Crowd Funding Campaigns; Avalon Expands to Offer into Dry Goods

Accolades— MLive completed an 11-day road trip investigation of 42 establishments to find Michigan's Best Neighborhood Bar. Among the top ten was Nancy Whiskey Pub, which came in second overall. Feather bowling hub, Cadieux Café, received honorable mention. [MLive]

Expansions— Avalon International Breads is set to open a dry goods store this fall, reports Izzi Bendall of DBusiness Daily News. The store will offer day-olds and overruns of breads and baked goods at reasonable prices. The bakery hopes to provide healthy options for people who live and work in the underserved Belt Line neighborhood. [DBusiness]

Previews— Parks & Rec diner and Gold Cash Gold will offer sneak previews of their menus at the Dine Drink Detroit launch party on Sept. 29. The event, which takes place at the Outdoor Recreation Center on the Detroit riverfront costs $15. Dine Drink Detroit offers affordable meals at some of Detroit's most popular spots and takes place Oct. 2-11. No reservations or tickets are required. Check out the full details on the event website. [Freep]

Honors— Torino was named to the OpenTable top 100 restaurants that are Fit For Foodies. The Ferndale restaurant was the only Michigan-base eatery named to the list, which was based on over 5 million restaurant reviews submitted by OpenTable diners. [Business Insider]

Crowdsourcing— Social Sushi, Detroit Mini Donut, Le Petit Zinc, Motor City Popcorn, Sweet Potato Sensations, and others are vying for a $150,000 Mission Main Street Grant. Each company that receives 250 unique votes by October 17 will move on to the next round.  [Chase]

Campaigns— Detroit Food Academy, a nonprofit organization that promotes food entrepreneurship among Detroit youth, is raising money to support their programs through a crowdfunding campaign. With just four days left, they've raised $11,920 of their $12,500 goal. [Patronicity]