[Metromode] A New Breed of Restaurateur Pt. 2

Bastone. Photo by Nicole Rupersburg. 

The days of metro Detroit's restaurant empires are over. The latest breed of successful restaurateur is anti-corporate and anti-chain. They create unique businesses in unique spaces, care about people and preservation, and even managed to open some of Metro Detroit's most successful restaurants in the midst of the economic downturn.

Read more.

This is part two of a two-part series. This half focuses on Jon Carlson and Greg Lobdell, the development duo behind such popular metro Detroit spots as Bastone and Jolly Pumpkin Brewery and Cafe; and Mindy Lopus, owner of Tallulah and Bella Piatti in Birmingham, who is opening three new concepts in Grosse Pointe Park. Read part one here.

[NEWS BITES] Jolly Pumpkin Royal Oak update, Red Crown opening soon, more

I've got a two-punch motherlode of restaurant info coming out this week and next in Metromode. I'll drop the relevant names now: Curt Catallo and Ann Stevenson (Union Joints, aka Union Woodshop, Vinsetta Garage et.al.), Luciano del Signore (Pizzeria Biga, Bacco), Jon Carlson and Greg Lobdell (2Mission Development, aka Jolly Pumpkin, Bastone et.al.), and Mindy Lopus (Silver Pig Restaurant Group, aka Tallulah, Red Crown et.al.).

LOTS of new news coming from these cats, but you're just going to have to wait. In the meantime, I'll hand-tip a few of the tastier morsels:

Jolly Pumpkin's new production brewery in Dexter and Avalon Breads' new production facility in Detroit should both be open and operating within two weeks.

2Mission is still going forward with the Jolly Pumpkin Cafe in Royal Oak and have already completed construction plans and design work. The guys are very eager and excited to move forward; an unforeseen issue with the title on the seller's end is the cause of the delay. Jon and Greg also have some other plans for new spots in both Royal Oak and Ann Arbor in the works, but sorry my lovelies: spoilers!

Mindy's Red Crown will be open by mid-January and perhaps earlier depending on liquor license approval. Bona Fide Baking Co. will follow shortly thereafter. She's also got other concepts in the works at various stages of planning in Birmingham, Grosse Pointe Park and ... wait for it ... Detroit! But again: spoilers.

The Cafe con Leche del Este pop-up in Lafayette Park has closed (the final weekend was very funereal), but owners Jordi Carbonell and Mellissa Fernandez have plans to do a second pop-up on the east riverfront and are also looking towards Eastern Market for a potential permanent location that would be more than "just" a cafe. You'll know more when there is more to know.

Incidentally, the space that housed the pop-up will now be a laundromat, despite Fernandez doing everything she could to keep the space for a permanent location. (PS, this laundromat lease was confirmed before the pop-up's run even ended, in a direct affront to the rhetoric that this pop-up was intended as a "test run" for the coffeehouse to open in the space permanently.) For those of you not familiar with Lafayette Park, all of the high rises, condos and town homes in the immediate vicinity of this strip mall have their own laundry facilities, but perhaps it's just, you know, easier for the owner. As one friend observed on the Facebook, "Ownership politics seems to be as big an impediment to renewal as much as anything." To which I added, "At this point I'd argue it's quite possibly the BIGGEST problem, all throughout Detroit." So here's a great feature idea: the nightmarish experiences of would-be entrepreneurs with viable business plans trying to deal with property owners in this city. (I've heard dozens such stories myself.)

And finally, Rodin, a French-ish restaurant/lounge owned by Torya Blanchard that builds off of the French theme of her Good Girls Go to Paris Crepes also located in Midtown's Park Shelton building, will open 12/12/12.

