City Bakery’s Detroit Outpost Rebrands as NYC Owner Departs

New York icon the City Bakery has given up its Detroit outpost, at least in name. The cafe located inside the Fisher Building in New Center recently began sporting a new title on signage: Fisher Bakery.

The rebrand took place at the end of the summer without much fanfare. City Bakery’s founder baker Maury Rubin amicably left the business this year, according to Dan Austin, a representative for bakery co-owner and development group, the Platform. Rubin had commuted regularly between New York and Detroit to oversee operations at the bakery since it opened in January 2018. However, the travel schedule had become too difficult to manage. “There was just an agreement to mutually part ways,” Austin says. With Rubin’s exit from the business, the name City Bakery no longer made sense to keep.

The City Bakery was founded in 1990 by Rubin and was famously featured in an episode of Sex in the City. The Detroit location, located on the ground floor of the Fisher Building, was City Bakery’s first outpost outside of New York City and Japan. In April, City Bakery’s ultra-thick hot chocolate came off the menu in Detroit. Austin adds that its other signature item — the pretzel croissant — departed from the Detroit location around the same time. The croissants were being flown in from New York, but were not a big seller.

Hannah Blume

Things at the bakery shouldn’t feel very different for customers. The menu is nearly identical to the opening menu. Patrons can still find its counters overflowing with ready-made salads, sandwiches, and baked goods

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