Hamtramck’s Breakout Hit Döner Restaurant Is Expanding to Ferndale

Hamtramck’s breakout hit of 2019, Balkan House is already branching out to a location. Balkan House opened quietly this spring on Caniff Street with German-style döner kabob and ćevapi on soft Bosnian lepinja flatbread. Now, owner Juma Ekic tells the Detroit Free Press that a new outpost is destined to open in Ferndale in November.

Ekic, whose family story was profiled this week by the New York Times, says that nearly half of Balkan House’s clientele hails from Ferndale, so it made sense to establish a new restaurant there. The restaurant will take over a space briefly occupied by another Hamtramck export, Delite Cafe & Deli, at 314 W Nine Mile Rd. The restaurant will cater to bar crowds, staying open until 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The menu will be slightly more limited then the Hamtramck location, with an emphasis on the sensational sandwiches that drove headlines and customers to Balkan House over the summer.

Balkan House’s Ferndale outpost is expected to debut by mid-month.

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