The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

HE MADE IT! The Official Eat It Detroit Hatch Candidate of 2012 Rock City Pies made it to the top 4, thanks to all your help! This is a real David v. Goliath story in the making ... and don't we all just love those underdog stories? Of course we do, especially here in Detroit. SO VOTE. Round 2 starts Monday. [Hatch / EID FB]

Detroit Pop-Up City. Also, Great Lakes Coffee is the best thing that happened in Detroit this year. (Green Dot Stables being second.) [NY Times]

So much the best thing that when the Detroit News finally tuned into the story, they made a joke about jumping the shark so I didn't have to. Also, this means the Freep's version of The Coffee Story is soon to follow. Sure am glad I beat them both by over a year (also here). But seriously though, why do we have two newspapers? [Det News / GLCB FB / Metromode / Curbed Detroit]

And since we're on the subject, here's Hour's version of The Coffee Story too. Oh, media. [Hour]

ZOMGZ MOAR COFFEE. Transplanted Detroit-area person in New York is opening her third coffee shop in her hometown hood. The signage for the soon-to-open Roasting Plant Coffee in the First National Building is up; I'm no Curbed Detroit but I kind of love the look here. [Curbed Detroit]

DevNews-a-Palooza courtesy of Curbed Detroit: Gold Cash Gold is going to have to rush Phil rush so that the banquet center is open in time for the Auto Show (the rest is targeted for end of summer 2013); Avalon International Breads now has a retail location at Henry Ford and will open a third on Canfield as part of their expansion; also - more lofts and greenways! [Curbed Detroit]

The design of Vinsetta Garage is praised by the Preservation Nation blog. Gears, steers and beers! [Preservation Nation]

The second-annual Detroit Design Festival got a lot of buzz this year, but not all of the coordinating events got a lot of people. Eastern Market After Dark at least appeared to be a big success. [HuffPost Detroit / DDF FB / EM FB]

Detroit is the capital of mac 'n cheese. TAP inside MGM Grand Detroit opened this week, and they managed to make this most artery-clogging of dishes even worse -- by deep-frying it. [MGM FB / EID FB]

Slows is on another best-something list. [The Chive]

Jolly Pumpkin released their La Roja Grand Reserve this week, but if you haven't purchased any by the time you read this it's probably sold out. Sad trombone. [JP FB]

Traverse City (and surrounding areas) shall now henceforth be known as the Hamptons of Michigan. Because everything must be the something of something. [Forbes]

Speaking of the area, a new winery opened on Old Mission this weekend (which brings the grand total up to 8). Say hello to Hawthorne Vineyards! Another new winery also opened on Leelanau over the weekend, but I'll leave that one for Batali. [Hawthorne Vineyards FB]

Forbes is crushing on Detroit in a major kind of way. Whether Another Detroit Is Happening or not, if you say it enough times it must be true. [Forbes]

Then again, reality bites. [Deadline Detroit]

After losing several participating restaurants to closings and remodelings, this season of Detroit Restaurant Week is down to just 17 restaurants ... which means reservations will be even more impossible to come by. It starts Sept. 28 and runs through Oct. 7. [Freep / EID FB]

Real Detroit Weekly got a bad case of the "me toos" and decided to host their OWN DAMN RESTAURANT WEEK the same days as DRW (remember, DRW is sponsored by the Metro Times). So now Plymouth has their own restaurant week and it too starts Sept. 28 and runs through Oct. 7. [RDW FB]

Didn't this story already happen? Apparently there was a resurgence in interest over Royal Oak's Taste Love Cupcakes due to re-runs. [Crain's]

The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

New Belgium's Fat Tire. Photo courtesy of mL. in Birmingham.

After months (and really years) of whispers, it's finally official: Supino Pizzeria owner Dave Mancini has signed a lease for the space formerly occupied by Taste of Ethiopia. He won't be expanding Supino but will instead be opening a new restaurant serving tapas and braised meats and finally putting his liquor license to use. This announcement comes just in time for Supino's four-year anniversary this month. [Freep]

Ah, a Greek restaurant in Greektown. How novel. The Papases will be expanding the space and re-opening Mosaic (which closed earlier this month) as some really long Greek name no one will ever remember or correctly spell. Look for it late Sept. [Det News]

The owners of Russell Street Deli will open Topsoil this fall in the Auburn, a new mixed-use building in Midtown. This new venture will offer fast vegetarian and vegan cuisine and will carry on the same sustainable traditions of the Deli. Also, things I didn't see coming: veganism becoming A Thing in Detroit. [HuffPo Detroit]

