[Model D] Restaurateur Maurice Wiggins to open The Addison, Restaurant 55 next spring

Red Velvet Pancakes at Hudson Cafe, a signature item and part of the opening menu with Wiggins on board.

Maurice Wiggins, CEO of International Hospitality Group, has plans to open two new restaurants early next year.

The first is located inside the former location of Atlas Global Bistro at 3111 Woodward, and is called The Addison. The Addison is an upscale restaurant that will be open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily (though will likely open with just lunch and dinner to start) and happy hour Mondays through Fridays. Breakfast will include items like eggs benedict with crabmeat, while lunch and dinner menus will have steaks and seafood with vegetarian options for each meal. Renovation work is currently underway inside the space. Wiggins plans on opening this in March and hiring 20-25 people.

Read more.

[Model D] Restaurant round-up: what just opened and what's coming next

Delite Cafe + Deli, Hamtramck.

We love to write about food, and you love to read about it. So, since 2013 is closing with a flurry of food-related activity, more than we've even had the chance to cover, here's a quick look at places that have recently opened and places that are coming up next.

Read more.

[Model D] Our guide to select holiday shopping destinations

Tiki mugs at Hugh in Midtown. 

Last week we brought you a guide to pop-up retail happenings and events. It's such a handy list to clip and save (as if we still needed to do that) that we thought we'd re-run the story in this week's Development News column.

The guide below points you in the direction of many of Detroit's top permanent retailers and art galleries offering unique holiday shopping opportunities. While no means comprehensive, this list highlights a wide range of local retailers, including many that just opened within the last year.

Read more.

[Model D] Green Grocer: Finding fresh food in greater downtown

University Foods.

The Detroit Economic Growth Corporation's Green Grocer program exists to strengthen the over 80 independently-owned full-service grocery stores in the city of Detroit. This is the last in a series of stories that we began in October, focusing on Lafayette Park, East Riverfront and Midtown.

Read more.

[Model D] Pete's Chocolate Company working towards wholesale expansion in 2014

Pete's Chocolate Company.

Pete Steffy got into chocolate-making as a hobby while living in the small city of San Cristobal de la Casas in Mexico, where he was teaching English. He enjoyed it so much that he began making chocolate for fun and playing with different recipes that he would give away to friends and family. Eventually a real demand grew, and Pete's Chocolate Company, Detroit's first small-batch artisan chocolate company, started selling at area markets and special events.

Read more. 

[EID Feature] Young Guns: Andy Hollyday, Selden Standard

In anticipation of the first-ever Young Guns dinner at the Root - which sold out in less than 48 hours - Eat It Detroit will run a new profile every week leading up to the event featuring each of the six participating chefs. This week, it's Chef Andy Hollyday formerly of roast and partner in the soon-to-open Selden Standard in Midtown. 

Chef Andy's background: Andy Hollyday started cooking in a small family run restaurant in his hometown of Toledo. He pursued training at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., and has since cooked from coast to coast in the United States and also spent a summer cooking in France. He recently left his position as executive chef at Michael Symon’s Roast and will be chef/owner of Selden Standard, a new American restaurant opening in Midtown Detroit in mid-2014.

EID: What is your culinary ethos? As in, as a chef, what do you BELIEVE in? What is important to you as a chef in your cooking and, in a bigger picture, what do you think the most important values are for a chef to have?

AH: I believe in keeping things simple. I believe if you have some beautiful vegetables you don't need to do much to them to make them delicious. Sometimes as a chef you need to get out of the way and not complicate matters. All of us want to chef it up and get super creative, but the older – and hopefully wiser – I get the more I understand the adage, “less is more.” Food can and should speak for itself. That said, it's not always an easy thing to do. That’s why one of the most important values for me is to support farmers who are doing things right. Supporting their integrity on a local level will hopefully change farming and culinary practices in this country. If we don't, it will all be hormone pumped, pesticide poisoned, taste-like-nothing bullshit. And of course, if I’m trying to respect my farmer pals, I also have to be a chef who gives respect to my crew. They bust their asses for me and for our customers, and I want to teach them and mold them into not only good chefs but help them be the best people and the best colleagues they can be.

