Hey friends, Jer here.
I’m writing today’s newsletter from The Congregation. It’s one of my favorite spots that I went to quite a bit during the pandemic. It’s a coffeeshop and bar in a rehabbed church on Rosa Parks near Boston-Edison. Between the neat interior and the expansive exterior deck, it’s the perfect place to settle in and send an email or two.
I wanted to share the results of our totally unscientific poll about posting health care inspection results in Detroit restaurant windows. We did two, one on Instagram and one here.
The Instagram poll came back with some strong results. 52% of our audience wanted letter grades; 23% color grades; 17% were against the idea and 8% not sure. That’s 75% of respondents in favor of some sort of program.
The poll over here was even more stunning, with rounded results.
68% of you, dear readers, were for letter grades. 23% for color grades; 7% were against and 2% not sure.
That means 91% of our respondents were for some sort of public posting of health inspection results at restaurants.
I have never seen such agreement among our readers and listeners on any topic, and we talked about it more (among other things) on the Friday podcast.
We also tell you about recent fun stops in Grandmont Rosedale (including the coffeeshop Rosa and Nine Design + Homes of Bargain Block fame), and The Yard at Corktown.
On to the stories and things to do! And if this is your first time here, don’t forget to subscribe to this newsletter free.
🧠 What to know
» A Clawson restaurant is named one of Bon Appétit's 50 best new restaurants. Sozai is located in a strip mall on 14 Mile of all places, but it reportedly has some of the best and most sustainable sushi around. Have you been? [Bon Appétit]
The Oakland County suburb of Clawson is building up their dining scene. With plenty of diners living nearby in that city and in nearby Royal Oak, Troy and Madison Heights, the 2.2 square mile city of nearly 12,000 people is in a solid geographic location.
» Beaumont-Spectrum Health System is laying off 400 people statewide. The cuts are part of a greater restructuring after their recent merger, and are apparently “management and non-patient facing” workers. [Crain’s Detroit]
» Detroit Metro Airport is allowing the car sharing company Turo the non-exclusive right to operate peer-to-peer vehicle sharing services on site. [Free Press]
My two cents: I’ve used Turo before and liked it. This is interesting as historically, Detroit Metro Airport has limited options compared to other cities when it comes to getting to and from the airport. Yes, there’s a bus; but it’s not like a number of cities that have direct, higher speed connections to major employment centers. It’s an area we could really improve on, especially when it comes to being plugged in as a national and global destination for work and play.
» The Detroit People Mover announced in a Twitter post that its operating hours have been extended to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Rides are free from now through October 30.
» The historic bandshell is behind schedule on its move to Palmer Park, but it’s still on the way. It was supposed to be set up in Fall of 2021; it’s still currently in storage. [WXYZ]
» Detroit’s public schools are struggling to deal with a problem of math learning loss. Student math performance is in decline, with the district superintendent saying math saw a greater impact from the pandemic than literacy did. [Chalkbeat]
» Henry Ford Health System has a new president and CEO. On Thursday they announced Robert G. Riney would take the position. He brings 40 years of experience with the organization. Riney replaces Wright Lassiter III, who was very active in the local community. [PR Newswire]
» Westland’s Eloise Asylum has been rated the fifth most horrifying haunt in the U.S. by Hauntworld Magazine. They claim to be the world’s largest directory of haunted houses and horror attractions. [Hauntworld Magazine]
🏃 Where to go
» One of Detroit’s longest-running festivals, Dally in the Alley, is this Saturday, Sept. 10 from 11am - 11pm. Admission is free for the neighborhood festival, and there will be a ton of of live music and food vendors. It’s back after being on hiatus since 2019. [Dally in the Alley]
» The cities of Detroit and Dearborn are hosting a joint block party on Saturday. The first ever joint block party will have food trucks, a DJ, ice cream, and activities. The party begins at noon near the intersection of Littlefield Street and Esper Boulevard. [City of Dearborn]
» Want to see some beautiful Detroit homes? The University District Community Association’s home tour is back on Saturday. I used to stay in that area and it’s stunning. I hear there’s a house with a large model train set, and I can’t wait to see it. The tour runs from 10a-6p and you can click or tap the link for tickets. [UDCA]
Thanks to everyone behind the scenes who makes this newsletter and our daily podcast possible, including Producer Shianne, Fletcher on sports, (Cocktail and Audio) Engineer Randy, Man-About-Town Devon, and of course, Luciano.
If you want to help what we’re doing, there are two ways. First, tell a friend about the newsletter.
Second, if you can, consider buying us a coffee. Thanks to Kate this week who pitched in!
Thanks for reading. Remember that you are somebody — and have a wonderful weekend.
-Jer