Like, so much of A Thing there is yet another vegan concept that made the top 10 semifinalists for this season of Hatch Detroit. Which is all well and good but I am putting the entirety of my almighty vote-persuading force behind Rock City Pies, and not just because Nikita Santches looks like Justin Timberlake. [Hatch]

Famous person does something; public reacts. [WXYZ]

The Whitney axes half of their staff and debuts a new menu and new hours in an effort to reclaim their once-iconic position as the grande dame of Detroit's dining scene now that everyone loves Detroit so much. [Crain's]

Here's a fun game: next time you're in public yell, "Belle Isle winery!" and listen to everyone go "RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE!!!!!" [MLive]

A Whole Foods Detroit update: there is concrete. [WFD FB]

Stella is getting a facelift courtesy of Reclaim Detroit. [Model D]

More on the drama around Mudgie's would-be liquor license and also a Chekhov's Gun FAIL. (Maybe don't lead with "Mudge would just as soon let people bring in their own beer and wine. But he found out it was illegal." bit unless the MLCC's prohibitive liquor laws were the focus of the story because it implies an in-depth, researched look at the reasons WHY it is illegal, then never delivers. Besides, it's not exactly a secret and many other Detroit restaurants have been busted for allowing BYOB when they shouldn't have, so if anything this just makes Mudge sound oblivious.) [MLive]

Matt Prentice's latest impulse-opening venture Detroit Prime is now open and he plans on making it a chain. [Thrillist / EID]

The team behind Jolly Pumpkin -- aka my heroes -- debuted Lena and the new Cafe Habana in Ann Arbor this week. [AnnArbor.com]

The biggest thing to happen in beer this week: New Belgium Brewing Co. hit Michigan shelves. [Oakland Press]

The second biggest thing to happen in beer this week: Brewery Vivant's collaboration with New Belgium, Escoffier, hit shelves in extremely limited release. (Thankfully, I have beer friends). [MLive]

The third biggest thing to happen in beer this week: oh hey, did you guys know I write for the New York Post? Because I totally do. And I took my fawning over Jolly Pumpkin's Sobrehumano to that much larger platform. [New York Post]

The fourth biggest thing to happen in beer this week: Fox News drank every single beer in THE WORLD and named Jolly Pumpkin's Bam Bierre one of the 10 best. [Fox News]

The fifth biggest news to happen in beer this week: the completion of the installation of nearly $345,000 worth of energy-efficient equipment at Arbor Brewing Company and Corner Brewery was completed this week, making these Michigan's first solar breweries. [AnnArbor.com]

Okay, so this was really just A Very Beerie Week. The Michigan Brewers Guild U.P. Fall Beer Festival is next weekend. BTW, it's all about the U.P. right now, in case you didn't know. [UP Second Wave]

Beards Brewery has opened in Petoskey. And yes, this is the best name for a brewery ever in the history of brewing. [NW MI Second Wave]

According to Imbibe, the world's most cultish beers include Founders' KBS and CBS. Also I have a bottle of 2012 KBS I will sell to you for $50, because I am very generous. [Imbibe]

Another "media outlet" re-hashes Mario Batali's list of favorite places in the Traverse City/Leelanau area. I hope he's getting royalties on these. [Zagat]

Speaking of Batali, earlier this week he ate at Mani Osteria in Ann Arbor and Tweeted that he, like, totally loved it. Just after the latest issue of Travel + Leisure, in which they call Mani Osteria one of the "20 best Italian restaurants in America," hit shelves. Coincidence? [AnnArbor.com]

Stats! We love stats. Here are more of the same stats as to why beer is good for the local economy. These are all numbers you've seen before. [Click on Detroit]

All Meijer stores are accepting donations for their Simply Give program, which aims to replenish the shelves of nearly 200 food pantries in their five-state region during each campaign. It runs through Oct. 6 in support of National Hunger Action Month with Meijer matching all $10 donations, but during the Simply Give Week Sept. 2-8 Meijer is double-matching all $10 donations - so your $10 will mean $30 for local food pantries. Sometimes I'm not snarky. [Macomb Patch]

[NY Post] Bring in the funk

Put down those overly hoppy IPAs and ditch that fruity glass of rosé, people. It’s time to get funky.

