detroit. On this day they would try roasted nuts at Rocky Peanut, smoked Gouda cheese paired with raspberries at DeVries , coffee and tea at Beyond Juicery, pizza at Supinos and mixed fruit and nuts at Germack Pistachio Company.

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Here’s a recent piece in The Detroit News.

Cheers: Warm up to history with Market food tour

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By: Lee DeVito from www.metrotimes.com

Our tour guide waves a plastic fiber optic light wand over her head. “I try to hold this thing up, but most people say it just makes me five-foot-four,” she says.

But what Linda Yellin lacks in height, she makes up for in decibels. “Yes, my last name really is Yellin,” she points out

Yellin is addressing a group of some 30 tourists gathered for one of her Feet on the Street walking tours of Detroit, which she invited us to tag along. (The theme of the tour is “Come Hungry, Leave Happy, Learn Healthier,” and we can’t turn down an invitation for free food.)

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Here’s a piece that recently was featured on http://www.crainsdetroit.com/

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By: Shawn Wright

Name: Linda Yellin, 59

Education: Bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work from Wayne State University.

Last career: Mental health therapist and consultant in private practice, specializing in pre- and post-adoption services.

New career: Founder of Detroit-based Feet on the Street Tours, which offers bus, walking and bike tours centered on food, art, architecture, history, music and unique neighborhoods.

Why she decided to change careers: While continuing her day job as a social worker, Yellin began taking people on informal tours to places such as Eastern Market.

She said the draws were similar to her profession in the field of social work — doing something she believed in, wanting to make a difference and reaching out to the community.

“It evolved over time from a personal interest,” Yellin said.

The area of Detroit known as Brush Park began as a farm. Owned in the early 1800s by Adelaide and Elijah Brush (the second mayor of the town of Detroit and treasurer of the Michigan Territory), the farm was parceled out into lots by the Brushes’ son, Edmund, in the mid-1800s when the new rail lines brought Eastern entrepreneurs to Detroit — making Edmund one of the wealthiest landholders of the time. He named many of the streets after friends and family members, including Winder Street after his friend John Winder, a local attorney….

Lynne Konstantin | Design Writer

Brett Mountain | Photographer

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