Chef Garrett Lipar Plots New Restaurant Project

Garrett Lipar, the creative mind behind Ferndale’s acclaimed (now defunct) Torino, is poised to reveal a new restaurant project. Traveling real estate-driven pop-up series PlaceInvaders will host several pop-up meals in Corktown this summer featuring the chef. The event teases "that this will be the first chance you have to try Garrett's new concept, to be formally announced concurrently with our dinner partnership the first week of August."

PlaceInvaders, which visited Detroit in April, takes over unique spaces in cities across the country, however the venues are only revealed a few hours ahead of the events. The upcoming Detroit series will be located in a building that was previously designated for commercial use but has been converted into a home. Several dates have already sold out, but tickets ranging from $85 to $145 are still available for brunch, dinner, and a Write-A-House benefit.

After the abrupt shutter of National Eater 38 member Torino in June of 2015, Lipar went on to briefly helm the kitchens at Marais in Grosse Pointe. Lipar was named a semifinalist for the James Beard Rising Star Award two years in a row, but left Marais in February to travel and pursue more educational experiences. Several months ago the chef appeared to tease a new project on the horizon via Instagram, but for the big reveal diners will have to wait until August.