How/where do you see Detroit's/Michigan's culinary scene fitting in on a national level? Thinking in terms not of where it is (which is still far behind most other major cities/states) but where it COULD be, how can Michigan chefs/restaurants evolve and where do you see them going?

Clearly, the Detroit food scene is currently lagging a bit behind other cities. We do have a lot of gems, but everything is so spread out so it feels like we have less than we actually do. But we are in a unique position to highlight what Michigan has to offer. We’re a state that’s rich with a big network of farms, orchards, forests, and waters surrounding us. It’s the inherent quality of those things combined with Detroit’s history and personality that will make us distinct. We’ve always had a wealth of great ethnic food, but what's exciting, especially as a chef, is all the energy that's coming from these new restaurants, pop-ups, distilleries, breweries, and urban farmers. We’re contributing to a culture that's putting a demand on local resources, and utilizing them to define our local cuisine. There’s a lot of momentum building.

What advantages does a chef have in Michigan over other states? 

First and foremost, the people here make the city and that is why I'm here – to feed them! I came to Michigan 10 years ago, and have been working in the city of Detroit for over 5 years. And I definitely don’t have any plans to leave. I’m inspired by all the hardworking, ballsy risk takers that I've met and become friends with. Opening a restaurant anywhere is risky, but it seems as though the rewards – and I mean that in terms of relationships and a sense of contributing to something more than financial – in the city are much bigger. What really excites me is being able to be a part of a neighborhood. Take our block, for example: Alley Wine is going to open nearby, apartments are getting cleaned up, the El Moore project that the Green Garage guys are doing. It’s fun to be part of what is almost a collaborative vision, even though we’re all doing our own, different projects. I also think that people often come to the city with low expectations. And to be honest, it feels good to exceed those with a stellar dining experience that will help change their overall outlook of Detroit.

What is your favorite cuisine and/or what are your favorite or signature dishes to make? What do you geek out over?

I hate this question, but I love pasta. And in terms of cuisine, I really like anything simple, rustic, and Mediterranean. Something as simple as grilled bread or grilled onions can be outstanding.

I truly "geek out" when vegetables are at the peak of their season. When you eat that perfect peach off the tree or carrot straight from the dirt. When food is alive is when it tastes the best. I love a fresh caught fish fried after a day of fishing in the lake. Ramps and morels are always exciting but taste better when you pull them from the woods yourself. Since I left Roast, I’ve had the chance to visit a few farms in Michigan and across the Midwest, and it’s been so interesting, so much fun. When Selden Standard opens, I’m just excited to be able to work more closely with some of them.

Tell me a little about your new restaurant - what is the concept? How will it fit within the existing Detroit restaurant scene, and how will it be different than what's already out there? What is your "in a perfect world" timeline for opening?

We wanted to open a place that was the kind of restaurant that we like to eat at. So that’s what Selden Standard will be: very sociable, seasonally driven, shared plates. There are a lot of great meals to be had in fine dining. A lot of them can be found here in Michigan, and believe me, I’ve ate at all of those places. But I don’t want white linens and an eighteen page wine list every single time I go out to eat. More than anything, I love great food and hanging out with my girlfriend and our friends. So we’ll be a much more casual, neighborhood place with outstanding food and drink. A place where you can feel comfortable eating with your hands and still hopefully leave saying, “Wow, that was a special meal.”

Detroit already has a lot to offer: I eat at Supino and La Feria and New Center Eatery and Roast and all those places all the time. But there are so many variations in what a good restaurant can be, and right now, there aren’t a lot of places where the menu is changing every 3, 4, 5 weeks; there aren’t a lot of places that have the capacity and culinary scope of a bigger, formal restaurant that are aiming to do more casual; and so on. So hopefully we will give people something new. I know other chefs and restaurateurs in town are looking to do more seasonal cuisine, more sociable dining room experiences, and I’m excited for that too. Greater downtown is growing, and speaking as someone who loves to eat, we need as many perspectives on interesting food as we can get. I’m just glad that we’ll be a part of that.

