The 12 Most Anticipated Restaurants and Bars in Detroit, Fall 2017

Fall is always crunch time for new restaurants in Detroit. Owners often set ambitious goals for a spring or summer debut, but more often than not delays push those timelines back. The result is typically a really exciting fall for restaurant openings and 2017 is continuing to prove that rule.

This season diners can look forward to quite a few fresh industry faces entering the field alongside some familiar and returning favorites. Long-awaited spots like chef Kate Williams’ Lady of the House are charging toward the finish line while pop up-to-permanent eateries such as Flowers of Vietnam are setting their sights on a fall reopening. Continuing the trend in new hotels and restaurants, several projects helmed by former Eater Young Guns will be opening inside the Wurlitzer Building. Detroit might even gain its first food hall this season. Here’s a rundown of the restaurants and bars expected to debut this winter.

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Lady of the House

Location: 1426 Bagley Ave.
Key Players: Kate Williams, Christian Stachel, Unnamed Partners
Projected Opening: Mid-September

With renovations of the former St. Cece’s building nearly complete and the opening team assembled, chef Kate Williams’ Lady of the House is just a few weeks shy of its official debut in Corktown. Designed by Patrick Thompson, the restaurant has kept the bones of the former neighborhood bar, while giving it a brighter interior. Stained glass has been replaced with traditional windows and the dark wood has been whitewashed and paired with olive green upholstered chairs and banquettes. A second unspecified bar project will be located in the basement. Lady of the House will also feature many collaborations with local businesses such as a house gin made with Detroit City Distillery. Although it’s still undergoing final revisions, diners can expect to see roughly 20 dishes on the menu including the chilled squash soup recently previewed during a residency at Frame in Hazel Park.

Michelle and Chris Gerard

Albena and Candy Bar

Location: Wurlitzer Building
Key Players: Garrett Lipar, Tiffany Henderson, and Emma Taylor (Albena), Dorothy Elizabeth (Candy Bar)
Projected Opening: Fall

James Beard-nominated chef Garrett Lipar (formerly Torino) will helm an eight-seat chef’s counter called Albena on the ground floor of the soon-to-open Siren Hotel in downtown’s Wurlitzer Building. With his new venture, Lipar is aiming to set a slightly more brisk pace than similar tasting menu-only restaurants he’s experienced with a run time around 90 minutes. Seatings will cost under $200 per person and will feature dishes influenced by the Great Lakes region. Bartender Dorothy Elizabeth (formerly Standby) will also be bringing her talent to the hotel with a 30-seat, pink hued cocktail lounge called Candy Bar. Elizabeth plans to dive more into her chemistry and molecular mixology background with the bar which will serve cocktails inspired Detroit.

Brenna Houck

Norma G’s

Location: 14700 East Jefferson Ave.
Key Players: Lester Gouvia
Projected Opening: Fall

Two-year-old Caribbean food truck Norma G’s will make the leap from mobile restaurant to casual, sit-down establishment this fall in the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood. Chef Lester Gouvia plans to dive deeper into culinary roots in Trinidadian cuisine with dishes like polenta-based cou-cou, jerk chicken pasta, and baccalau (a type of salt fish). The restaurant will be outfitted with walnut wood stools, chairs, and tables with punches of color such as teal and yellow. Diners can also look forward to a roughly 30-seat patio during warm weather.

Courtesy of Detroit Shipping Co.

Detroit Shipping Co.

Location: 474 Peterboro St.
Key Players: Jonathan Hartzell, James Therkalsen, Dominic Walbridge
Projected Opening: Fall

With any luck, long-awaited shipping container food hall Detroit Shipping Co. will make landfall in Cass Corridor this season bringing with it two bars, pop-up art space, retail, and six standalone restaurant vendors. The building, located next door to The Peterboro, broke ground in July. The company has tapped Coop, Brujo Tacos & Tapas, Monty’s Beef Co., Detroit Dog Co., and Bangkok 96 to take over the spaces and is in the process of recruiting a sixth restaurant to fill out the building.

Michelle and Chris Gerard

Eastern Market Brewing Company

Location: 2515 Riopelle St.
Key Players: Dayne Bartscht, Devin Drowley, Paul Hoskin
Projected Opening: September 28

Detroit microbrewery Eastern Market Brewing Company is in the process of filling out a former meat packing facility on Riopelle St. with a casual German-style beer hall. The space will feature garage doors and several long, communal tables. The bar will pour between 9 and 12 beers including true-to-style brews and ones incorporating ingredients sourced from the neighboring market. Several of the owners have also partnered with local chef Jonathan Kung to open a food truck called the Elephant Shack with international influences.

