[Real Detroit] Public House

Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

You know how much we love Imperial? (That's a rhetorical question. We all love Imperial a lot.) What if we told you that the people who brought us Imperial were getting ready to open a new spot in downtown Ferndale called Public House, and that it will be exactly like Imperial but completely different and equally awesome?

That's something to get excited about, right?

(Again, that's a rhetorical question. But yes.)

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[EID Feature] Nano Growth: Brew Jus

All photos from Brew Jus.

Brew Jus is a nano-restaurant. Not sure quite what to make of that? Neither is the health department, the city of Ferndale or Oakland County.

To these various governing bodies’ credit, they’re trying. Well … except for the health department, which kind of functions like that kid in high school who’d rat you out for smoking in the bathroom because they’re terrified of getting in trouble themselves just for having known about it even though you totally would have gotten away with it if it hadn’t been for their meddling. That’s the health department. They’re not exactly the most popular of the bunch and they take their jobs very seriously. (Some would complain, but those people would also complain if they got, say, foodborne botulism from a restaurant serving unregulated food items. That is until they died from it. So let’s just, you know, keep the role of the health department in perspective here.)

Brew Jus is a brand-new “nano” restaurant operating inside (eventually) the Rust Belt Market in Ferndale. They’ve spent a lot of time and money building out a beautiful space and will be able to serve inside once they get all the proper permits and licensing and pass all the necessary inspections … all of which are taking longer than normal and changing as they go because, quite frankly, no one knows just what the hell to do with them.

See, Brew Jus is a whole new kind of business model. Not a full-blown restaurant with its own building and commercial kitchen; not a mobile vendor with its own recently-determined set of rules and regulations; not a pop-up which can skate in under someone else’s health department license so long as it is happening out of a licensed commercial kitchen. Brew Jus is none of these things.

Partner Nick Schultz admits it’s been difficult but for no other reason than that there is no precedent set for this kind of business and they’re all figuring it out as they go along. “The city has been great,” he says, but admits that “every week there has been a new obstacle.” (Most recently they had to switch from propane to natural gas, which required more construction inside the building and another inspection.) “The health department sees us as something there’s no mold for,” Nick states. Representatives from Oakland County told him that they’re having multiple meetings about him. “We’re the subject of these meetings and debates. It’s kind of flattering but also intimidating. I feel like we’re under a microscope.” He adds, “Looking back I don’t think it could have been done any differently; we’re coming against these obstacles together,” referring to the various governing bodies they’re working with.

Nick and his partner David Ballew both attended Oakland County’s FastTrac NewVenture program, a 10-week program designed for new and aspiring entrepreneurs to basically help them figure out how to run a business. “[Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson] is all about the small business,” Nick says. From the very beginning Nick and Dave have had advisors from Oakland County helping them, going to bat for them against the health department by saying, “This is a new concept; we need you to evolve.” (Which was met with, “This is a concept we don’t understand; there’s no rules for it.” Which kind of reminds me of that line from Coming to America when the King of Zamunda says, “Who am I to change the rules?” and the Queen responds with, “I thought you were the King.”)

Ultimately progress is being made and they do have a license to serve food. You can find them outside the Rust Belt Market serving sliders this weekend and Nick hopes they’ll be able to start cooking and serving inside in the beautiful space they built from scratch in early July.

Ah yes: sliders. Brew Jus seeks to redefine the relationship between food and beer with artisan sliders made with beer-inspired sauces. Nick is a chef and Dave is a brewer. “We would always have these conversations about how beer gets a bad rep in the food industry, how fancy restaurants don’t have good beer …” Nick says. [Editor’s note: I’d argue that that has already been changing for a few years now.] While attending culinary school, Nick put on a craft beer and food pairing event that received a great response, and the idea for Brew Jus really evolved from there.

