Brittany Holloway-Brown/Eater
Tracking all the confirmed restaurant and bar closures since the pandemic began in March 2020
Countless restaurants and bars in southeast Michigan temporarily closed their doors in March as novel coronavirus cut through the region, closing dining rooms and cutting into profits. Some are just now beginning to reopen for takeout and delivery, or pivoting to become micro-markets selling groceries. Restaurants and bars are allowed to reopen for dine-in service beginning Monday, June 8.
The financial pressures of the novel coronavirus coupled with the uncertainty of reopening — not to mention the challenges already facing local businesses prior to the pandemic — are forcing some owners to make the tough decisions. Many restaurants and bars will not return.
Below are the metro Detroit and greater southeast Michigan restaurants that have closed locations permanently following the novel coronavirus crisis. Know of a restaurant, bar, coffee shop, or bakery that should be added to this list? Send the details to detroit@eater.com.
The Detroit restaurants that shut their doors for good earlier this year, before COVID-19 was a factor, are here.
June 2020
ANN ARBOR — Mikette, the French-Mediterranean restaurant from the group behind Insalita and Mani Osteria, is permanently closed after five years in Ann Arbor. Popular items like Mikette’s oysters and Le Mec burger will be served at its sibling restaurants, per a Facebook post from Tuesday, June 23.
ROYAL OAK — Detroit Taco Company has closed its original location in Royal Oak, citing issues negotiating the terms of its lease. The restaurant chain is continuing to operate in Troy with plans for locations in Shelby Township and Detroit, according to a Facebook post from Thursday, June 11.
BIRMINGHAM — The Townsend Bakery inside the Townsend Hotel has permanently closed due to financial issues stemming from the pandemic. The bakery operated for 27 years at the site and closed in March, according to WDIV.
ANN ARBOR — Craft beer store Blue Front is closing permanently on Saturday, June 27. The store’s inventory is currently marked down between 20 percent and 50 percent off.
ANN ARBOR — Espresso Royale has permanently closed all of its locations in Ann Arbor, East Lansing, and Madison, according to MLive. The company’s management initially believed the closure would be temporary due to the pandemic, but the financial situation became insurmountable.
LIVONIA — The Livonia location of the Romano’s Macaroni Grill chain appears to have closed permanently, Hometown Life reports. The company website doesn’t currently list any locations in Michigan.
STERLING HEIGHTS — Andiamo’s Sterling Heights outpost is permanently closed as of Sunday, June 14. The restaurant was rumored to be on the way out in February when plans for a new Portillo’s restaurant — Michigan’s first location — were proposed at the address. The site plan for the Portillo’s restaurant has been approved by the city, although the Chicago restaurant chain has yet to confirm the expansion.
ANN ARBOR — Snap Custom Pizza is permanently closed due to COVID-19, according to Crain’s.
METRO DETROIT — Two Panera Bread restaurants located in Westland and Plymouth have permanently closed. A Pizza Hut in Westland also closed.
SOUTH LYON — Closed since the end of March, A Good Day Cafe in South Lyon has permanently closed due in part to the challenges of the pandemic. The restaurant originally opened in 2017.
AVENUE OF FASHION — Table No. 2, a fine-dining restaurant on Livernois Avenue, was barely scraping by on carryout during the pandemic after a year spent on the edge due to construction disruptions. Now, the restaurant has been pushed from its building, the Detroit Free Press reports. Owner Omar Mitchell tells the Free Press, the landlord has sold the building and given the restaurant notice to vacate. Mitchell is now crowdfunding $30,000 to help reopen in a larger, turnkey space.
ANN ARBOR — The owners of Logan Restaurant announced to Facebook on Monday, June 8 that it will close permanently after 16 years in downtown Ann Arbor. The restuarant will briefly transition into a wine store in order to sell the remainder of its inventory and glassware.
ANN ARBOR — LGBTQ-friendly Aut Bar is closing permanently after 25 years of business, MLive reports. The owner attributed the closure to declining business and costs of building improvements, coupled with the financial challenges of novel coronavirus.
METRO DETROIT — Sanders Candy has closed four metro Detroit stores in Grosse Pointe, Livonia, Novi, and St. Clair Shores, according to Crain’s. That leaves only two remaining company-owned brick and mortar shops for Sanders, which will focused delivery of its confections. Two other licensed shops in Wyandotte and on Mackinac Island will not be impacted.
DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Closed since March 16, Marovski’s Family Restaurant in Dearborn Heights announced on Tuesday, June 2, that it is closing permanently after 50 years of business. “A worldwide pandemic was the only thing that could separate our tightly knit family; if you were here, you were definitely family,” the owners write in a statement to Facebook.
BRUSH PARK — New Order Coffee announced on Monday, June 1 that it will close its original location in Detroit’s Brush Park neighborhood. “Due to the current climate, we’ve made the difficult decision to permanently close the doors at our location in Midtown, Detroit,” the company writes in a statement to Facebook. “This wasn’t an easy decision to make but we know it’s the best path to take for our future. Royal Oak (Woodward Corners) will continue to be our home base for now and we look forward to continuing to grow once this pandemic subsides. Thank you for supporting us.” New Order opened its doors at the Detroit location in July of 2017. (Update, 9:30 p.m., June 1) New Order Coffee has updated its announcement to clarify that the decision was made based on economic hardship due to the the novel coronavirus pandemic:
Regardless of perception, we have always struggled with sales volumes here and the current pandemic tipped things over the edge for us. This was an extraordinarily difficult decision to make, but we also felt that it was the only way forward.It would be wrong to address this and not speak to the events transpiring in the world today. They are inextricably linked to how this already difficult announcement was read by many. Like you, our hearts break for George Floyd and his family. We are simply a small business, trying to do our best to navigate through tragic times.
The company writes that it is “deeply sorry for any pain we caused with our announcement.”
ANN ARBOR — Arbor Brewing Company, established in downtown Ann Arbor in 1995, plans to close its original location permanently on Sunday, June 7. “The businesses realities of operating in this location have changed over the years,” the company’s owners write in a statement posted to the website on May 26. “They had grown increasingly challenging even pre-COVID-19, and we expect there will be even more challenges on the other side of the shutdown.” The Ypsilanti and Plymouth locations will not be impacted and employees will have the opportunity to transfer to other jobs within the company. The owners say they are “evaluating multiple locations now and hope to have more news on that soon” on where the Ann Arbor taproom may land next.
May 2020
ROYAL OAK — Hopcat is permanently closing its Royal Oak location after the company was unable to strike an agreement with the building landlord. The company temporarily closed all of its locations in March due to financial pressures from novel coronavirus, but had intended on returning to service at a regular date. Hopcat founder Mark Sellers told Eater in a statement that the restaurant chain intends to eventually reopen elsewhere in Royal Oak.
MILFORD — Lebanese restaurant Blue Grill has permanently closed after 8 years of business. In a May 22 post to Facebook, the restaurant cited the owner Dimitri Mansour’s passing in 2019 as a blow to the business that was compounded by the pandemic. “In many ways the restaurant business will never be the same as it was before March, 2020,” the Mansour family writes. “We did not know when we shut down as part of the shelter in place order that the doors of Blue Grill would never open again. Each day with expenses piling up and no revenue to meet these demands, we felt it. Hoping and strategizing to come up with ways that may allow us to rebuild and thrive, we just don’t see a way.” The restaurant will continue selling its dressings and marinades under the name Blue Grill Foods.
CANTON — A tipster with knowledge of the business tells Eater that J.B’s Smokehouse in Canton is closed permanently. The barbecue restaurant and live music venue announced a temporary closure in April, but privately has informed staff and frequent customers that it will not be reopening.
April 2020
ROYAL OAK — After 13 years of business, Town Tavern in Royal Oak will close permanently, the Daily Tribune reports. Owner Bill Roberts addressed the closure in an April 17 memo to the city requesting it return the restaurants $1,000 application liquor license fee for 2020 through 2021, since the business barely had the opportunity to use it before novel coronavirus ravaged the health of Michiganders and and the economy.
ANN ARBOR — Wilma’s, a restaurant that underwent a name change last year, announced on April 22 that it would close permanently. The business, operated by SavCo Hospitality, has lived under several different names at that address since 2011. The restaurant management writes in a post to Instagram: “Due to… well… you know what… we have made the very difficult decision to not reopen this location as a response to the times and feasibility of surviving reopening with all of the challenges we are facing. Exorbitant rent. Social distancing restrictions placed on restaurants. Seating restrictions. Massive debt growing daily.”
• How Coronavirus Is Impacting the Detroit Food and Beverage Industry [ED]
• All Closings Coverage [ED]
• All Coronavirus Coverage [E]
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