In terms of opening, our perfect world scenario is sometime in May, but we’re saying “mid 2014” because there are still so many variables. Ask me again in a couple months.

When James approached your about being a part of this Young Guns dinner, what was your reaction? Did you consider yourself one of "Michigan's most dangerous chefs" prior to this? What do you think of your fellow Young Guns?

I was stoked that James asked me. I don't really consider myself DANGEROUS and definitely not that YOUNG anymore either. I mean, I got into the industry 20 or so years ago, and I graduated from the CIA more than ten years ago now. So it’s hard to think of myself as young. But when James gets all amped up and starts talking about a community of chefs, how can you say no? His energy is contagious, and we do need to all support each other. Some sense of competition (for lack of a better word) should be there, but it should always respectful and friendly. All the chefs are very talented and great guys. I love all their restaurants. So something like this is fun to do.

As a chef, what do you hope to achieve in your career? Where do you see yourself in 5, 10, 20 years? And how do you hope to help strengthen and bolster Michigan's culinary scene?

Well, first, I want people to come into our restaurant and have a great time with great food. That’s why you get into this business and stay in it, you know? But in terms of the bigger picture, I hope to positively impact Detroit's dining scene and along the way, help build a better connection with the farmer not only at restaurants but for the general public. I want to cook good food and help change the way people look at the city of Detroit. I love working with new cooks and hope to have mentored the future Young Guns of this town. In 5 years, I hope to have kids and be married. In 10 years I would love to own a farm that would be solely dedicated to sourcing my restaurant(s). At some point, in a dream scenario, I would love to open another business, but first thing's first. Finally within 20 years, I hope I’ve had some role in inspiring and teaching younger chefs to stay here and continue the craft so I can go eat at their places with my family and friends.

Read last week's interview with Chef Brennan Calnin of Imperial in Ferndale here.

[Model D] La Feria now open for lunch and dinner, celebrating grand opening with Melt this week

Photo by Doug Coombe for UIX. 

It's been over a year since La Feria, a Spanish tapas restaurant located in Midtown in what could be called the Cass Corridor Design District, won the 2012 Hatch Detroit competition, earning an extra $50,000 towards opening their business. Detroiters have anxiously waited as we've watched the progress at 4130 Cass Ave. all the way up through the fancy new façade and signage from D MET Design. And now, they are officially open for business.

Read more.

[EID Events] Detroit Beer Week

DAILY DBW SPECIALS

$15 Food + Beer Combinations at Traffic Jam + Snug, October 17-27 (check their Facebook page for hours)
All during Detroit Beer Week, Traffic Jam + Snug in Midtown is offering a $15 pick-and-choose pairing menu featuring any of their beers paired with one of the following dishes featuring their very own house-made beer, house-made cheeses, and house-made breads, all day every day through October 27! So local it comes from the same address!

Sammie, Soup + Beer Combo Special at Mudgie's, October 17-27 (check their Facebook page for hours)
For the full run of Detroit Beer Week, Mudgie's is offering a $15 combo deal for a sandwich, soup and beer combo all day every day! Sandwiches will be made with beer-braised meats and soups with beer bases. Plus Mudgie's will have different daily specials made with beer infusions for Beer Week!

Beer Flight + Pulled Pork Slider Special at St. Cece's Pub, October 17-27 (check their Facebook page for hours)
All through Detroit Beer Week, St. Cece's Pub will offer beer shot flights (2-oz. pours of each of their eight draft beers) paired with pulled pork sliders for only $10! This special is good for lunch AND dinner.

Rock City Eatery Food + Beer Specials featuring Dark Horse, October 17-27 (check their Facebook page for hours)
All during Detroit Beer Week from October 17-27, the newly-opened Rock City Eatery in Hamtramck will offer food + beer pairing specials featuring Michigan's most metal brewery, Dark Horse Brewing Co.!