Dave brews the beer and Nick makes the food. Each of their products are closely tied to one another: the beer is incorporated into the sauces used on their sliders and also into its own ice cream. Their ultimate concept is to be able to have a slider bar serving the sauces made from the beer, the ice creams made from the beer, and the beer itself: what Nick calls “the three stages of beer.” So their Cherry Wheat beer would also be used in their Angry Cherry sauce and made into a cherry wheat ice cream … long-longterm, they’d like to have these products available in stores and all color-coded in what Nick jokes is a “beer pairing for dummies!” Because both are very passionate about minimizing waste products (and there is a lot of waste in the food and beverage industry), the sauces are actually made from scratch using the spent grain from Dave’s brews.

It makes sense: Nick has been calling himself “The Sauced Chef” for a few years now (with his own blog and YouTube channel), a name that comes from his love of cooking and making sauces with alcohol. After working in the corporate world for years then getting laid off at the beginning of the economic recession, Nick took the opportunity to go back to school under the “No Worker Left Behind” program and followed his dream to go to culinary school. “I dedicated all of my time to it; I completely changed my career.” He started his official culinary career at the WAB, was part of the opening team at Toasted Oak Grill and Market in Novi (“[Chef] Steve [Grostick] took a huge risk on me”), worked VIP banquets and buffets for high rollers at Greektown Casino, and worked directly under the Executive Chef at the Detroit Zoo. He is now part of the opening team for Ferndale’s soon-to-open Local Kitchen + Bar; Local owner Rick Halberg has been incredibly accommodating and is allowing him weekends off so he can run Brew Jus. (Which is pretty much unheard of in the restaurant industry.)

Dave is also balancing another job in the meantime; a career restaurant person himself, Dave more recently got into brewing beer after he too was laid off during the recession and wanted to drink good beer but couldn’t afford it … so he started making it. They both hope that in the next year they can be running Brew Jus full-time.

“We’re very excited about brand,” Nick says. “We think we have good product … we’re hoping to make the best sliders in Ferndale!” They serve a selection of artisan sliders (larger in size than the typical “slider” and so a higher price point) as well as sides, like their potato salad made with their IPA-based mustard sauce, and will eventually add “malted” malts (made with their beer-based ice cream). They even have a vegan slider which Nick promised doesn’t suck (or your money back!).

Under construction at the Rust Belt Market.

Being inside the Rust Belt Market is something they’re also excited about. Nick sees the Rust Belt as a conduit for getting their name out and has built a very good relationship with owners Chris and Tiffany Best. “It’s so cool to be part of their market which is evolving so much,” he says. “They hand-pick their vendors [which is a huge compliment]. It’s been such a pain in the ass for them but they’ve stuck by us. We’re excited to be a part of this whole crowd, especially in Ferndale where people are very supportive of local businesses … we’re just very happy we found Chris and Tiffany.”

Nick and Dave have a lot of plans for what they’d like to see happen down the line. A contract brew with the WAB and getting their beer on tap at places like Local; a traveling slider bar with Motor City Street Eats; a late night menu outside the Rust Belt for the bar crowd; a manufacturing facility and their products on store shelves; possibly a nanobrewery at the Belt or maybe their own brewing facility … they’ve got a lot of ideas. But for now, the focus is just getting their indoor space approved and serving their sliders. “There’s so much talk about small business; it’s a buzz word,” Nick says. “But really a small business can be a nano-restaurant. It would be so cool to do this in a cost-effective but safe and healthy way.”

Despite the obstacles they’ve faced, there’s a certain satisfaction in being the FIRST to do something entirely new, and anyone who comes along after will have Brew Jus to thank for paving the way.

[Curbed Detroit] Derby-Style Slider Shack Green Dot Stables Now Open, Sort Of

Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

The equestrian-themed restaurant on the outskirts of Corktown that inadvertently coined the term "Corktown Shores" and made it a thing is now open for lunch! Owners Jacques and Christine Driscoll are still awaiting approval for their liquor license before the Derby-ish Green Dot Stables can fully open for really-real, but they decided to open their doors today and start slinging their signature gourmet sliders for the hungry masses. There was a nice turnout for the opening (Jacques's mom even came with congratulatory flowers!), and they plan on staying open every Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. until they finally get the go-ahead to start serving booze. Which they hope will be within a month. Which in Detroit terms means hopefully this year.

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[EID Preview] The Legend of Green Dot Stables

All photos by Nicole Rupersburg.

