Townhouse Owner Plans Neapolitan Pizzeria for Shuttered Will Leather Goods Building

A Neapolitan pizzeria from Townhouse owner Jeremy Sasson is on tap to take over the former Will Leather Goods building, Crain’s reports. The Oregon-based, high-end leather retailer Will Leather Goods closed Tuesday after four years in Cass Corridor.

Sasson’s restaurant group Heirloom Hospitality has been creeping into the Detroit market from Birmingham since 2015 with the opening of Townhouse Detroit. The group has since gone on to open high-end steakhouse Prime + Proper in Capitol Park and a seasonal food truck called Clementina. This spring, Heirloom opened a Cash Only, an obnoxious invitation-only cocktail bar above Prime + Proper.

The Neapolitan pizzeria marks Sasson’s first foray into Cass Corridor where it will face competition from spots like Jolly Pumpkin and Motor City Brewing Works. Sasson has hired Myles McVay, the opening chef at Otus Supply in Ferndale, to lead the kitchen. The as-of-yet-unnamed pizza restaurant will feature a full bar.

When it opened at the site of Tomboy Market in 2015, Will Leather Goods housed a coffee shop. However, in the past several years the store has been a revolving door for operators testing out the space. At one point Frita Batidos was rumored to be in talks to open in the building. Red Hook Coffee popped up briefly in the cafe space in 2017 and last fall Flint’s Tenacity Brewing used the property as a testing ground for its forthcoming coffee roaster-taproom spinoff in Virginia Park.

Stay tuned for more updates as the pizzeria project moves forward.

• Jeremy Sasson Pizza Concept to Replace Will Leather Goods in Midtown [Crain’s]
• All Coming Attractions Coverage [ED]