Major Metro Detroit Restaurant Group Abruptly Lays Off Employees

Epicurean Group goes under

Epicurean Group, once considered one of metro Detroit’s premier restaurant groups, is fizzling out, the Detroit Free Press reports. Employees were informed on Sunday via email that they were being laid off as the business was being turned over from operator Ryan Moore to former owner Stanley Dickson Jr. Epicurean Group operates Nomad Grill, No.VI Chophouse, and Soul Cafe and at one time ran the shuttered high rise restaurant Coach Insignia. Moore acquired the restaurant group just six months ago, as Dickson Jr. retired. Dickson told both the Freep and Crain’s that he’s no longer involved in the business and found out about the layoffs from employees. Dickson says he’s trying to stabilize the restaurants and help concerned employees secure new positions.

Fire guts iconic bar and music venue the Gold Dollar

The Cass Corridor bar Gold Dollar, where the White Stripes played their first show, was gutted by a fire on Monday night. The bar and music venue, which closed in 2001, is among many vacant buildings in the area owned by the Ilitches. Firefighters at the scene told the Detroit Free Press that the Gold Dollar property had been impacted by fires before and that it was unclear what started the blaze in this case. The building was the site of a drag bar in the 1960s and prior to that, a beer garden, according to the Detroit News.

Restaurant and juice bar celebrates grand opening

A restaurant called Street Cuisine, which opened several months ago in Rosedale Park is celebrating its grand opening on Thursday, July 25. The restaurant features a mix of different American and international cuisines including tacos, sliders, Polish sausages, fried shrimp, and boneless chicken wings. It’s flanked by Ocean Fresh Juice Bar, which specializes in cold pressed juices, smoothies, and juice shots. The juice bar includes an oxygen bar where customers can purchase oxygen sessions and breathe essential oil-laced air using nasal cannula — a wellness procedure with questionable health benefits.

Another Big Boy bites the dust

A Big Boy restaurant in Westland has closed with a sign on the door reading “This restaurant is closed. Thank you for generations of memories,” according to the Detroit Free Press. It’s the latest metro Detroit outpost of the family-style restaurant chain to close over the past few years. However, there have been recent openings, too. A Big Boy restaurant debuted this spring in Garden City.

Sioux Chef heads to Ann Arbor

Award-winning author and indigenous activist chef Sean Sherman, founder of the Sioux Chef, is coming to Ann Arbor for two nights on a tour promoting his cookbook, The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen. Sherman will host a talk, tasting, and book signing at Zingerman’s Cornman Farms on from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, August 6 for $50 per ticket. He’ll follow it up with a five-course dinner at Miss Kim with a talk and book signing from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, August 7. Tickets are $120 per person.

• All AM Intel Coverage [ED]
• All Closings Coverage [ED]