Local legend has it that Green Dot Stables in “Corktown Shores” was opened by a former horseracing jockey – hence the equestrian theme. But the actual history of the place is shrouded in mystery. (Ooooooooh…)

Owner Jacques Driscoll admits they haven’t actually been able to find any reliable information about the bar’s history (and why it has that unique, if entirely inexplicable, equestrian theme). There’s plenty of third-party hearsay available: Jacques heard that the original owner of the building (built in 1970) owned his own horse stables which he called Green Dot and the bar was named after them. (He heard this from a guy he met who claimed to know the original owner’s son.) Chef Les Molnar also heard that there was a guy who owned a bar in Southwest Detroit called Joey’s Green Parrot in the ‘50s and ‘60s, and that that guy was really into horses and his son originally owned the building. (This he heard from his aunt who worked at Joey’s Green Parrot when she was 17.)

Green Dot Stables seems to be a favorite focal point of local lore. Before it closed last year, people “in the know” knew that this was a popular cop hangout that regularly stayed open serving drinks well past 5 a.m.

While we may never know the true history of the Green Dot Stables – it will go down as another unsolved mystery in Detroit's history, much like where Jimmy Hoffa is buried (WHAT IF JIMMY HOFFA IS BURIED IN GREEN DOT???) – the good news is that the new owners have retained that odd equestrian motif and have stayed true to the name “Green Dot Stables.”

“When we learned about the history of the place we wanted to keep the tradition,” Jacques explains. “We wanted it to have the same look and feel with a clean, modern look to it. But we wanted to keep the history and the heritage; [the space is] so conducive [to it] and everything has that feeling already so trying to change it [didn’t make any sense]." Jacques’s wife Christine Driscoll adds, “We wanted it to have the same feel, just polished.”

The Driscolls are a very young couple originally from Detroit. They were living in California but moved back because they saw an opportunity to do something here they never would have been able to do in San Diego.

They acquired the building 8 months ago and began the extensive process of cleaning and refinishing (many years’ worth of cigarette smoke had to be scrubbed away). They kept a lot of the old materials, like the original chairs that look like they belong in a poker room and the faux-granite formica bar and phone booth (which will hold all of their beer and wine to-go). They also added a lot of their own touches to enhance the theme – the footrail of the bar is covered with old horse racing tickets they found on eBay; the hallway to the bathrooms is covered in a horse-themed mural (with newspaper clippings on old Detroit jockeys) done by local artist Jonathan Ryan Rajewski; the walls are adorned with canvas-mounted photographs taken by their friend and local photographer Ara Howrani (who was given access to the track at Northville Downs to take these photos); velvet curtains were made by Detroit designer and seamstress extraordinaire Sarah Lapinski.

“It looks like we had a grand vision that was thought out but really it just came together piece by piece,” Jacques says. “That’s a cool thing about our artwork – [it doesn’t necessarily look like it’s new], it’s just here and looks like it should be here.” They also added an electric fireplace and antique claw machine because … well, why not?

Having moved back home to Detroit after living in San Diego, Jacques got to experience what it means to open a business in the city and have the whole community rally around it. “Jacques’s vision for leaving San Diego was knowing that he couldn’t [open a restaurant there],” Les says. “And I couldn’t do it in Chicago. The community here is incredible; everybody helps. People were coming in doing physical labor; we did not expect it to go the way it did.” Les says every time they would mention that they needed something, someone knew somebody who’d be willing to do it for beer. “We just didn’t expect that. Everyone was really helpful.” Another friend did their logo, and right now an artist at OmniCorp Detroit is designing a bike rack shaped like a horse for them. “Everything in this place has a story like that,” Jacques says.

Jacques has wanted to open a restaurant ever since high school and he started to develop his concept while he and Christine were still living in California. Originally he wanted to serve California-style tacos but the concept evolved once they acquired the building (which is awfully close to Southwest and its many taquerias) and brought Les on board.

