Marais Restaurant to Feature Outdoor Dining

The new restaurant planned for the corner of St. Clair Street and Kercheval Avenue in the Village recently gained approval of its site plan, its liquor license and special use due to the size exceeding 5,000 square-feet.

The French-inspired restaurant slated to open in the Village, Marais, will feature an outdoor patio at the corner of St. Clair Street and Kercheval Avenue that will be nearly 400 square-feet.  Construction has already been underway on the building. Crews tore off the back facade of the building a few weeks ago, revealing the old "Fischer's" signage painted on the brick.  More construction is ahead after the restaurant owners, Monica and David Gilbert, gained approval of his site plan, which includes a 390 square-foot outdoor dining area. The patio will require some changes to the corner, which currently houses a traffic control box and is well-landscaped with trees and flowers as a pedestrian corridor offering bench seating and flowing …

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Janet's Lunch Closure Unexpected But Necessary

What began as a simple real estate transaction for the Cotton family's property management/development plans in Grosse Pointe Park in purchasing Janet's Lunch has evolved into a difficult situation.

Janet's Lunch in Grosse Pointe Park has been closed for business for two weeks and questions about the building, the restaurant and what's next have been abuzz in the Grosse Pointes. The closure was quite unexpected but very much necessary, said Robert Ermanni and Dave Quint, general contractors and property management for the Cotton family. The longtime Grosse Pointe Park diner is a staple for many and has been serving meals for decades. Its recent closure, the Cottons recognize, has been upsetting to many in the community, Ermanni said, noting it was never their intention. In fact, the Cottons had intended to keep Janet's Lunch in full operation with the same management by the building's owner, Robert Larson. Purchasing Janet's Lunch and…

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Red Crown Opens for Dinner in Grosse Pointe Park

Red Crown restaurant opened Wednesday for dinner in Grosse Pointe Park's business district along Kercheval Avenue.

The much-awaited Red Crown opened Wednesday in Grosse Pointe Park, offering diners the opportunity to have dinner inside the remodeled Standard Oil building that stood vacant for years. Eventually the restaurant will be open for lunch as well but for now it will be open for dinnertime only. The hours this week are 4 to 10 p.m. Thursday; 4 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, according to the restaurant's Facebook page. Employees made a dinner menu available via its Facebook page early Wednesday. Red Crown is one of three eateries Mindy Lopus, of Silver Pig Restaurant Group, is opening in Grosse Pointe Park this year. The others are Bona Fide Bakery and Tallulah's. It was originally slated to open in late January but final inspections were not …

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Michael Richman

10:17 am on Monday, March 11, 2013

We also went for the grand opening and thoroughly enjoyed it.The food was excellent (highly recommend the brisket) and the staff friendly and attentive. As with many openings, there are things that could be improved upon and props to them for taking the time to fine tune. It was super cool seeing the place packed and they did an amazing job transforming a vacant gas station into something special!   more ›

BluFin Named Best Place for Sushi

BluFin Sushi is the Readers' Choice pick for the best place for sushi in Grosse Pointe.

Where's the best place for sushi in Grosse Pointe? BluFin Sushi. At least that's what Patch readers have determined after the weeklong Readers' Choice quest for best sushi in Grosse Pointe. One reader left this comment: “Blufin is by far the best sushi in gp the service was great and very informative our rolls were awesome, the Blufin and summertime rolls are my favorite even the owner was nice, and they have great deals for happy hour too I would (definitely) recommend Blufin sushi. BluFin Sushi received 25 votes to win the poll. The winner was determined by the Patch editor, based on poll results and reviews on Patch Places. Check out all of our Readers' Choice winners. Do you have something to say about BluFin Sushi? Visit their free …

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Mack Avenue Grille to Open Soon

New owners have remodeled the former Mack Avenue Diner and will be featuring an updated menu. The transformed restaurant is to re-open in the next several weeks.

