Flowers of Vietnam Calls Off New Year’s Relaunch in Southwest Detroit

Fans of Flowers of Vietnam will have to wait until 2018 to get their hands on caramel chicken wings. Chef George Azar confirms to Eater that the restaurant’s hotly anticipated New Year’s Eve opening preview has been cancelled to give staff more time to train.

The restaurant, which closed its doors for renovations in March, is now on track to open ahead of the North American International Auto Show press preview in mid-January, Azar says.

Designed by Et al. Collaborative, the expanded space will incorporate portions of the old Coney Island layout such as the 8-seat lunch counter with newer elements like an expanded 14-seat bar area lined with drink rails. The dining room, which features a image of a terrace farm mounted on sound-dampening cork, will seat roughly 44 people.

More recently the restaurant gained an updated brick facade and windows. The chef also showed off some custom-designed aprons from Carhartt this week.

In the meantime, check out Azar’s appearance on Eater’s series Cooking in America. Stay tuned for more updates closer to the opening.

• Flowers of Vietnam Version 2.0 Plots New Year’s Resurrection [ED]
• Flowers of Vietnam Closes for Renovations on March 19 [ED]
• Flowers of Vietnam’s Interior Will Blend Old and New When It Returns This Fall [ED]
• 13 Detroit Restaurants to Get Excited About in 2017 [ED]
• All Eater Tracking Coverage [ED]