Afternoon Delight Daily at Woodbridge Pub, October 17-27 (check their website for hours)
For the full Detroit Beer Week run October 17-27, Woodbridge Pub will run the "Afternoon Delight" with $2 off drafts from 3-6pm, 7 days a week. They'll also have a draft beer and appetizer special combo for $10, all day every day!

Three-Course Menu at the Jefferson House for $20, October 17-27 (check their Facebook page for hours)
For Detroit Beer Week, Chef Justin Vaiciunas at The Jefferson House has created a three-course menu with Michigan beer pairings for only $20. This special DBW menu is available every day for dinner only.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17

Griffin Claw's Brewmaster Dan Rogers at Woodbridge Pub, 7-9 p.m.
Celebrate the launch of the fifth annual Detroit Beer Week at Woodbridge Pub with Brewermaster Dan Rogers of Griffin Claw Brewing Company (GCBC)! Dan has won dozens of gold and silver medals from the top beer competitions in the country during his time at Big Rock Chophouse and Brewery. From 7-9 p.m. on Thursday, October 17, we'll sample different Griffin Claw beers as Dan tells us more about the new Griffin Claw brewery, his signature beers, and a little bit about his brewing process. This is a very rare opportunity to speak one-on-one with the man himself!


FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18

Short's Tap Takeover at Foran's Grand Trunk Pub, 4-9 p.m.
On Friday, October 18, Foran's Grand Trunk Pub will host a tap takeover with Short's Brewing Company from 4-9 p.m. featuring Funkin Punkin, Noble Chaos, Bourbon Barrel Aged Pig Pen, The Curl, Spruce Pils, Soft Parade, and Huma-Lupa-Licious.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20

Orange + Black Party at Woodbridge Pub, 11 a.m. - 2 a.m.
On Sunday, October 20, join us at Woodbridge Pub for a fall seasonal orange + black party! New Holland Brewing Co. will take over the taps with pumpkin beers, stouts and porters (get it????) plus there will be special themed culinary and cocktail concoctions all day. Get in the "spooky" spirit starting with brunch and going all the way through dinner with Pie-Sci! There is no charge for admission and you don't HAVE to wear orange & black to come...but you know you want to!

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21

New Holland Double-Header at Woodbridge Pub, all day
For two nights straight Woodbridge Pub will feature special New Holland Brewing Co. events. On Monday, October 21, the second night of the New Holland double-header will be its own double header, with a New Holland beer and shot special - get any New Holland beer on draft (except for Dragon's Milk) and a shot of New Holland Artisan Spirits Beer Barrel-Aged Bourbon for $7. Monday night is also their weekly Slow Jams!

Kill All the ZomBEES at Foran's Grand Trunk, 4-8 p.m.
On Monday, October 21 from 4-9 p.m., join us at Foran's Grand Trunk Pub as we break out the bottles of B. Nektar for a night of zombie killing featuring Vanilla Cinnamon, Cherry Chipotle, Necromangocon, Orange Blossom, and Wildberry Pyment all in bottles and Zombie Killer on tap.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22

Wheelhouse Detroit Progressive Bike Dinner, 5:30-8:30 p.m.
Join Detroit Beer Week and Wheelhouse Detroit Bike Shop on Tuesday, October 22 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. as we go on a progressive bike dinner through the city of Detroit! We'll start with a first course at Mudgie's Deli (with beer). We'll then move on to St. Cece's Pub for pulled pork sliders (and beer). And from there it's on to The Jefferson House for dessert (and beer). All in all you're getting a full three-course dinner with full beers at each venue, plus a guided bike ride through the city and along the beautiful Detroit Riverwalk with Wheelhouse Detroit!

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23

Jolly Pumpkin Night at the Sugar House, 5 p.m.
Celebrate Detroit Beer Week with The Sugar House by drinking some beers from Jolly Pumpkin Brewery! Great deals on bottles all night, plus beer flights, special vintage beers and a brand new flavor never before on draft, and even some hard-to-get Leelanau Brewing Whaleback White!!!

