Restaurants, Bars, and Cafes Score Grants in Latest Round of Motor City Match

On Monday, the City of Detroit’s small business program Motor City Match unveiled its latest round of grant winners including nine food and beverage businesses. The awardees featured familiar names like Batch Brewing company and current contenders for this summer’s Hatch Detroit competition alongside several new restaurant projects.

Motor City Match launched in 2015 with the goal of providing support to entrepreneurs in Detroit by offering business planning assistance, technical support, and design assistance. The program also assists in connecting businesses with real estate owners that are seeking tenants and provides funding for small businesses in the form of grants. Here’s the rundown from Motor City Match’s round 8 food and beverage grant winners. For a complete list visit the program’s website:

• Batch Brewing Company ($65,000): The Corktown brewery recently announced an expansion to Detroit’s North End neighborhood with a taproom and production facility. Location: 2841 E. Grand Blvd.
• Simply Breakfast Restaurant ($50,000): This sit-down, breakfast-only restaurant is aiming to open to open in Detroit’s University District. Location: 7526 W. McNichols St.
• Bar Botánica ($40,000): This Latin American and Caribbean-influenced cocktail bar and coffee shop is aiming to open in the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood in Spring 2018. They’re also currently participating in this summer’s Hatch Detroit competition. Location: 14522 E. Jefferson Ave.
• Big Mama’s Southern Kitchen ($40,000): Nearly two years after a fire shuttered the restaurant, Big Mama’s Southern Kitchen is plotting a comeback in its original space. Location: 19644 Grand River Ave.
• Detroit Mushroom Factory ($40,000): Sustainable urban mushroom farm Detroit Mushroom Factory is expanding to a larger warehouse space. Location: 13832 Joseph Campau St.
• Rosedale Beer & Bistro ($40,000): Forthcoming brewpub Rosedale Beer & Bistro is headed to Grand River Avenue on Detroit’s west side. The restaurant, which is also in the running for this summer’s Hatch Detroit competition, will feature live music, an enclosed courtyard, events space, and a menu focused on “American-style and Southern” cuisine. Location: 18910 Grand River Ave.
• The Congregation ($40,000): This cafe and community space will fill a former church in Detroit’s Boston Edison neighborhood. Location: 9321 Rosa Parks Blvd.
• The Vernor Café ($35,000): The owner of El Club is currently renovating a neighboring building, which will eventually feature a coffee shop, performance and rentable practice space for musicians, gallery space, and classrooms. Location: 4110 W. Vernor Hwy.
• PizzaPlex ($25,000): This Southwest Detroit neapolitan-style pizzeria will offer employees opportunities to experience month-long internship exchanges in Naples, Italy, learning about traditional pizza making. Location: 4458 W. Vernor Hwy.

In addition to food and beverage, several other companies including a Livernois Avenue nail salon Lacquered, full-service general contractor O’Neal Contracting Group, Tot Town Child Development Center, and Southwest Detroit health care and wellness center Vernor MC also received grants.

Many of the restaurants, cafes, and bars are still in the early stages of development. Stay tuned for more updates on their progress as the projects move forward.

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