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Welcome to the Plywood Report, a roundup of all the latest intel on Detroit's and metro Detroit’s coming restaurant attractions.
OAK PARK — Metro Detroit-based hospitality group Union Joints is almost ready to get moving on its next big project. Construction on the as-of-yet-unnamed restaurant in the Albert Kahn-designed 8MK building is expected to begin around Labor Day. Union Joints is aiming for a September 2018 opening. Original plans for the restaurant touted a 100-seat eatery with a patio, events space, DJ booth, and large parking lot. Like Union Joints other restaurants — Vinsetta Garage, Honcho, and Union Woodshop to name a few — the 8MK menu will likely focus on American comfort foods. [EaterWire]
CASS CORRIDOR — The chef behind Brujo, a food stall headed to Cass Corridor’s forthcoming food hall Detroit Shipping Co., revealed new details about the restaurant’s menu this week. Co-owner Petro Drakopoulos, who also owns Republica in Berkley, is designing a menu featuring tacos and tapas using high-end canned seafood in the style of Spanish restaurants. Tortillas will be made by hand and stuffed with fillings ranging from Greek-style cinnamon lamb to chipotle-roasted grasshoppers. [Metro Times]
GRANDMONT ROSEDALE — Chef Max Hardy’s soon-to-open low-country and Afro-Caribbean eatery, River Bistro, is aiming for a mid-August debut at 18456 Grand River Avenue. Hardy is also slated to open a rotisserie chicken food stall, Coop, inside Detroit Shipping Co. and an African-influenced eatery, Honey, in Cass Corridor.
HAMTRAMCK — California Burgerz, a new restaurant headed to a space near Conant and Commor Street, is aiming for a mid-September debut. Owner Hani Omasan says the menu will be modeled off California’s cult favorite burger chain In-N-Out with beef ground in-house and fresh cut fries. The restaurant will be halal. [Metro Times]
DOWNTOWN — Capitol Park’s forthcoming burger restaurant Loverboy is poised to begin construction next week, according to the firm Five Eighths architecture. Restaurateur Eli Boyer revealed details about the project last month after the Detroit Free Press’s restaurant critic questioned the need for another burger restaurant in downtown Detroit. The design is expected to be inspired by the aesthetics of filmmaker Wes Anderson and feature a walk-up window with kiosk ordering. [Instagram]
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