Arbor Brewing Company Tap Takeover at Foran's Grand Trunk Pub, 4-9 p.m.
On Wednesday, October 23, Foran's Grand Trunk Pub will host a tap takeover with Arbor Brewing Company from 4-9 p.m. featuring Violin Monster, Bollywood Blonde, Sacred Cow IPA, Yipsi Gypsy, Buzzsaw, Phat Abbot.

Wednesday Night Trivia with Beer Fest Ticket Giveaways at Woodbridge Pub, 8-10 p.m.
On Wednesday, October 23, head to Woodbridge Pub for their Wednesday Night Trivia starting at 8 p.m. The grand prize is two pairs of tickets to the Michigan Brewers Guild Fall Beer Festival on Friday, October 25!

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24

Bell's Tap Takeover at Foran's Grand Trunk, 4-9 p.m.

On Thursday, October 24 from 4-9 p.m., Foran's Grand Trunk Pub will host a tap takeover with Bell's Brewery, Inc. (Official) featuring: Hopsoulution, Wheat Love, Raspberry Ale, Spiced Stout, Java Stout, Q - Falls, Pianiste, Two Hearted, and Best Brown. There will also be surprise daily bottles in very limited quantities.

Cans for Cans at Green Dot Stables, 5 p.m. to midnight
Hit up Green Dot Stables on Thursday, October 24 for "Cans for Cans," when $1 of every can of craft beer sold will go to benefit breast cancer support.

Arbor Brewing India Beer Dinner at Woodbridge Pub, 6:30 p.m.
On Thursday, October 24, join Arbor Brewing Company owners Matt and Rene Greff at a very special beer dinner at Woodbridge Pub! The Greffs recently opened Arbor Brewing Company India in Bangalore, India, a sister brewpub to their Ann Arbor original, open since 1995. We're honoring this expansion onto another continent with an Indian-themed vegetarian-friendly beer dinner at Woodbridge Pub featuring recipes from the India brewpub and from their own personal recipe collection. This four-course dinner will be paired with some of Arbor's signature beers, including Bollywood Blonde.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25-SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26

Michigan Brewers Guild Fall Beer Festival

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27

Beer Fest Hangover Brunch at Woodbridge Pub, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Nurse your Beer Fest hangover the right way: with bacon, Bloody Marys and beer! Woodbridge Pub is hosting a Beer Fest Hangover Brunch on Sunday, October 27 from 11am-3pm, following the two-day Michigan Brewers Guild Fall Beer Festival fiasco in Eastern Market Corporation. Bring in your ticket stub from Fall Beer Fest to receive 15% off your total bill (including booze). Each person MUST have ticket stub to receive discount!

[Model D] Dine Drink Detroit celebrates Detroit's culinary culture while benefiting the Riverfront

Starting this Thursday, Oct. 10, a brand-new Detroit dining event launches and you don't need to make any reservations, any kind of special time commitment, or even adhere to any kind of special dress code. Detroit, it's time to start dining and drinking.

Dine Drink Detroit runs Oct. 10-16 and highlights some of Detroit's most unique casual dining restaurants. All of the 13 participating restaurants will offer some sort of food and drink combination for $15.

Read more.

[NEWS BITES] New chef, new menu, new owners at Union Street

Here is a press release about Union Street. No need for me to rearrange the words in different order and call it a unique post. Here y'go.

Union Street Detroit, a longtime mainstay of over 25 years in Midtown welcomes a new chef, a new menu, and new owners.

Big Changes
The most significant of the changes is the hiring of a young, new executive chef. David Hubbard Jr. is educated in some of the most respected local kitchens, including Coach Insignia, No. VI Chophouse, The Rugby Grille, and the Grill at the Ritz-Carlton Dearborn.

