There are a lot of things happening in downtown Detroit – heck, even on the same block when we head down Library Street to meet the owner of the new Vault of Midnight comic book shop, slated to swing its doors open on Monday. A salad shop. Shoes. Yoga studio. Cuban food. Of course, the namesake library across the street (which if you’ve haven’t visited is quite beautiful). Let alone the new bars that just opened and such. It’s a city block full of activity, with the Belt Alley bisecting it, enough to make even the coldest of Detroit haters go “there’s something happening here.”
The newest thing, and of course the reason we’re all here is Vault of Midnight. As we took a look at the shop, and this is said with love as a geek – a “nerdvana” in the middle of the city – you can tell owner Curtis Sullivan, who has 20 years of experience in the field, has been paying attention to the details.
“We just think very world class city downtown needs a comic book shop. It’s a match. We hope we’re that shop,” said Sullivan.
He has the resume to pull this off, running successful shops in Ann Arbor as well as Grand Rapids.
“New York, downtown’s got a couple very well known shops. Downtown Chicago’s got some really nice comic book shops. L.A., same thing. These are world renown stores. Detroit should be no exception.”
So is this just for the hard-core comic book and merch fan?
“This sounds cheesy, but we want all the humans. So when seven year old kids get excited, we love it. When we can trick their parents into buying a comic and getting them into it, we love it. Your typical comic nerd or whatever – love it. I’m a lifetime nerd. Been reading comics since I was seven years old.”
“That’s why we went downtown – we get walk by traffic. It’s nice, bright, and it’s inviting,” said Sullivan.
“It’s startling how many times we’re introducing people to what feels like a new medium for the first time. That’s huge, that’s been around for 75+ years. People are like what is this – we’re like archaeologists introducing people to this ‘Strange new world.'”
Here’s another thing of note. A lot of downtown places close early, have erratic hours that are centered around the sports teams or the business crowd. Sullivan said he’s committed to having hours that’ll make this a destination. They’re also going to do game nights, as well as other events to keep folks busy and engaged.
Vault of Midnight is at 1226 Library Street in Detroit. It opens Monday, May 2 and their hours are 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. on Sundays. More pics below.
