Jer Staes

Mar 9, 2025

Coffee Down Under, an Aussie-inspired basement coffeeshop at Shelby and Congress in Detroit's Financial District, will be done on March 15. They had been open for four years.

From their social media post:

For some time now, a one-person operation has been all we can justify, but that has come with a bit too much unpredictability for the kind of reliable experience we strive to offer our guests.

While this chapter is coming to an end, we’re already working on ideas for what’s next—whether it’s a new concept in our space or the right partner to better suit the space and the evolving downtown landscape. If you have thoughts, we’d love to hear them!

The closure will not impact The Shelby, the bar next door.

I interviewed Coffee Down Under owner Tarun Kajeepeta for PBS Detroit at the start of 2023. He raised concerns then about the decline in office workers.

Of the three businesses I talked to for this piece, two are now gone from downtown. One left their retail space and consolidated at a building they own in Hamtramck, and the other restaurant is open — but has more limited hours and days than before COVID.

In a number of follow-up conversations, I've been told that the area seems to now have more foot traffic on weekends and evenings than during the day as more regional tourists spend time in downtown Detroit.

Jer Staes

Mar 7, 2025

The Owner/Chef Megan Shaw says the new Street Beet spot will be "a full-service dining experience, a walk-up window for quick bites, an innovative bar program heavy on mocktails, and an in-house bakery program."

Street Beet has gotten a name for itself making fast-food inspired plant-based dishes.

They aim to create a true "third space" at 1800 Michigan Avenue in Detroit with "game nights, DJs, and a multifunctional community hub."

Street Beet will be open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner — and do a brunch. They'll be open at their current spot in Third Street Bar until the new spot is ready.

Washed Up Coffee is also coming to the space, ran by Emily Potter and Amélie Haakonsen, will run alongside their breakfast service and serve pastries as well.

If you're a listener to our show, you might know the name Amélie Haakonsen as also is part of Dessert Oasis - who we talked with for Detroit Coffee Week last year.

Haakonsen is adding this project on top of the other work.

No opening dates were given.

Jer Staes

Mar 4, 2025

Only one Detroit City Council member — Angela Whitfield-Calloway who introduced it — supported a resolution to make the RenCen a historic district, subject to additional restrictions that would have helped preserve all of the towers.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan sent the following statement:

Designating the Renaissance Center as historic office buildings would have killed any realistic hope of redevelopment and pretty much guaranteed Detroit would have five empty towers sitting on the riverfront for the next 30-40 years.

Thanks to Detroit City Council’s strong stance today, the Mayor’s Office and Council can now move forward to explore all alternatives and develop the best solution for our city’s future.

The current proposed plan by General Motors and Bedrock is to demolish two of the towers, rehab one as more modern offices, another as residential, and improve hotel amenities.

Jer Staes

Mar 4, 2025

A local group of restaurants is dealt another blow as their first location — on 1800 Michigan Avenue in Detroit — is closing, according a Facebook post from the owner Matthew Buskard.

Opened in 2015, the spot became a go-to for brunch for awhile. But the concept has been facing challenges at multiple locations, with recent permanent closures in Wyandotte, Ypsilanti, and Clinton Township.

Quoted from the post:

What’s next for Bobcat Bonnie’s is our renewed focus on getting back to who we were, and what our goals were. Fixing some of the issues we see here in the restaurant, fixing some of the mistakes we made, and being able to get back to being the spot that you use to love. Having fun, serving food and community, and a renewed focus on taking care of our people is what we will be working on. Somehow as we grew we lost some of that magic and focus, and as this economy has proven, you got to be at your best because money is tight, and folks are looking for GREAT places to spend those few extra dollars.

Their hope is to "re-create what was great about Bobcat Bonnie's" and "ALL of the Corktown staff" is moving to the Ferndale spot, save for a few who "couldn't join us" and are placed with other jobs in the neighborhood.

Jer Staes

Feb 27, 2025

One of the most impactful stories long-term on Detroit isn't in the core of downtown, but up by the New Center and TechTown.

The Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences Research Center is will be a seven-story, $335 million building that will be home to various medical research teams devoted to cancer, neuroscience, cardiometabolic diseases, and immunology — as well as the Nick Gilbert Neurofibromatosis Research Institute.

I saw that major visible progress is being made and wanted to share a little update.

You can find it on Third Street, south of the boulevard and across from the Pistons Performance Center.

Part of the wider $3 billion Henry Ford and MSU partnership, this should be ready in 2027.