His new menu will debut on October 1, 2013. David's new menu will reward the restaurant's long-established clientele with an artistic culinary approach, while keeping some of the popular cult classics. Don't worry, the Dragon Eggs that Union Street is known for will remain. Some highlights from the new menu include shucked oysters, lobster lollipops, sticky bacon, deviled eggs, artisan pizzas du jour, and fish tacos. He will pay homage to the finer points of the past while embracing the “new” with a very pointed vision for Union Street's future.

Union Street has also added a new Catering Director. Rhonda Richter has developed and expanded catering options with a hands-on approach towards creating a truly personalized catering experience.

Union Street catering has been extremely popular around metropolitan Detroit over the past few years, and with Rhonda they'll take it to the next level.

New OwnersSince the 1930s, 4145 Woodward Avenue has been a community social hub in Midtown Detroit. In 2012, Ginger and George Barris purchased the iconic establishment and are moving it into the future while embracing the classic American sensibilities of its past.

Ginger Barris is a 20-year veteran in the bar/restaurant industry. Worth noting is that her entire career has taken place in the neighborhood of Midtown. Ginger was a well-known and respected manager and bartender at the Majestic Theatre Center, and later at Union Street. She brings a good sense of community tradition, along with a passionate eye for the future.

[NEWS BITES] Detroit Restaurant Week participating restaurants announced, adding Guns + Butter pop-up series to lineup

Shinola in Midtown. Photo by Nicole Rupersburg. 

For the fifth annual installment of Detroit Restaurant Week's fall edition, organizers are adding the popular pop-up Guns + Butter to the lineup of coordinating DRW programming with a series at DRW sponsor Shinola, the flagship luxury goods retailer in Midtown. Deets below.

Detroit Restaurant Week returns Friday, September 20 through Sunday, September 29 for fall. Sixteen of Detroit’s finest restaurants, including the award-winning Coach Insignia and Roast, will once again offer specially-priced three-course dinners for only $30 per person.

Shinola, the presenting sponsor of Detroit Restaurant Week for fall 2013 will also host Guns + Butter, an exclusive, intimate pop-up dining experience provided by Chef Craig Allen Lieckfelt. "Partnering with Shinola to showcase the flavors of the season in their beautiful venue is a real treat,” says Lieckfelt. “Bringing the experience of food into a unique and unexpected setting sums up who we are as a business. We are excited to be a part of DRW this season,” he adds.

Bridget Russo, director of marketing for Shinola says they’re proud to host Guns + Butter at their Shinola flagship store located at 441 W. Canfield St. in Midtown, Detroit. “It's exciting for us to be able to support local culinary talent through Detroit Restaurant Week, which does so much to encourage Detroiters to get out and explore all the incredible restaurants in the city,” she adds. 

The DRW edition of Guns + Butter will be held on Friday, September 20 and Saturday, September 21 as well as Thursday, September 26 through Saturday, September 28. Reservations can be made by email at reservations@gbdetroit.com. Seating will be extremely limited.

The restaurants participating in the ninth installment of the biannual fine dining event are: 

24Grille – Westin Book Cadillac Detroit	Andiamo Detroit Riverfront – GM Ren Cen
Angelina Italian Bistro – Downtown	Brizola – Greektown Casino Hotel
Cliff Bell’s – Downtown	Coach Insignia – GM Ren Cen
Cuisine – New Center	Da Edoardo Foxtown Grille – Foxtown
Detroit Seafood Market – Paradise Valley	Fountain Bistro – Campus Martius Park
Guns + Butter – Shinola Detroit, Midtown	La Dolce Vita – Palmer Woods District
Rattlesnake Club – Stroh River Place	Roast – Westin Book Cadillac Detroit
Roma Cafe – Eastern Market	Santorini Estiatorio – Greektown
Wolfgang Puck Pizzeria + Cucina – MGM Grand Detroit

Visit www.DetroitRestaurantWeek.com for the latest updates about menus, upcoming events, and to sign-up for the exclusive Detroit Restaurant Week e-newsletter. “Like” Detroit Restaurant Week on Facebook and follow @dineDRW on Twitter.