You may not know it yet, but you will, soon: On a warm, late summer day, nothing beats a mouth-puckering sour beer.

Popping up in some of the country’s most fertile beer producing regions, sour beers are produced through the use of wild fermenting yeasts, unstable critters that are typically the undesired end result of non-sterile brewing environments. If that sounds a little down and dirty, well, you’re bang-on right. They’re tart; sometimes sweet (if they’re made with fruit), sometimes full of barnyard funk; maybe citrusy or green apple-y; but above all else? You guessed it: Sour.

Read more.

The Week We Ate (The EID Week in Review)

Too bad for her she wasn't talking about pumpkin beers.

And here is the Martha Stewart Living story on Corktown. It is all of the usual suspects which is out of necessity as Nemo's and Casey's don't quite have that trendy hipster-twee vibe that these national glossies gun for. Other cities need to learn from Detroit that five businesses equals urban renewal because then we could, like, renew the SHIT out of the rest of the country. [Martha Stewart Living]

The Ooties Re-booties: the space that was supposed to be Ooties is now going to be called Acme Food Company, which despite sounding like a slaughterhouse will actually also be a breakfast/lunch joint. [Curbed Detroit]

Slows was the Biggest Loser on the Travel Channel's "Best Sandwich in America" after bringing chicken to a pork fight. Regardless they still made it to the top three and now the wait to get a seat there is even longer. Yes, apparently that was possible. [Det News]

Someone wants to build an urban winery on Belle Isle. This is of course something that people should get really mad about. Oh, Detroit... [MLive]

Maria's Comida closed on Saturday but the owners will continue to produce Maria's House Made Salsa and sauces. And if I hadn't flitted off on the Mille Mitten excursion at the last possible minute you would be able to read a feature on that but now you're just going to have to wait. [Maria's FB / EID FB]

Gastronomy opened in Southfield and it's pretty freakin' phenomenal. (Lunch only until they get their liquor license.) [Thrillist / EID FB]

Dan Carmody: Detroit's REAL hero named Dan. [Friend of the Farmer]

Ye Olde Butcher Shop is still opening at some point??? [McClure's Pickles FB]

You all love people who hate on the Dream Cruise, apparently. [Magic Bag FB / EID FB]

Most businesses apparently do too, as the Cruise consistently proves to be more bane than boon. [Crain's]

TIME called us fat. [TIME]

Ohhhhhhhhhh wait, we are. [CDC / Books + Review]

Say nice things about Detroit! [Freep]

OR ELSE. [Positive Detroit]

Sour beer: IT'S THE NEXT THING. [Wall Street Journal]

They're heeeeeee-re...Oktoberfest and pumpkin beers are rapidly hitting shelves already. [EID FB]

As my western beerrespondent notes, "Local government planners continue planning the shit out of Jolly Pumpkin, but any progress is good, eh?" [Dexter Patch / All the Brews Fit to Pint FB]

Germans drink beer by the litre, therefore Germans win. German Park sounds like a party. [Concentrate]

Scott at Treat Dreams also knows how to win at things. [MLive]

Ronin turned five and made some infused sake to celebrate. [Ronin FB]

Grand Traverse Distillery now makes a cherry-flavored whiskey and it seems like you guys are into it. [EID FB / Promote Michigan FB]

Detroit's Wolverine Packing Company supplies six of the 10 top burgers in the country. That shit cray. [Model D]

Turns out Groupon's business model of exponential growth in perpetuity wasn't actually realistic. Who knew? [Slate]

So Obama's pretty much the coolest. Since people tend to vote on the most arbitrary and inane subjects anyway, this should be one of them. [USA Today]

But I still want to be Jon Stewart when I grow up. [Eater]

There's a lot of self-important Chicagoan smarm to trudge through here, but ultimately Grand Rapids's awesomeness wins. Beer City USA tie city Grand Rapids gets acknowledged by a Chicago travel writer; it continues on to a page 2 for which you need to sign up in order to read which I'm not doing because fuck Chicago. [Chicago Tribune]

And last week's Internet winner is this. [Gawker]