Lock & Key Opens Up; Battle Creek Less Cereal-Focused

ROYAL OAK — The latest snazzy speakeasy to hit the metro bar circuit is finally opening for general public consumption this week behind the Oxford Inn. Opening Thursday, The Lock & Key, a 1920s-themed bar with aims at prohibition pleasures in mind, was created by an emergency intervention from the Food Network's On the Rocks team. The show retrofitted the Oxford Inn's lounge on an episode filmed earlier in the summer. The Lock & Key episode is set to air later this fall. [DetNews]

CORKTOWN — The guys behind the Practice*Space startup incubator in Corktown are adamant that they aren't meant to help tech firms grow their business in the city. We're apt to believe them, especially since their first project, the North End Food Hub, hopes to prepare and deliver food across the city's neighborhoods. Whether Practice*Space keeps feeding the area hungry is still up for debate, but they are definitely worth watching as they get their old auto shop headquarters off the ground. [Freep]

BATTLE CREEK — The world-famous home of both Kellogg's and Post, mid-Michigan's Cereal City is looking to change up its economic activity as the state's auto manufacturers rev up production around the region. The cereal companies are still big employers in Battle Creek, but the focus is definitely in the midst of a real sea change that could change the way the city thinks of itself in the future. [MLive]

METRO DETROIT — The fake Hong Kong of downtown's 'Transformers 4' set was blown up in a pyrotechnic blast last week as the movie's production winds down, but there's plenty of real Chinese cuisine in the metro area to soothe weary Michael Bay fans. Madison Heights, Warren, Midtown Detroit and other area communities with a current or former concentration of East Asian residents make the cut on this week's Freep Five for real-deal Chinese cuisine, which promises a rather creative journey through the area's non-American Chinese culinary options. [Freep]