Detroit Restaurant Week is presented by Shinola, the Detroit-based manufacturer of premium Detroit-built wristwatches and bicycles as well as other consumer products. Quicken Loans returns as supporting sponsor.

History of Detroit Restaurant Week: The Detroit Restaurant Week concept was created in 2009 as a partnership project between Paxahau Event Productions, the Downtown Detroit Partnership (DDP) and its partner organizations in Midtown, Corktown, Eastern Market and New Center to support and promote fine dining restaurants in greater downtown Detroit. Almost 230,000 diners have enjoyed DRW to date, generating over four million dollars in sales for our participating restaurants. In the spring of 2013, DRW partnered with Forgotten Harvest to provide 10,000 meals to metro Detroiters in need.

About Shinola

Shinola was founded in 2011 with the goal to make quality products and to make them right here in America. As makers of modern, handcrafted watches, bicycles, leather goods, and journals, Shinola is proud to be based in Detroit, a community-minded city with a strong manufacturing legacy. As a new company with a storied name, Shinola stands for skill at scale, the preservation of craft, the beauty of industry.

About Paxahau Event Productions & Management

Paxahau Event Productions has earned the reputation over the past decade as an elite promotions organization. Initially established to promote electronic music, Paxahau has grown to become a year-round event production company. In addition to producing the annual Movement Electronic Music Festival in Detroit, they also direct operations for the Detroit Jazz Festival and will manage production and operations for Moogfest 2014 in Asheville, North Carolina. Paxahau has booked talent and provided production services for Motown Winter Blast; Red Bull Air Races; Arts, Beats & Eats; North American International Auto Show events; BravoBravo! and the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel. Visit www.paxahau.com to learn more.  

[Model D] Coffee, gelato and sweet shop Melt next up in Midtown

Of the many (and there are indeed many) new restaurants and retailers opening in Midtown this year, it appears that Melt is going to be the next one to open.

Melt is a coffee, gelato, and sweet shop located at 4150 Cass (at Willis). Owner Aaron Haithcock has wanted to open a candy shop since he was a kid, but decided to diversify his concept to include coffee and gelato to support a steadier clientele base, a model he saw work while employed at a candy store in Chicago that also sold cakes and ice cream.

Read more.

[Model D] D MET adds a new facade and continues renovations at 4130 Cass, home of La Feria

In the emerging Cass Corridor Design District shaping up at the corner of Cass Avenue and Canfield, 2012 Hatch Detroit contest winner La Feria has been hard at work renovating their space and getting ready to open. But just last week some exterior improvements were done that have made the tapas restaurant's progress much more visible.

Read more.

[Model D] Woodward Gardens Block Development on track to be completed by end of 2013

Construction on phases III and IV of the Woodward Gardens project on the 3900 block of Woodward is humming along nicely. Eric Means, a representative of the Woodward Gardens Block Development, says that the project is on track to be completed by the end of the fourth quarter of this year.

The 32,505-square-foot Garden Theatre will be completed first, targeted to open by the end of the third quarter. The theatre will host live performances that "align with the Midtown energy;" more grassroots and indie performers "geared to attract the audience that makes up (the Midtown) demographic." The theatre will have a total occupancy of 1,300, with mostly standing room on the main floor and a VIP balcony for private functions. The front portion of the theatre will have a café.

Read more.

[Real Detroit] You Don't Know Shit from Shinola

Photo by Nicole Rupersburg.

The antiquated idiom "You don't know shit from Shinola" originated during WWII and referred to the American-made Shinola brand shoe polish (the implication being that a person is too stupid to know the difference between shoe polish and feces).

The original Shinola shoe polish is no longer made, but that doesn't mean the brand is dead. In 2012 the brand was resuscitated under new ownership. Tom Kartsotis, the formerly retired founder of Fossil (you know, that other watchmaker), established Shinola with the intention of bringing quality hand-crafted watch manufacturing back to America, and based it in Detroit – the heart of American manufacturing.

Read more.

[Model D] The DIA's Cultural Living Room in the Kresge Court opens June 14

Sneak preview.

