Hey friends and happy Thursday!
Jer here. My travels take me all over the region, and I often need caffeine to get through it all. The latest stop I made was checking out the new Lucky Detroit Coffee location in Royal Oak. It's on Woodward just north of 13 Mile.
The building is a unique one — and has roots, according to podcast listeners, as a Roy Rogers restaurant back in the day. It also was an arcade, for a long time a Starbucks (in fact, one of the first ones in the Metro Detroit market), and a chicken joint.
I got to know Lucky as an offshoot of the Detroit Barbers brand, with spots in Detroit's Corktown, Grosse Pointe Park and elsewhere. Apparently, they're eventually taking over a Starbucks in the city of Grosse Pointe as well.
My pick? The Vanilla Bourbon latte. They have their own syrup brand you can take home, too.
🗞️ What to know
🧱 Dan Gilbert’s Cadillac Square project in downtown Detroit, formerly known as Monroe Blocks, faces another delay. Construction was originally slated for September 1, but the developer will ask for more time on their agreement with the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation. The project includes almost half as much residential and office space than originally planned, a new concert venue by TVG Hospitality, and a potential downtown grocery store. [Crain's Detroit]
🛍️ Primark is set to open its first Michigan store at Great Lakes Crossing Outlets in Auburn Hills on September 12. The new location will offer over 36,600 square feet of retail space, featuring the latest fashion trends, household essentials, and beauty supplies at affordable prices. The opening weekend will include a live DJ, giveaways, and local treats. Primark is currently hiring for various positions, with base pay for sales associates starting at $15.25 per hour. The new opening will bring Primark to 27 U.S. stores across 11 states. There are more than 450 stores globally.
We discuss a couple of the stories in this newsletter on this edition of the podcast.
🚤 Detroit is launching its first single-family waterfront single family home development in nearly a quarter century with Shorepointe Village at Grayhaven. This island gated community will get 10 new homes, each with a backyard dock equipped with electric power hookups. The project has primary bedrooms on the first floor and high-end finishes. Prices start at $499,900 for the 1,550-square-foot model, with incentives and tax savings available. Construction begins as reservations are made. [Free Press] [Discussed on the Daily Detroit podcast]
🎰 Detroit's three casinos brought in $105.9 million in July, but lost nearly $400,00 on sports betting, driven by MotorCity. Whether or not you go to the casino, tracking the money is important as casino revenue is generally more than property taxes collected in the city of Detroit.
Market share:
- MGM 48%
- MotorCity 29%
- Hollywood Casino at Greektown 23%
Revenue vs 2023:
- MGM ⬆️ 2.5% - $51.3m
- MotorCity ⬇️ 0.5% - $31.2m
- Hollywood Casino at Greektown ⬇️ 6.1% - $23.8m
The three casinos paid $8.6m in taxes to the State of Michigan, $12.7m to city of Detroit in July.
🍺 Jamex Brewing Co. in St. Clair Shores is closing after seven years. In a post on social media, the owners share that "the risk/reward of owning this business with an amazing family of 5 to support simply does not justify staying open." There will be events over the next month to go out with a bang. [Jamex]
🗳️ What's it like working a polling place? Veteran political journalist Steve Friess joined us on the Monday show to talk about it, recent polls that show Kamala Harris making big gains in Michigan, and answering your listener questions. [Daily Detroit on Apple Podcasts]
🔌 UL Solutions, one of the biggest names in standards and testing in the world, has opened a state-of-the-art battery testing lab in Auburn Hills. It’s reportedly one of their largest investments ever. The $72 million facility spans 89,000 square feet and aims to enhance battery safety for electric vehicles and other applications. The lab features unique fire testing capabilities and will be fully operational by October. It's part of UL's global network of battery testing labs, which includes locations in Germany, China, and South Korea. [Automotive News]
🛜 Detroit has rolled out free public Wi-Fi in Bradby, Chandler, Clark, McDuffy, and Palmer parks as part of a pilot project. Included are new solar-powered charging stations and internet service. The initiative is backed by the City of Detroit, Detroit Parks Coalition, and Connect 313. Funded by $265,000 in grants from the Detroit Pistons Foundation, Rocket Community Fund, and Knight Foundation. Since summer 2023, more than 25,000 people have utilized the new networks, making some progress in bridging the city’s digital divide.
🚐 We took a spin on the new Connect AV shuttle. It promises to be an autonomous shuttle in the future serving Corktown, Downtown, and Lafayette Park. We have thoughts about what it is, what it isn't, and what it could be. Right now, it's an research and development project you can ride, and there's a lot to learn. [Daily Detroit on Apple Podcasts]
🌽 My co-host Devon O'Reilly loves corn, and there's a new spot called "Corn on the Corner" in downtown West Dearborn. Yes, a restaurant devoted to corn. Lend him your ears, and he'll tell you all about it on our podcast. [Daily Detroit on Apple Podcasts]
🍨 And what might you need on a hot summer day? Ice cream, of course. I talked about MJ's North End Ice Cream over on Oakland. [Daily Detroit on Apple Podcasts]
Thank you!
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-Jer