Menagerie Kitchen Restaurant and Cocktail Bar Eyes End of April Opening

The wait is nearly over for Pontiac eatery The Menagerie Lounge to open its doors.

The Oakland Press reports that April 27 is the day that husband and wife duo April and James Forbes will host the spot’s grand opening inside the Lafayette Grande Banquet Facility at 155 Saginaw St. (the 1923-constructed building once known as the Masonic Temple Lodge No. 21).

Marcus Ware is executive chef and will incorporate a Southern-inspired menu, using ingredients from Belt Line Farm in Pontiac, with dishes like shrimp and grits, jerk lambchop and a seared maple-glazed pecan salmon. A Detroit native, Ware’s resume includes several prominent restaurants including Selden Standard, London Chop House, Cliff Bell’s and Takoi.

The Menagerie is the Forbes’ first restaurant together. The Oakland Press says the couple opened the Cakeria in 2010 in Pontiac and in 2012, they won the Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars.” In 2015, they started hosting pop-up dinners under the Menagerie brand.

• Pontiac Pop-Up Venue Moving to Bigger Digs [ED]

• The Menagerie Kitchen Brings Pop-Up Dining to Pontiac [ED]

• All Expansions Coverage [ED]