After being closed the last two months, the Kresge Court inside the Detroit Institute of the Arts is about to reopen this Friday at 10 a.m. as the Cultural Living Room.

The Cultural Living Room is a concept that came about through Bradford Frost, a fellow in Wayne State University's Detroit Revitalization Fellows Program and special assistant for community and economic development at the DIA who wrote the ArtPlace grant that secured the $268,500 in funding for this project.

Read more.

[EID Preview] Whole Foods Detroit

All photos by Nicole Rupersburg.

Today is the day! It's the moment we've been talking about for two years now. The moment every local media outlet and even some of the national ones has been anxiously anticipating, hailing it as a bold move for the national organic grocer chain and a sure sign of Detroit's impending recovery. It has been cheekily referred to as "the most important grocery store in America," and has proven itself to be as divisive as it is significant, drawing in equal parts to the palpable excitement sneers from the "Whole Paycheck" contingency (as well as some crying over tax incentives and hand-wringing for independent grocers which it will obviously put out of business immediately when it opens its doors as 9 a.m. today because Detroit can only handle one grocery store). It has also (whether directly or not) ushered in a new era of national, and even local, grocer chains taking a chance on Detroit, an example of what proponents will argue is just the start of national retailers, long reluctant to even step foot in the city, now taking a second look -- the perception being, "Well, if Whole Foods can do it..."

This is not the first store Whole Foods has opened in a "high-risk" urban environment. In recent years the company has taken to opening stores in less affluent urban centers in the early stages of development. For the corporation, it's not about making money (in fact, and this should be happy news to you "Whole Paycheck" types, prices at this Whole Foods location will more accurately reflect the Detroit community ... meaning things will be cheaper here than in its West Bloomfield and Ann Arbor counterparts). As both a marketing tool for the company in an effort to rebrand its inaccessible image, as well as an active effort to help build struggling communities (which the company actually does care about), these urban Whole Foods are markedly different than their suburban sister stores, and have demonstrably acted as a sort of harbinger of development (ah yes, this is where the gentrification accusers will start in) -- which, it can certainly be argued, Detroit (and Midtown especially) was already getting there anyway, but the city still has a long way to go in terms of perception, and sometimes just the presence of a Whole Foods is enough. In this new Detroit store they have taken great pains to reflect the Detroit community as much as possible, from the most painstaking design details to the products they carry and the staff they hired.

"Say nice things about Detroit" mural by Detroit artists in the entryway.

I had the chance to stop by for another walk-through yesterday, less than 24 hours before they open. The store was all organized chaos as 100 employees and dozens of people from corporate put the finishing touches on what could, in fact, actually be one of the most important grocery stores in America. Haters gonna hate, but like it or not, this is more than just a grocery store. It is a symbol of something much bigger.

To celebrate their grand opening (and boy is it grand), Whole Foods has entertainment planned all day which includes African drumming, a DSO string quartet, and Ballet Folklorico. There are also at least a dozen tents with local vendors set up in the parking lot. Alas, many of you can't take off work to go stand in line at a grocery store. I've got you covered. Here is the last set of preview photos anyone has taken prior to the store's opening. Considering many "preview" photo galleries were sans products on the shelves, in this instance I'm happy to be LAST.

The produce section looks like an art gallery.

List of community partners, first section to the left upon walking inside. 

Throughout the store, they encourage shoppers to buy local. Except for bananas, which obviously are not local.

You have no idea the restraint I exhibited here. 

The beer selection does not suck, and there's a ton of local beers with signs designating how far away the brewery is.

They REALLY want you to know this.

These signs are made from repurposed street signs. Notice also the stamped tin ceiling, a common design element in Detroit's historic buildings.

Here is just a small sample of some of the local products they carry.

The tables in the cafe are made from recycled car hoods. The opening day sign in the background further shows their enthusiasm.

A view from above, in the community rooms upstairs. Yes there are community rooms. Please inquire for usage.

A view from behind. 

For more photos (couldn't fit them all in one post!), check out the Flickr set here.