Hey there,

Over the weekend my colleague spotted that Free People is coming to downtown Detroit. It's yet another retail development on the heels of the Apple store.

🍎 We first reported locally that the Apple Store is in fact happening [Daily Detroit], but Crain's Detroit did great work with a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request to learn that the space will be 11,200 square feet in total (along with other details).

I expect the pace to really pick up as the Hudson's development finishes up, as Dan Gilbert and Bedrock's vision for what's going into their properties becomes clearer.

🥦 At the end of the month we're saying goodbye to Seva, the vegan restaurant that's had a Midtown Detroit outpost for more than a decade. On a social media post, they said that since COVID the finances just hadn't been the same. Their Ann Arbor location continues. [Seva]

🥃 Also I heard the other Friday night that ownership of the top-ranked Kiesling had changed to the folks who own Green Dot Stables and Johnny Noodle King.

Follow-up reporting has the new owners saying things won't change, but the staff is out the door - including those that were on a podcast episode of ours a little less than a year ago. I'm hoping for the best, while also looking forward to what the individuals do next.

I'm obsessed with good cheese.

So when Zach Berg of Mongers' Provisions wanted to stop by the podcast studio, I thought it'd be a great chance to talk about what it means to be a cheesemonger, what they've found as far as success in their store in Berkley (along with their new eatery Rind, where you enter through the cheese shop).

We also talked about how they handed over the keys to their old Midtown location to Hosted Detroit, including helping them out where they can.

On their newest concept, Rind, here's what Zach said when I asked him about it:

To me, it was a big part of it was expanding these conversations we were already having in the aisles, right? I'd sit there and tell people, Oh, you have to try this tin fish. Open the can, do this, this and this at home, you're going to love it." There's a lot of barriers to getting someone to buy that can, open it, and then make a dish. And so I feel like we are able to invite people to go sit down and open that tin for them. And I think that's powerful. I can actually just put the cheese in your hand or the tin fish and show you how we view all this food.

So have a listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to shows.

A simple hug helped break down the color barrier in baseball, and the story has a big local angle.

One Detroit did a segment about Steve Gromek of Hamtramck, and Larry Doby, the second African American in the MLB, and how their moment together sent shockwaves through not only Detroit — but much of the country.

Our podcast co-host Fletcher Sharpe was part of the piece, too. Have a watch in the player above.

🐔 Detroit residents can now apply for licenses to keep chickens and ducks. With the new Urban Animal Ordinance, residents can have a combination of up to eight chickens and ducks. Urban farms and gardens can have more. [Planet Detroit]

⛽ Royal Oak's Planning Commission greenlit plans for a Sheetz location at Coolidge and 14 Mile. The vote passed 6-1. If you've never been, Sheetz locations are a combination gas station, restaurant, convenience store, and car wash. [WROK Royal Oak]

🐟 A scourge of Great Lakes fishermen from the 1900s could return. Mass firings of federal workers have hit environmental programs in Michigan, with at least 14 workers eliminated from the Great Lakes sea lamprey control program and dozens more affected across forestry services. [Bridge Detroit]

🏛️ Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. is in the race for mayor of Detroit, and former Speaker of the Michigan House Joe Tate is out before he even officially got started. [Detroit One Million]

Then there's Rogelio Landin, who's filed exploratory paperwork and wants to get Detroit back to a million people by annexing 28 nearby "distressed" communities. [Detroit News]

ICYMI, we have in-depth podcast conversation with two of the candidates so far, Fred Durhal III and Saunteel Jenkins. We are planning for more.

🦜 Come out for 313 Day, enjoy Detroit-focused trivia and a live podcast! Friend of the show and barchaelogist Mickey Lyons will host the trivia part on Thursday, March 13, and we'll do a live show during the intermission.

Tocororo is on the East Fisher Service Drive in Eastern Market.

The event is free, doors open at 5pm and trivia starts shortly after 6pm. Please reserve a spot as space is limited and filling up fast. [Eventbrite]

There's always more, but that's it for now. If you have story tips, podcast guest ideas or just feedback - lemme know at our contact form.

Thanks for reading and your support. We'll talk soon.

-Jer

p.s. - Today's newsletter was written to The Stooges. Fun fact, my dad was a huge fan of his and apparently wanted to name me Iggy. My mother and grandmother were having none of that. 😂 "Now I Wanna Be Your Dog" is one of the best simple riffs in existence, and has an interesting backstory.