Les attended Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Chicago and worked in several Chicago restaurants and as a private chef in Lake Geneva before ending up back in Detroit. He was working at Town Tavern before he connected with Jacques, then spent some of the intermittent time working at Roast waiting for Green Dot to open (the old “trying to get a liquor license in Detroit” story once again). “That was hard to leave,” he says. “I felt like, ‘This is why I went to culinary school.’ But at the end of the day doing my own food and having my own kitchen meant more to me. I really believe in Jacques and Christine as a whole and in the company; I see a lot of potential here.”

The whole team wants Green Dot to be a food place first and have great beer and liquor prices as well. One of the biggest renovations they did was completely overhauling the kitchen, and they have been planning the menu for months. They are making everything from scratch that they can with a lot of focus on maintaining low price points. Everything on the menu will be $2-3 with no additional tax. All domestic beers and well drinks will be $2; all craft beers and premium drinks $3. (And their craft beer selection will include labels like Dragonmead’s Final Absolution. “Where else can you get Final Absolution for $3?” Jacques asks. The answer, of course, is nowhere.)

They’re also very passionate about sourcing high-quality products. “It’s such a minimal price increment to buy quality food,” Jacques explains. “Just upgrade a little – that’s one of our philosophies.” They’re also using a lot of quality local products like kimchi and kraut from the Brinery in Ann Arbor and cheese curds from Oliver Farms for their poutine.

POUTINE!! Yes, poutine, a traditional Canadian dish made of French fries covered in gravy and topped with cheese curds, perfect for comfort food cravings and the late-night drunchies. Months ago when they first announced they’d be serving poutine there was no one else in the city serving it. “We started talking about poutine – why is there no poutine; we’re so close to Canada!” Now Woodbridge Pub does their own version (though it’s a far cry from the actual thing), Mercury Burger Bar has some on the menu (but it’s a disservice to the dish), and Brooklyn Street Local will be serving it when they open (and they’re actually Canadian so it will probably be on-point). From zero to four inside of a year; Detroit, meet your new “it” food!

But the real focus at Green Dot is on sliders. Not wimpy slivers of beef patty slathered in ketchup, mustard and onions on soggy buns that you get at places like Hunter House; exciting sliders like the “Au Poivre” made with beef, peppercorns and cognac aioli; and the “Hot Brown” made with chicken, bacon and mornay sauce (inspired by a sandwich that originated with the Kentucky Derby). Because the price points are so low (seriously, $2-3 each) they hope that diners will be more willing to experiment with unfamiliar dishes, like the “Mystery Meat” slider which will be a rotating selection that might be rabbit, elk, tongue or other wild game or offal. “It’s at a price point you won’t feel bad for spending,” Jacques notes. They’re also serving seven different kinds of fries (POUTINE!), a slightly spicy mac and cheese made with mornay sauce and red pepper flakes, and venison chili on their chili cheese fries and Coney slider.

The plan is to serve food late so that this can be a place for other chefs and restaurant industry people to come after work and enjoy a good meal. “We want to cater to the industry crowd so they have some place to eat that is not a Coney,” Les says. “We want it to be kind of known as a late-night place.” Just not quite as late-night as it used to be, anyway. (According to legend, that is.)

They are ready to open but are still awaiting their liquor license approval from the city (stop me if you’ve heard this one before), but starting next week they will be open serving lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. “It’s a blessing we’re doing lunch first so we can work out all the kinks instead of going full force into it,” Jacques says. But people also tend to be very understanding, especially in Detroit where people are all too familiar with the obstacles involved in opening a business. “If you have good food, good service and a good atmosphere, all the other shit can hit the fan and people will understand anything else,” Les jokes. They hope to be fully open in a month.

Want to see more? View the Flickr set here.

[HOT LIST] Sliders

All photos by Nicole Rupersburg.

"With everything?" Yes, EVERYTHING.

Everything = ketchup, mustard, pickles and onions, wrapped in paper where they further soak in their own grease letting all the flavors marinate together (the true test of a good slider is how greasy the paper bag gets on your drive home). This is universal language for "everything" when at your local slider shack.  In metro Detroit, our little white huts of bite-sized burger worship have been around longer than most of us have been alive ... and the prices are practically the same as they were decades ago. Our slider shacks have a long history here, and the locals are fiercely protective of their favorites. Part of their appeal is their nostalgic sentimental value; the other part is their food: fast, cheap and greasy. Like relics of a former era - which most of them are (some dating back to WWII) - these slider shacks have silently shaped our food scene for decades, standing tall even as trendier and more commercial places have tried to de-throne them. Say what you will about your coneys; metro Detroit just wouldn't be the same without its sliders.

