Kales Building Wine Bar and Bottle Shop Starts Pouring Monday

Welcome to the Plywood Report, a continually updated list of intel on Detroit's and metro Detroit’s coming restaurant attractions.

August 18

DOWNTOWN — The paper is down and downtown’s anticipated wine and bottle shop The Royce Detroit is very close to opening in the Kales Building. Co-owner Ping Ho tells Eater the bar will begin friends and family-only soft openings on Friday and Saturday with an official public launch scheduled for Monday. Ho and her partner Angela Rutherford were finalists in last year’s Hatch Detroit competition. The 2,000-square-foot shop will feature a 12-seat bar and 300+ different international bottles with a focus on affordability. [EaterWire]

WEST VILLAGE — Chef Greg Reyner’s forthcoming restaurant project Geiger Eat Shop is inching through the renovation process. The collapsing structure adjacent to the restaurant and bar’s brick building has been torn down and is beginning to transform into a patio. Since we last checked in, the building itself has gained windows, walls, and flooring. Geiger Eat Shop is expected to debut this fall. [EaterWire]

Brenna Houck

August 8

Brenna Houck

DOWNTOWN — Brooklyn-based California-style Mexican restaurant chain (pause to get your head around that) Calexico will make its debut on Woodward Avenue in the former Olga’s Kitchen space on August 12. The company announced back in March that it would be bringing its tacos, salads, rolled quesadillas, and burritos to Detroit. The 4,000-square-foot outpost will be the chain’s largest undertaking to-date. [Crain’s]

CASS CORRIDOR — Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken’s Michigan franchisee Schmaltz Hospitality confirms to Eater that the restaurant is slated to open within the next two weeks. According to a Craigslist hiring post from late July, the company will host several major hiring events over the next several days. [EaterWire]

GRANDMONT-ROSEDALE — Plant-based West Village eatery Detroit Vegan Soul’s second location in Northwest Detroit will seat 32 diners "with the possibility for additional outdoor seating." Co-owner Kristen Ussery-Boyd told Eater in June that the restaurant would likely open by December. [DBiz]

GRAND CIRCUS PARK — Forthcoming wine bar and bottle shop The Royce Detroit received its liquor license last week. The anticipated Kales building project is expected to debut this summer. [Instagram]

Update, 8/8, 11:07 p.m.: This post has been updated with a new opening date for Calexico. As of this evening, the restaurant is now slated to debut on August 12 at 4 p.m.

• Detroit’s Most Anticipated Restaurants & Bars, Summer 2016 [ED]
• All Eater Tracking Coverage [ED]
• All Plywood Report Coverage [ED]