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After several years of preparations a new cafe will kick open its doors in downtown Hamtramck next week. Oloman Cafe is set to begin brewing in the former Belmont Bar space on Joseph Campau on December 5.
Zlatan Sadikovic, a former photography department director of the Kresge Eye Institute in Detroit, is behind the project alongside his son, cafe manager Igor Sadikovic. Zlatan tells Eater he acquired the building and a neighboring space in October 2014 and began extensive renovations to transform it into a coffee shop.
Zlatan emigrated from Sarajevo, Bosnia, during the war in the early 1990s. Today he recalls visiting a place called Oloman Cafe in the ‘80s. “It was a place to go and be seen,” he says, but the business and its surrounding building were destroyed during the war.
Like the Bosnian cafe, Zlatan is aiming to create a special gathering spot in Hamtramck. In the building next door, he’s created a co-working space for small craft businesses and artists and is renovating an upstairs apartment for himself. “My idea was always to have a community space where next door they can work and here they can relax and exchange ideas,” he says.
The cafe features a long bar decorated with wood collected during renovations of the neighboring building as well as four tops and several long communal tables. Out back there’s a large, secluded patio area, which Zlatan plans to fill with plants. He’s also outfitted the building with a photo studio, for his pet project photographing friends and customers.
Oloman is still testing out coffee varieties. “The coffee quality needs to be good,” he says. The shop will offer a range of espresso drinks as well as drip coffee and pourovers. Customers can also expect to find plenty of food options behind the counter. Golden Wheat Bakery is supplying the shop’s pastries and Oloman will also serve a small selection of panini sandwiches daily from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Oloman Cafe is located at 10215 Joseph Campau; the shop opens from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays; free wifi.
• Oloman Cafe Facebook [Official]
• All Caffeine Nation Coverage [ED]