#1 Telway Hamburgers (Detroit)
Telway fans all swear they're the best, and that Motz, Bates and Greene's just don't compare. Located on Michigan Ave. in Southwest Detroit, Telway is probably the best-known of all the local burger emporiums. Part slider joint, part donut shop, they're open 24 hours and can cater to any and all of your grease, salt, fat and sugar cravings. They promise the "Best coffee in town," and at 45 cents it's pretty hard to beat. (We love $4 French press as much as anyone, but sometimes a no-fuss 10-second 45-cent cup of good 'ol American joe hits the spot.) Their burgers are a bit smaller, but at 85 cents at pop for a cheeseburger there's no reason to complain. Plus, this place is EXTRA adorable inside, even more old-timey and cute than all the other cute old-timey places. Cash only. Also in Madison Heights.

#2 Sonny's Hamburgers (Detroit)
Sonny's fans all swear they're the best, and that Telway, Motz and Bates just don't compare. Depending on your perspective, Sonny's has either the distinct advantage or disadvantage of being probably the least-known slider joint in town. Located in NW Detroit's Brightmoor neighborhood, it suffers from the seclusion of not being in one of Detroit's, errrr, trendier parts. But locals know: their burgers are the best. The BEST. Meatier, greasier, just plain gooder. The neighborhood might not be the most enticing but inside Sonny's is plenty welcoming (and no, there's no bullet-proof glass, just the same old giant stainless steel counter you'll find everywhere else). Their cheeseburgers are a little "pricier" at $1.50 each, but you're getting what you pay for. Plus you can order small or large burgers AND they accept credit.

#3 Motz Hamburgers (Detroit)
Motz fans all swear they're the best, and that Bates, Telway and Greene's just don't compare. Ahhhh, DELRAY, another neighborhood in Detroit you have to be a bit adventurous to visit (though being on the edge of SW it's a little less out of the way). Named one of the best burgers in the country by USA Today, Motz is known for thick, meaty "sliders" as big as regular fast food joint burgers, killer fries (with malt vinegar on every table), and a fairly diverse menu of other cheap 'n greasy victuals including other varieties of burgers. Like the geographically-appropriate Mexican Burger. And, Veggie. Which would presumably be cooked on the same beef-grease-coated grill. Which defeats the whole purpose. Kind of like ordering a veggie burger in a slider joint in the first place. Cash only.

#4 Travis Hamburgers (Saint Clair Shores)
Travis fans all swear they're the best, and that Motz, Greene's and Telway just don't compare. Open 24 hours and serving a bevvy of gut-bomb breakfast food in addition to glorious burgers, Travis is an eastside thing, you wouldn't understand. More of a full-fledged diner than a simple slider joint, this place is predictably packed after-hours and is also known for a stellar old jukebox that kicks out the likes of Patsy Cline. You want ambiance? This place has an old-school punk appeal that only comes with decades of serving drunkards warbling along to Johnny Cash. Cash only.

#5 Bates Hamburgers (Livonia)
Bates fans all swear they're the best, and that Greene's, Telway and Motz just don't compare. It's tiny, it's white, it's got the stainless steel counter and the old-fashioned sign menus with the push-in mismatched letters. Bates is known for having a slightly bigger burger, and no trip to Bates would be complete without indulging in their thick chocolate shakes or crispy crinkle-cut fries (add chili for extra oomph). They're also known for having solid coneys, and to mix up your slider experience a bit, get your burgers on a sesame seed bun. Open Monday through Sunday, 7am to 11pm. Cash only.

Bubbling under Greene's Hamburgers (Farmington), Old Fashioned Hamburger (Detroit), Bray's Hamburgers (Westland), Carter's Hamburgers (Lincoln Park), Comet Burger (Royal Oak), Joe's Hamburgers (Wyandotte), Hunter House (Birmingham)