Meet Goldfinch American: Bringing Modern Dining To Southwest Detroit

A new restaurant should be arriving in Southwest Detroit before the summer is over, if Tunde Wey of Revolver and Chef James Hayes are successful in finding both the space and the diners they'll need for their project, called Goldfinch American.

The restaurant will be a stripped-down fine dining experience, think experimental food and quality ingredients, but without the white table cloths. It's a style of food that doesn't really exist in Southwest, and that's exactly why Wey, who will be the owner of the business, wants Goldfinch to call the area home.

In Wey's mind, Southwest represents the best of Detroit: it has a higher population density, it's blue collar, it's full of unbroken chains of storefronts (much like Hamtramck, where Revolver is located), and there's a tension between new and old that he finds compelling. Goldfinch American fits firmly into the "new" category, but tension is an idea that comes up repeatedly in it's concept, juxtaposing finer dining with a working class neighborhood and using classic cooking techniques in new and innovative ways.

Chef James Hayes believes in using multiple preparations of key ingredients throughout a dish, eschewing waste in favor of using the whole ingredient, be it a whole duck or an entire celery plant (think stock, confit, and breast, or root, stalk, and leaves). Wey describes it as progressive modern American food, thoughtfully and intentionally prepared.

While the brick and mortar is still months away at best, Wey and Hayes are starting weekly Monday night pop up dinners on March 24th. Diners will choose between five and eleven courses, with a set price of $11 per course, meaning the least expensive dinner will be $55 per person, up to $121 for the full eleven courses. Like with Revolver, tickets will be purchased ahead of time, but bring friends, because if a chosen evening doesn't meet the required minimum number of guests (say 12) the dinner will be cancelled and diners will be fully refunded. While the brick and mortar Goldfinch aims to have a liquor license, all pop ups will be BYOB. More details will be forthcoming as the project develops.
· Goldfinch American [Official Site]
· Peter Dalinowski And Tunde Wey on Hamtramck's Revolver [-ED-]