Brenna Houck

Flowers of Vietnam

Location: 4430 W. Vernor Hwy
Key Players: George Azar, Paul Saginaw
Projected Opening: November/December

After more than a year of regular weekend pop-ups inside Vernor Coney Island, Flowers of Vietnam is expected to make the leap to permanent, full-scale restaurant this fall. The restaurant building is currently undergoing extensive renovations that will roughly double its capacity and expand its formerly tiny kitchen. The drop ceilings from the original Flowers of Vietnam have been removed to reveal the building’s tin ceilings and the booths are getting reupholstered. A neighboring space will also house the restaurant’s lounge area including an 18-seat, L-shaped bar and a ceiling filled with live plants. One thing that won’t change is the menu, which chef George Azar says will grow with some new dishes alongside familiar favorites.

Brenna Houck

Eatori

Location: 1215 Griswold St.
Key Players: Zak Yatim, Samer Ghafari
Projected Opening: September

Restaurant/market hybrid Eatori is poised to arrive in downtown’s fast-developing Capitol Park area within the next few weeks. The project includes a small grocery store offering fresh produce, dry goods, and prepared foods such as grab-and-go sushi and rotisserie chicken. Up front, patrons will be able to grab a drink and a meal at the 15-seat bar serving dishes like an roasted chicken with umami hot sauce. The owners plan to open a patio seating area in 2018.

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Prime + Proper

Location: 1145 Griswold St.
Key Players: Heirloom Hospitality Group
Projected Opening: Late-September

The people behind Townhouse aim to bring a contemporary steakhouse to downtown Detroit this fall at the base of the Capitol Park Building. Designed by McIntosh Poris Associates, the dining room is described as having an Art Deco feel and and rounded booths for a more intimate setting. The bar will incorporate elements of white and black marble, brushed brass, and cowhide. Heirloom Hospitality Group chef Michael Barrera and butcher Walter Apfelbaum are developing the menu, which will allow patrons to choose from a wide variety of cuts and cooking methods. Owner Jeremy Sasson says Prime + Proper is aiming to personalizing experiences to each customer. Regulars, for example, can receive their own custom steak knives. The wine list will also be extensive with some hard-to-find bottles from Sasson’s own personal collection. The Heirloom team is also opening an invite-only bar upstairs called Cash Only.

Wilda’s

Location: 6568 Woodward Ave.
Key Players: Lucy Peters, Max Sussman, Eli Sussman, Sopheana Duch
Projected Opening: Fall

Lucy Peters and Sopheana Duch of Rose’s Fine Foods have teamed up with Michigan natives chefs Max and Eli Sussman to bring a new neighborhood restaurant and bar to New Center this year. Since the initial announcement, the idea of the 60-seat establishment has evolved. It’s now expected to feature a casual ordering format where customers check boxes on paper menus.

Urban Ramen [official photo]

Urban Ramen

Location: 4206 Woodward Ave.
Key Players: Kohei Kayano and Yohei Uchida
Projected Opening: October

Los Angeles-based noodle shop Urban Ramen is looking to expand to the Detroit restaurant market this fall. The company’s second outpost is will replace Falafill on Woodward Avenue near Rock City Eatery. The menu at the company’s original outlet features chicken, pork, and vegan maitake mushroom shoyu ramen broth and also serves sushi, rice bowls, and poke.

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Social Sushi

Location: 18663 Livernois Ave.
Key Players: Jay Rayford, Grace Montero
Projected Opening: Fall

Another long-anticipated restaurant, Social Sushi has finally found a home on Livernois Avenue near the University District with plans to open this fall. The longtime pop-up and catering outfits 60-seat establishment will focus on sustainably-sourced ingredients. The building is expected to feature a modern interior with grey walls and ceilings and orange booths.

Other fall tracking:

City Bakery (New Center)
Katoi (Corktown)
Read Player One (Downtown)
Loverboy (Downtown)
Woodbridge Bikes & Coffee (Woodbridge)
La Noria (Southwest)
Avalon Cafe and Biscuit Bar (New Center)
For the Love of Sugar (Midtown)
California Burgerz (Hamtramck)
Paradise Cafe and Juice Bar (Avenue of Fashion)
Zaytoon Restaurant (Hamtramck)
Chili Mustard Onions (Brush Park)
Le Detroit Macaron (Hamtramck)
Bolero Latin Cuisine (Midtown)
PizzaPlex (Southwest)

• All Coming Attractions Coverage [ED]
• All Eater Tracking Coverage [ED]