The Mack Avenue Diner is closed but the restaurant will reopen in the next several weeks as the Mack Avenue Grille featuring a new menu, one of the partners Elias Ropotos said. He and a partner purchased the Mack Avenue Diner last August from the former owners with plans to eventually remodel and update the menu, he said during a brief interview with Patch. The diner has been closed for weeks and the windows are blocked with paper. Signs posted in the windows note the remodel and mention the restaurant is looking to hire cooks, servers, dishwashers and bussers. Grosse Pointe Woods Building Official Gene Tutag said the final inspection is likely going to happen within the next few weeks and the restaurant will be ready to open. The diner's …

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Photo Gallery: Grand Opening of Good Girls Go to Paris

Owner Torya Blanchard did a soft opening of her new creperie in Grosse Pointe Park and officially celebrated her grand opening Friday with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Serving up crepes daily with a full espresso bar, Good Girls Go to Paris owner Torya Blanchard celebrated the grand-opening of Grosse Pointe Park location early Friday.  Her parents, close friends and several Grosse Pointe Park officials attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Grosse Pointe Chamber of Commerce. The Grosse Pointe Park location at 14929 Charlevoix Road near Alter is Blanchard's second creperie. The original is located in Midtown Detroit near Wayne State University and has been wildly successful. Blanchard's mother, Vera Howell, said Friday her daughter's passion for all things French stems from a trip she took to Paris to celebrate turning 16. Howell said she wanted to do something different for her daughter's birthday…

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Vote to Help Grosse Pointe Farms Native Open Healthy Restaurant

Stephanie Selvaggio is hoping to win a contest by Hatch Detroit to open her own tea room and restaurant

Stephanie Selvaggio has laser focus. This ability has served her well in her impressive list of endeavors and successes thus far in her life. At just 28 years old, Selvaggio – a former resident of Grosse Pointe Farms – has received her Bachelor’s degree in Business from Northwood, graduated from the prestigious Parsons School for Design in New York City, developed and designed a line of surfing-friendly clothing for the younger set for the Rusty company, restores and sells vintage clothing for her online store Mille Beas Vintage and has hatched a great idea for a health food restaurant and tea room in the midtown district of Detroit, which today she calls home. “I truly want Detroit to succeed,” said Selvaggio, who plans on opening the …

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Chef's Secret

Hill Executive Chef Offers Secret to Steaks

Choosing the right steak is the first step in creating a great meal, according to a chef from The Hill.

All steaks are not created equal, nor are all steak buyers. But with the help of Executive Chef Matt Kouri of The Hill Restaurant on Kercheval, the playing field is about to get a bit more level. Working for The Hill for 10 years, most recently as its executive chef, Kouri has a great understanding of what makes a steak flavorful and juicy. And for anyone who has ever tasted the steaks created at The Hill, you know we have come to the right place to get answers. While the preparation of it is also a key, we’re taking it back to the beginning–the actual purchase of the steak–to optimize the potential of a good meal. “The first thing is to look at the color,” Kouri said. “It should have a deep red color. If it’s brown, then that means it’s …

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Trattoria Andiamo Adds Outdoor Patio

The space, which has long been requested by customers, will be open in time for the fall weather.

The Italians gave us the term “al fresco,” so it’s only fitting that Grosse Pointe Wood’s popular Italian eatery Trattoria Andiamo have a space for outdoor dining. Owner Joe Serventi understands this, and he’s meeting his customers’ desire for fine food and fresh air with a new patio. The outdoor cement patio fits 36 diners at 12 tables—four six-tops and six two-tops—surrounded by a black guardrail. The tabletops will be made of DuPont’s versatile, chic Corian and be sheltered by gold-colored umbrellas, and the space will boast heat lamps and a small fire pit to extend the outdoor dining season. It was designed by Birmingham-based designer Ron Rae, who redid the restaurant’s interior this April. “We’d been here 18 years and decided it was …

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Kathy R

9:00 am on Thursday, September 8, 2011

And I forgot to mention that the food and service were excellent both times.   more ›

Grosse Pointe Farms Council Approves Liquor License Transfer for BluFin Sushi

The owner says customers have been requesting it since the restaurant opened and he believes it will be a nice addition to the menu.

BluFin Sushi will have the ability to serve alcohol to its customers in about a month once the official transfer is complete following the Grosse Pointe Farms city council's unanimous approval Monday.  Owner Joel Radu said the transfer will take three to four weeks and is hoping to begin serving alcohol to customers on the restaurant's one year anniversary: Sept. 22.  Radu is purchasing the license from another business in Garden City—a license he had to find within Wayne County, which he said was difficult and expensive. The Farms has a certain amount of quota licenses based on population, all of which are currently in use by other businesses. According to the Michigan Liquor License Commission, there are 14 businesses currently licensed …

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