Bartender Dorothy Elizabeth Cuts Ties With The Siren Hotel

Award-winning bartender Dorothy Elizabeth has walked away from her anticipated solo project Candy Bar, which was poised to open on the ground floor of The Siren Hotel in downtown Detroit.

The hotel “was not a good fit,” Elizabeth, a 2016 Eater Young Gun, says in a statement to Eater via email. “[It] was not the bar I wanted to open.”

Candy Bar was one of three food and beverage tenants announced by The Siren Hotel developers ASH NYC in June. The hotel is expected to open later this fall in the renovated Wurlitzer Building.

Fellow Eater Young Gun and James Beard Rising Star nominee chef Garrett Lipar is also slated to make his return to the kitchens with the opening of a highly anticipated tasting menu-only chef’s table called Albena. That restaurant will be joined by a brick-and-mortar Populace Coffee bar. All together, the hotel is expected to house seven restaurants and bars.

Reached by Eater a representative for The Siren Hotel confirmed Elizabeth’s departure:

As the project has evolved we have mutually decided to move in a different creative direction. We wish Dorothy all the best and look forward to collaborating with her in the future. The Candy Bar will share more details at the appropriate time as we work towards our unveiling this Winter.

Although she won’t be opening the hotel bar, Elizabeth isn’t giving up on her dream of opening her own place. “The wheels are slowly turning to gain traction on a new space that will fit with the style of cocktails I want to create,” she says.

In the meantime, she plans to continue traveling internationally and participating in pop-ups and guest residencies at local bars. Elizabeth will also bring her skills to Ann Arbor in the coming months to assist in revamping a cocktail program at an as-of-yet-unnamed bar. Fans can catch Elizabeth next week at Joebar’s ‘90s-themed Devils Night party.

Update, October 23, 4:50 p.m.: This story has been updated with a statement from The Siren Hotel management.

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